Spicy Fall Beef Stew with Apples
This is not your typical beef stew with carrots and potatoes. This slow cooker beef stew is a new twist on old comfort food. It’s full of flavor and fragrant from the addition of apples, apricots, and my favorite spice blend Garam Masala.
Gouge my eyes out. What day is it? I need a nap, my back hurts, my hair is frizzy, my wash machine smells musty. Kenny has been out of town since Saturday. He’s in sunny Seattle, while we’re in rainy Michigan. I think he brought our lovely fall weather with him and Seattles misty mess showed up here in its place. What’s better on a dreary rainy day than beef stew? I have many versions of beef stew here, but none quite like this. This weather calls for more than just comfort food, it’s screaming for flavor!
With my main squeeze gone, and me left to man the battleship alone, I not only had the dilemma of getting dinner on the table this week, but getting my blog post up on time! So What’s 4 Dinner Wednesdays is a wee bit late this week. Please forgive.
This stew was inspired by a recipe for Moroccan-Spiced Beef Stew I found in my Slow Cooker Revolution Cookbook. I didn’t have the right ingredients so I improvised and came up with this new twist on an old fashioned comfort food.
Apples and apricots are not something I would normally think to pair with beef, but now that I have I can’t imagine anything better!
And BTW….my kids loved it!
Beef Stew brings a few things to mind….thanks to the movie Benchwarmers beef stew took on a whole new meaning that I rather not discuss at this time, or think about…but now I am thinking about it…EWWww.
When attempting to describe beef stew a few words pop to mind, brown, gravy, brown, and gravy….oh did I say that already? That’s why I wanted to share this recipe, this beef stew is everything but nondescript and blah. Although come to think of it I have a few other beef stew recipes posted and none of them are really brown and boring but none fly off the flavor charts quite like this one. Garam Masala and loads of paprika give this stew an extraordinary punch of flavor.
If you have never used Garam Masala before you must start. It includes a blend of coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, dried chilies, and sometimes cumin, cloves, fennel, and mace…..see what’s I’m sayin’. In the words of Guy Fieri “flavortown”. Garam Masala can be found right along side all your other favorite spices.
The fact that this is a slow cooker recipe make it a no brainer for the Dinner Dilemma series. It took me 15 minutes to throw together, then I just turned my cooker on high and left it alone for 7 hours. You can also cook on low for up to 9 hours, perfect for anyone that works outside the home.
Just in case apples, apricots, and garam masala are way out of your comfort zone for beef stew here are a few of my tried and true favorites…one is even an award winner!
I hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods!
XOX, Sheila
Spicy Fall Beef Stew With Apples
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of Stew Meat 1 inch cubes of Round Steak works well
- 14 ounce can Garbanzo Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 pound Carrots
- 2 heaping tablespoons Instant Tapioca
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup sliced Onion
- 1 Apple cored and diced (any variety)
- 1/2 cup Dried Apricots rough chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 heaping tablespoon Garam Masala
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Paprika
- 1 large Bay Leaf
- 3 cups Beef Broth
Instructions
5 or 7 quart slow cooker, Cook on high for 5-6 hours/ on low for 8-9 hours.
- Place cubes of stew meat in bottom of slow cooker. Drain and rinse can of garbanzo beans (chick peas) pour beans over meat. Sprinkle instant tapioca and 1/2 teaspoon salt over meat and beans. Place carrots over top and poke some down in with the meat.
- In a skillet heat olive oil over medium heat, when oil is hot place onion, apple, and chopped apricots in pan and stir around until onion begins to brown and apple starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, garam masala, and paprika to the pan stir around over heat for 1 minute, releasing the flavors of the spices.
- Pour onion apple mixture over meat and carrots in your slow cooker. Pour 1 cup of the beef broth into the skillet that the onion was in, pour this liquid in to your slow cooker, this will get any spices that may have been left in pan, you don’t want to leave any flavor behind! Pour the remaining 2 cups of broth into your slow cooker. The liquid should come up near the top of your onions and apples but should not cover completely.
- Serve over rice or noodles, alone (with bread on the side) is good too!
I LOVE my slow cooker and THIS is going in it ASAP! Looks so delish!!! And perfect for this cold weather…. we got a LITTLE snow this morning!
Wow, I wouldn’t have put those together in a stew either but now that I think about it, it sounds wonderful. Tough to think of mist and cold when it’s nearly 90 degrees here. 🙂
This sounds delish – so it’s going on my TRY THIS list. We traveled to Holland on Wednesday just to see the color – we were not disappointed – a lot more color than here in IN. Even though it rained and there was no sun, we enjoyed the drive (and good eats in Holland) and seeing the 4 ft waves on the lake before heading back to Indiana. Michigan offers so much beauty especially this time of year.
What a fun drive, glad even thought the weather was ick you were able to enjoy your scenic drive. We love Holland! Was just there tonight for the Hope/ Calvin volleyball shoot out!
Wow — Love this take on beef stew. I adore garam masala … now you have me totally craving a hearty stew like this.
Thank you Sarah! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you try it and Enjoy! xo Sheila
Love the flavors and spices in this. SO totally unique… and now I’m craving stew. :9
OOOO you need to try this one!! Itsa wiener 😉
Your dinner dilemma posts are so helpful! I love this idea for beef stew, with APPLES! Such a great twist, Sheila!
Yum!! And I will say our weather has been pretty good. Too bad you couldn’t come with, we could’ve gone out for margaritas together! 🙂
Margaritas sounds wonderful!! I’m hopping the next plane 😉
Love the dinner dilemma wednesday series. I find so many great ideas- this included!!
Kelly, I would love to have you as a Dinner Dilemma guest blogger 😉 LMK!! no pressure of course. Thanks for stopping in! Sheila
Love all of these flavors!!! And fist pump for garam masala recipes on the same day!!!! Kisses from rainy GR. 🙂
Seriously…great minds think alike!
I am DEFINITELY going to try this, just printed it off. I’m intrigued by the beef with the fruits and garam masala…have a feeling we’re all going to love it! And, hey, I just started your recommendation “Bread & Wine”…it’s great so far!! 🙂
Brenda, I would love to chat with you after you’re done reading. Wish you lived nearby so you could join our dinner club that started as a result of this book! XOX Sheila
LOVE beef stew! It’s the ultimate comfort food. This variation sounds and looks super tasty!
Thank you! Thanks for stopping in!