Beef Stew & Dinner Rolls

Now that it's mid-September, I've decided to kick off the comfort food season with beef stew and dinner rolls.  We try to eat mostly Paleo round these parts and so I am constantly changing and tweaking all the yummy recipes I come across.  Recently I discovered a recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website for Sunday Night Stew.  Here is her recipe and the changes I made.

• STEW
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter (use grass-fed butter for Paleo)
• 2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (chuck Roast Cut Into Chunks)
• Salt And Pepper
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 4 ounces, weight Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Low Sodium Beef Stock Or Broth, More If Needed For Thinning
• Several Dashes Worcestershire
• 1/2 teaspoon Sugar (I used Truvia but you can also use liquid or powder Stevia if you prefer)
• 4 whole Carrots, Peeled And Diced
• 2 whole Turnips, Peeled And Diced (I didn't have any on hand so I just used some frozen peas)
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
• Mashed Potatoes (I left this out completely and used diced sweet potatoes in the stew which I added with the other veggies)
• 5 pounds Russet Potatoes (peeled)
• 1 package (8 Ounce) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1 stick Butter, Softened
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add butter, and as soon as it melts, brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for two minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for two more minutes.

Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and sugar. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.

After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add the diced turnips and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed!

When the carrots and turnips are tender, stir in minced parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve piping hot in a bowl with mashed potatoes, letting the juice run all over everything. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley at the end.

I didn't really have to tweak much with this recipe (which I love) and it turned out beautifully!  The stew meat was really tender and moist which I find is hard to achieve with other recipes I've tried.  Now on to the really important part...the dinner roll!  I have made many Paleo biscuits and rolls but have never really found one that I love and want to make for every meal.  Well, look no more!  I have found my favorite dinner roll recipe that is gluten-free and Paleo which works for everyone in my family.  One thing I have to confess...my 9yr old son doesn't usually like my Paleo baking...sad, right?  He was so used to the taste of regular baked goods that when we switched to a gluten-free & Paleo lifestyle he had the hardest time.  He now enjoys all my gluten-free cooking & baking but still isn't excited when I pop a batch of Paleo cookies out of the oven.  So whenever I can bake something that is completely Paleo and he asks for seconds and thirds I know I've found the perfect recipe.  So, enough said...here it is!  This recipe is complements of Our Paleo Life.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Tapioca Starch or Arrowroot Starch
• ¼ – ⅓ cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• ½ cup Warm Water
• ½ cup Light Olive Oil
• 1 Large Egg, whisked

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine the tapioca or arrowroot starch with the salt and ¼ cup of the coconut flour in a medium bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour in the olive oil and warm water and stir until combined. The mixture will be very thick. Add the whisked egg and continue mixing until well combined. Now the dough will be thinner.
4. If the mixture is too thin you should add one or two more tablespoons of coconut flour – one tablespoon at a time – until the mixture is a soft but somewhat sticky dough. No more than 3 additional tablespoons should be used.
5. Using a small scoop, make balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking pan, about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. If you are making your rolls larger than 1 Tbsp each, bake longer.
7. When the bottoms are lightly brown, but the tops are not, remove from the oven.
8. Promptly remove from the baking pan and place in a tea towel lined bowl. Serve warm.

And there you have it!  Delicious, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside dinner rolls...yum!

Trisha