Balsamic Beef Stew

I was so excited when I started this blog to get all my favorite paleo recipes in one place, but life happens, and I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen, shopping or cleaning!  But I want to start getting back to this project, mainly so I don't have to go hunting recipes I used for inspiration.  I think my biggest holdup was that I wanted to take lots of PICTURES! That doesn't seem to be in the cards, though.  I have a hard enough time sitting down to type up instructions!  I guess while the kids are young is not the time for me to have a fancy photo blog.  :)  If I get some up from time to time, good for me. If I don't,

On that note, I am going to kickoff my reentry into blogosphere with what has become my favorite beef stew.  If you knew me a few years ago, you would never have imagined those three words put together would ever come out of my fingers lol.  But I have managed to develop a taste for beef, as long as it is well seasoned.  I still don't care for a straight up steak, and not sure I ever will, but in the meantime, I am finding things to do with the grassfed cow share I bought this year, and this one, in my humble opinion, is divine!

Balsamic Beef Stew

Whatcha Need

Enough ghee to brown your beef, or other FOC (fat of choice)
2-3 pounds stew beef, grass fed if possible, cut into cubes
1 onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 cup chopped tomatoes (or a whole can is probably fine - I usually use about a cup of the tomatoes I slow roasted from my garden, and those are amazing, but not everybody has slow roasted tomatoes on hand. :) )
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
Salt and pepper to taste
Big handful of greens (optional)

Whatcha Do

Heat up your FOC in a dutch oven, and brown the meat.  You may need to do this in batches.  Set the meat aside in a bowl as it is finished.  Saute the onion and garlic until the onion is starting to brown, then add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and stir to make sure you are scraping up any yummy bits that have collected on the bottom of the pan.  Add the meat and any juices back to the pan, and add all the spices.  Cover the dutch oven, and cook on low for about 2 hours.  You can also finish this off in a crockpot on  high for about 4 hours.  If I don't have any other veggies to go with my meal, I will often toss in some arugula or kale at the end and cook just till it wilts down.