Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

Our home was filled with the smell of hearty stew, perfect for fall! We had never before tasted butternut squash and found that it enhanced the thickness of this stew. This was my first time to attempt a stew and I'm excited to try out more combinations of meat and veggies.

Here's a new recipe to add to my other recipes, listed in The Kitchen.

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

Ingredients

1 lb beef stew meat (cubed or in chunks)
1/2 half of a large butternut squash (cubed or in chunks)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes(we like things spicy, so we added more)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 green onions (chopped)
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
2 stalks of celery (chopped)
3 large carrots (chopped)
2 medium red potatoes (chopped)
2 cups water
1/2 cube beef bullion

Directions

• Combine cinnamon, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beef and toss it to coat. 
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef, green onions, and garlic and cook about 4 minutes or until meat is browned; stir frequently. 

• While meat is browning, dissolve the beef bullion cube in boiling water. I used two cups because the bullion cubes tend to have a lot of salt and I wanted to dilute it a bit more. 
• Add the tomato, with the juices, and the beef broth you just made.
• Bring the dutch oven to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. 
• Add the squash, celery, potatoes, carrots, cover the dutch oven, and reduce heat to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes. 

• We made a grilled cheese sandwich to dip, too!

This recipe made about 12 cups of soup and we had lots of leftovers. I had leftover white rice and added it to the soup for lunch one day. 

Adapted from this Recipe at Cooking Light

Do you have any yummy dutch oven recipes to share?