Slow Cooker Beef Stew {Gluten Free}

This is a hearty beef stew, perfect for a cold winter evening. It's a crock pot recipe so you can fix it and forget it as the crock does all the work. By cooking this meat low and slow you can really transform an inexpensive cut of meat into something delightfully tender and delicious. This recipe uses potato starch flour as a gluten free alternative, you can always use all purpose flour instead, the potato starch flour was delicious and thickened the broth amazingly well. This stew is great the next day too, just store in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat on the stove top. Enjoy!

Recipe: (serves 4)
Ingredients
* 1 Tablespoon olive oil
* 1 small onion, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 1/2-2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1/4 cup potato starch flour *gluten free* (or you may use all-purpose flour)
* 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
* 3 large carrots, roughly chopped
* 3 to 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
* 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, in chunks
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 (14-ounce) can stewed tomatoes with their juices
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 2 cups Low-Sodium beef broth
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, onions, garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Add the meat and brown, turning frequently for no more than 2 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the meat with the potato starch flour and turn to coat, remove from the skillet and place into the crock pot.

3. Add all the remaining ingredients (mushrooms, carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme, tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, salt and pepper), to the crock pot and give it a good stir. Place the lid on and cook 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low. Season to taste, serve hot with crusty bread and a fresh green salad.