Crockpot beef stew with root vegetables

Although potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes are not allowed on the paleo diet, other root vegetables are fair game. This dish makes use of three common root vegetables easily found in any grocery store: Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs Chuck Beef, Grass Fed (if you can get that)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into1/3 inch rounds
• 5 Med Parsnips, peeled, sliced into 1/3 inch rounds
• 3 Med Turnips, peeled and cubed
• 6 cloves garlic , crushed and coarsely chopped
• 3 Med onions, coarsely chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 Cup red wine

Directions:

Cut the chuck roast into 1 1/2 inch cubes, trim away any large areas of fat and bones. [The chuck cut of beef is from the shoulder. The bone in a chuck roast is the scapula or the shoulder blade. This part of the animal does a lot of work, thus it is a tough cut of meat with lots of connective tissue as there are many muscle groups here. This particular cut of meat lends well to braising (long moist covered cooking on lower heats). The further from the head cuts of chuck are more tender. Therefore, look for cuts with a longer bone (the scapula in cross section) these are the better cuts of chuck.] In a large cast iron skillet brown the pieces, remove and set aside on a large plate. Add oil, and saute onions until they begin to brown, add garlic and saute for another 2-3 min. Deglaze with red wine: scrub the bottom with wooden spatula to dissolve the tasty brown bits. Place bones on the bottom of the crock pot. [ If you do not have a crock pot use a heavy pot like a dutch oven. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer on low] Transfer the contents of the skillet to the crock pot. Place meat on top. Cook on high for 3 hours. remove bones, add root vegetables and mix well to distribute vegetables evenly. Cook on low for another hour. Drain liquid out of the crock pot and separate the fat out. (This can be done by skimming the fat off the top with a spoon or a bulb baster. Or if you are not eating the stew right away you can refrigerate the liquid and once the fat has hardened it is easily removed. The fat can be reserved for cooking or thrown away.) Add the liquid back to the stew and enjoy!