Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe & Reinvented Leftover Ideas

I feel like I have said this a million times, but I am a huge fan of my slow cooker. It allows me to cook healthy meals for my family, especially on busy days. This past week, I made some amazing beef stew in my slow cooker, which we have been eating for the last couple of days. I am always shocked when people tell me that they HATE leftovers – – I have never understood that because I live for them. Leftovers are the easiest meal you can make, it saves you a ton of money on groceries and saves you time. But my husband is one of those people who does not love leftovers, so I have learned to get creative by reinventing them into something new. I assure you that this stew gets better each passing day, but if you simply are not one for eating leftovers (like my hubby), then this post is for you.

This is how I stretched this recipe for three different meals and my family didn’t even know:

Meal 1 – we enjoyed the stew alongside some delicious olive oil & rosemary foccacia bread and it was a huge hit. The gravy and the bread went perfectly together.

Meal 2 – I reheated a bowl of stew alongside some freshly cooked green beans.

Meal 3 – I finished off the stew by creating these to-die-for hot and gooey blue cheese and stew paninis. They were seriously delicious and no one mentioned the word “leftovers”.

This beef stew recipe is a keeper and I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family have!

Ingredients

• Thick-cut bacon, chopped
• Flour, 3 tbsp (coconut flour/almond flour will work)
• Salt and pepper, 1 tsp
• Boneless beef chuck, 3 lbs cut into chunks
• Fresh mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups (I used baby portabello mushrooms, cut in half)
• Baby carrots, 1 1/2 cups
• Onion, diced
• Garlic, 3 cloves chopped
• Dry red wine, 1 cup
• Beef broth, 1 cup
• Tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
• Orrington Farms broth base, 1 tbsp (gluten free, no MSG, all natural)
• Fresh rosemary, 1 tbsp

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large pan over medium heat until crisp (5-7 minutes). Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel.
2. Brown the beef. In a plastic bag mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Coat the beef and transfer to the pan with the bacon drippings. Cook beef for 5 minutes on each side until well-browned.
3. Transfer cooked beef to your slow cooker.
4. Scatter mushrooms, carrots, onions, bacon and garlic on top of beef in slow cooker.
5. Return pan (the same pan we cooked the beef in) to medium-high heat and add wine, stock, tomato paste and broth base. Mix well using a wooden spoon scrapping all the brown bits off the pan. Continue to deglaze the pan and bring the sauce to a boil. Pour contents over the meat and vegetables.
6. Cover and cook 4-5 hours on high, 8-9 hours on low.
7. The beef should be falling apart tender.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Sprinkle with rosemary and enjoy!

 

 

Blue Cheese and Stew Paninis

Ingredients

• 2 slices of your favorite bread (gluten free bread works well too!!)
• butter, softened
• Blue cheese
• Leftover beef stew
• Basil, julienned
• Good mayonnaise (homemade is best but Hellman’s will work)
• Panini maker or frying pan

Directions

1. Lightly coat each slice of bread with softened butter, place butter side down on panini press
2. Mix together the mayonnaise and basil
3. Spread mayo and basil mixture on the bread
4. Layer with blue cheese, shredded beef stew and more blue cheese
5. Top with second slice of bread, butter side up
6. Cook and serve with any remaining basil mayonnaise for dipping and fresh tomatoes.
7. Enjoy!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by~