My crock pot has officially been on my counter for 3 months straight.
I’m really trying to dig deep and understand why I love soups, chilis, and stews so much. I only have so much counter space and this is getting ridiculous.
My first thought was the geographic location of my childhood. It was cold pretty much all the time (at least by my standards now), but I don’t remember eating chili every night growing up. I actually don’t remember much chili until I made my own vegetarian chili from a box. I can’t imagine it was actually good, but it did win a chili cook-off.
So if it wasn’t my geography, maybe it’s because it’s eaten in a bowl. I have very strong feelings about eating out of bowls. In my opinion, every meal should be eaten out of a bowl. Except steak. It’s a pain in the ass to cut without a solid foundation. I’ve tried more times that I’d like to admit.
Anyways, this obsession didn’t develop until college, where I only ate off-brand mac & cheese and soy chai lattes. Those were the days…of so many unknown blood sugar problems. Despite this, the bowls were great. I actually remember buying my very first bowl after moving out of my parents house. It was $4 at Pier One and I cried when my roommate broke it.
After learning what protein was and cultivating an obsession for fitness, my mac & cheese days were over. I switched to canned soup. Specifically bean and lentil soups because those were the highest protein vegetarian options you could find without cooking or shopping anywhere but Kroger. Not the best. Not the worst. Just lots of gas.
Since then, I’ve upped my bowl game and have collected quite a few one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls. I received a few from my grandparents, was gifted one handmade in my brother’s small town, picked one up in my hometown’s Small Business Saturday that just so happen to match my grandparents bowls, and most excitingly, bought two unique bowls in a tiny town in Spain. The stories of these bowls always give me a smile when I use them. But is it the bowl itself that makes me happy? Or is it the prospect of crying/sweating from the heat of my dinner? Hard to say.
That makes me wonder if it’s actually the flavor that makes me love chili, soups, and stews so much. Seems obvious. Most people like foods because of the flavor. But foods in bowls often have much more flavor than foods on plates. At least in my household. Curries, chilis loaded with peppers and cumin, and soups with a bone broth base are always in the fridge.
But going beyond that, eating foods that require a bowl is freedom. Food with flavor is a breaking up with my former self. The self who thought plain chicken breast and steamed broccoli was the epitome of health. Not so much. That food ruined me – digestively, physically, and emotionally. I wouldn’t have touched a meal using full-fat coconut milk or chicken thighs with a 10-foot pole. Now I combine the two and freaking LOVE it. Michelle of 2016 is long gone. Michelle of 2018 is, so far, just eating stew out of her favorite bowl.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 lbs grass-fed stew beef
- 2 cups butternut squash
- 3 stalks celery
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups bone broth I use homemade chicken bone broth
- 1 can organic tomato paste
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 8-10 leaves fresh sage
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried Italian herb blend
- 1 tbsp pink himalayan salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- chopped green onion to top stew, if desired
Ingredients
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|
- Chop the butternut squash, celery, onion, and garlic. Add to crock pot.
- Add stew meat, broth, tomato paste, coconut aminos, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to crock pot. Mix well.
- Top the mixture with two sprigs of rosemary.
- Set crock pot to low and let cook for 8-10 hours.
If the stew comes out more liquid-y that you like, add 2 tablespoons or so of tapioca starch to the whole batch to thicken it up. If you'll be storing/saving portions for later, add the tapioca starch as you're reheating and only use 1-2 teaspoons.