1. Chop the onion, carrots and mushrooms into small pieces.
2. Finely chop the garlic.
3. Trim the roast and apply a liberal coating of Chicago Seasoning.
4. Heat the oil in a cast iron Dutch oven while preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Sear the roast for about 2 minutes per side in the hot oil.
6. Use a small amount of the stock to deglaze the pot and add the onion and garlic, cooking until onion is translucent.
7. Cover the Dutch oven and place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
8. Remove from the oven and add the rest of the stock and vegetables.
9. Cover and return to the oven for another hour.
10. Remove from the oven, add the rice and water until the pot is almost full, cover and let it cook over low heat on the stovetop for at least an hour. The longer it cooks the more the flavors will meld together. Be sure to keep the heat low enough that the water doesn’t cook off.
11. The beef should be tender enough to shred any time after removing from the oven. Shred and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
12. Enjoy!
Serves 8; Calories 331; Fat 7g; Protein 35g; Carbs 32g
Once the weather turns cold we start thinking about a hot, hearty meal that warms you up from head to toe. This beef stew is just the thing! You can use a roast or ground beef with any vegetables you happen to have around. The version pictured uses brown rice but we love to make it with barley as well.
2 lbs. lean roast
2 tsp. Penzeys Chicago Seasoning
1 tbl. avocado oil
4 cups unsalted beef stock
1 cup uncooked brown rice
8 ounces baby carrots
8 ounces button mushrooms
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 tbls. tomato paste
1 medium yellow onion
Additional salt and pepper to taste
Additional water
This can also be made as a soup by using lean ground beef. Feel free to add potatoes, turnips or any other root vegetables you like or have around your kitchen. Generally, we use carrots, mushrooms and onion alternating with rice or barley. This cooking method is also a great way to use leaner cuts of roast, which are usually tougher, and cook them slowly until very tender.
For those counting calories, we finish cooking the stew, weigh it into a big storage container and divide the weight by 8. This will be the amount to weigh out for one serving. Feel free to increase the beef or decrease the carb content as you need.