Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mashed Parsnips

Take a few minutes in the morning, and you can have your dinner ready when you get home from work. Less than a half hour of prep will have your main meal in the slow cooker. Just prepare your cauliflower or parsnips when you get home for a complete meal.

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1” pieces

2 –3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 strips bacon (or turkey bacon), cut into ½” pieces

2 medium onions, cut into 1” pieces

3 large carrots, cut into ¼ “ slices

2 celery ribs, cut into ¼” slices

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups dry red wine

1 small bunch fresh thyme

1 tablespoon orange zest (zested or grated, outside orange layer only)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Brown the beef in several batches, being careful not to crowd the beef or it will steam instead of browning. Transfer meat to slow cooker.  Add the thyme over the beef. (You can tie it together with kitchen string. first.) Turn down the heat to medium and add the bacon and cook until crisp. Drain excess fat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until browned. Add wine and return to boiling. Pour mixture over beef in slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low.  Then, remove the thyme, and stir in the orange zest and parsley and cook for 5 minutes on high.

(Broth will not be thick like a stew made with flour.)

Serve with mashed cauliflower or for a new taste, try mashed parsnips.

Parsnips are root vegetables that resemble carrots, but are cream in color and have a sweeter flavor than carrots. They contain fiber, folic acid, calcium, vitamins C, B1, B2 and B3 plus iron and zinc. These are a perfect substitute for potatoes! Make sure that you submerge them in water once they are peeled and cut, or they will turn dark when exposed to the air.

Mashed Parsnips

5-6 cloves of garlic

½ teaspoon of Thyme

2 cups or less of almond or coconut milk (such as “So Delicious”)

5-6 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ½” slices

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Skin 5 or 6 garlic cloves and puree in a food processor or mash with the side of a large knife. Pour one cup of almond or coconut milk into a 2-quart or larger saucepan. Add the garlic and a ½ tsp. of dried thyme, or 1 tsp. of fresh thyme, chopped finely.  Heat slowly, and turn off when mixture reaches boiling point.

In another saucepan, cook parsnips until tender. Strain and place them in a bowl. Add the heated milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mash together by hand or with a mixer until smooth, adding additional milk as needed. Add salt & pepper.

Put several scoops in a bowl. Add a serving of the beef stew. Delicious!