Slow Cooker Veal Stew

When we were subletting for a month and a half after we first moved to CA (which was almost 3 months ago) and was looking for an apartment, we had everything we owned in storage except for some clothes. It was fine. The place we stayed at was a really nice cottage in El Cerrito and the neighborhood was awesome. The only thing I missed was having all my kitchen stuff. I have attachment issues with them. It’s pretty serious. The one gadget I missed the most was my slow cooker.

I got my slow cooker after threatening my boyfriend for 6 months that he better get it for me for my 27th birthday or else. He listens sometimes, especially when I’m acting like a crazy person…which is always. So when we first officially moved in to our apartment a month ago, I was beyond thrilled to take it out of storage. Now that the weather has cooled slightly, I’m ready for some stews and soups and fall-off-the-bone meats. AWW YEAH. Set it and forget it.

Especially when you are trying to do Paleo on a budget, slow cookers are a really great addition to the kitchen. I know good quality meat can be a bit too pricy for many people, but  you can buy cheaper, tougher cuts of grass-fed, pasteurized meats and turn them into tender and velvety bites of happiness in the slow cooker.

This recipe uses veal stew meat. I got them already cubed at the farmers market and it was labeled “Veal Stew.” The dish is already in the title. So guessed what I did with it? I hate thinking too hard. I already do enough of that watching shows like True Detectives. Hard life, I know.

The most difficult thing about making this dish is prepping the vegetables.

But once you are done doing that, and you put everything in the slow cooker,  you are pretty much done.

Set it and go do some errands, paint your nails, or whatever it is that you can do to distract you from the wonderful aroma coming out of this. It’s totally worth the wait.

SLOW COOKER VEAL STEW

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb veal stew meat
• 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 large onion, sliced
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup water
• Salt and pepper, to taste (omit pepper for AIP)
• 2 sprigs of thyme

Instructions

• Cut the veal into bite-sized cubes.
• In a pan that can fit the veal cubes into 1 layer, melt butter over medium-high heat.
• Add the meat and stir until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
• While the veal is browning, cut up and prepare the vegetables.
• Place the vegetables in the slow cooker and stir them around.
• When the meat cubes are browned, put them in the slow cooker so they are evenly distributed within the vegetables.
• Season with salt and pepper, and place the thyme sprigs over the mixture
• Pour the lemon juice and water over everything.
• Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
• When finished, take out the thyme sprigs before serving. Pour some of the juice over the dish after you plate!

Notes

Depending on the size of your slow cooker and how much it's filled, you may need to adjust the cooking time. I have a big slow cooker and the mixture only filled up to half way, so I only cooked it for 4 hours.