Stifado (Greek Stew)

I pinned a post recently for summer slow cooker meal ideas.  One of the ideas featured in that pin was for a greek stew called stifado from Dialed-In Nutrition.  It sounded really good - plus I was trying to use up some of last year's beef before I pick up our beef this week.  So I made this for dinner one night last week.  I cut out a lot of the prep work to make it super easy to prepare and I don't feel like it really cut the flavors or taste at all.  I also cut out the optional ingredients and switched out a few for what I had on hand - I posted the recipe below as I made it.  This was very good - we all really liked it a lot.  My brother-in-law had dinner with us the night I made this and he thought it was very good, as well.  I served it with orzo, some roasted zucchini fries and roasted mushrooms. 

Greek Stifado

3 Tablespoons coconut oil
2-3 pounds grassfed beef, cut into 1 1/2" cubes (I used a chuck roast and cut it up)
1 medium onion, chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup tomato puree (I just used a can of diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Add everything into your crockpot.  Stir to incorporate ingredients.  Cover.  Let cook on low for at least 8 hours. 


This post is shared at:
Monday Mania @ The Healthy Home Economist
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival @ Hartke is Online

Collard Greens

Sorry I've been MIA for quite awhile.  Life has been quite busy preparing for the arrival of our new baby girl for many months.  She has now joined our family and life is still pretty crazy.  But I'm hoping to be able to post a few things here and there a little more regularly now.  I've got a back-log of posts that I want to get up on the blog, but I'm going to start with this one because collards are in season now and they make a regular appearance on our table once or twice a week these days. 

We have bought into a local, organic CSA this summer since I knew I wouldn't have time to tend a garden with a new baby.  We are loving it so far!  We're getting the chance to cook with and eat some veggies that we wouldn't normally grow (but likely will in the future).  One of which is collard greens.  We are really loving the greens.  I figured I'd share how I've been preparing them each week.  They take some time to cook, but its not active time on my part, so they're super easy to make.  And they turn out super moist, tender, and flavorful every time.  We all really like them a lot.  I make kale this way, as well. 

This is just the base recipe.  But I've also used bacon grease instead of the olive oil and added some chopped bacon to the greens at the end, which resulted in even more deliciousness. 

Collard Greens

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds washed collard greens
2 cups chicken broth

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Rip the collard greens from the stems and tear into small pieces.  Add to the pan.  Pour chicken broth over greens and stir.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes.