Food: Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew

The first recipe I made with my bone broth is this recipe from Holistic Squid, Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew!

This is super easy and super tasty! It is also the first recipe I have made with grass-fed beef! My husband enjoyed the recipe, but felt that the meat was a tad tough. This is totally my fault. I tend to leave the cooker on for longer than stated in the recipe. Partly due to laziness and partly due to schedule. I am actually looking into investing in a new slow cooker since my roast size cooker died! More on that later!

The other reason I think the meat was a little tough is because I put the meat on the bottom of the crock instead of the veggies. I also did not brown the meat first.
I didn't do that because
                         1. the recipe did not call for it
                         2. remember this laziness condition I mentioned?

Overall, I really enjoyed the results and packed the leftovers into mason jars...yes, mason jars that are able to go into the freezer! BRILLIANT! I left 4 individual servings in the refrigerator for lunches and dinners and froze the rest in individual servings! I also froze the rest of the stock.

Here is the recipe:

Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew Ingredients

• 2 pounds stew meat, cubed
• 2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large carrots, chopped into large chunks
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 (28 oz.) can whole stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1/3 cup pearled barley
• 2 cups beef bone broth A few sprigs thyme, tied with twine
• Good quality salt and pepper to taste

Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew Method

1. Place all ingredients except for barley in the slow cooker set to low and cover.
2. After 4 hours, add the pearled barley and continue cooking – or if you will be away all day, simply add the barley in step 1.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
4. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste