Coffee Beef Stew

I looked up several stew recipes and compiled a plan for my Sunday night dinner.  I really wanted to use red wine, but because I'm not quite to day 31 of my Whole 30 yet, I could not. I decided to throw in a tablespoon of the red wine vinegar to make me feel better about the missing ingredient. I'm not sure if that worked, but the two cups of coffee sure made me perk up!

It was pretty tasty and that is what it's really all about. The only thing I may have done differently is to saute the mushrooms before adding them to the stew pot. I may try that next time around. And perhaps a decaf coffee would be better for Sunday night dinner. I'm keeping fingers crossed the caffeine burns strong and then I pass out from the caffeine crash. Here's hoping!

1 Tbsp bacon fat
1 lb stew meat
salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, sliced thick
3 celery stalks, sliced thick
1C mushrooms, sliced
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, no salt
2C beef stock, gluten free
2C coffee
6oz can tomato paste
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp lite salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
more parsley to garnish

1. Melt bacon fat in large stock pot over medium high heat. Add stew meat and generously salt and pepper. Sear on all sides.

2. Add garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and give it a stir. (I would be inclined to saute the mushrooms first next time.)

3. A few minutes later add the tomatoes, beef stock, coffee, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, and seasonings.

4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for two hours.

I enjoyed this stew over a pile of mashed cauliflower. Very tasty. I can't wait to try it again on day two!