Bison Stew

Although it is Memorial Day, and we were prepared to cook a few brats with some lovely fixings to make some grilled vegetables, Mother Nature threw us for a loop again and made it 45 degrees and rainy out.. So, the grill lid stays on, and I decided to make a more fitting meal for a cold and blustery day, Bison Stew.  If you've never had Bison meat,  I would strongly recommend it. If has a slightly sweeter taste than beef, and it cooks almost identically. In the Midwest, there are many Bison/Buffalo farms, so if you've the inclination to see where your meat is coming from, you can take a gander as to the conditions of the farm. Closer also means it's local, and if you're like me and where your meat comes from is the only way you'll consume it, that means a lot. It is often grass-fed, and is far leaner and lower in cholesterol than it's beefy counterpart. Did I mention it's delicious? So, I start off any stew by getting out the trusty crockpot. Any busy foodie will attest to the overall awesome nature of the crockpot, since you can gather all your goods and let them stew at a low temperature all day while you do your work type thing. Then, at the end of the day when you're really not into one more obligation, you come home to the decadent aroma of warm garlic, onions and herbs all over your house. And not to mention, dinner is served, and when it's in the form of a meat stew, that meat is going to be crumbly and perfect from the low cooking  temperature. Not to mention full of the flavors of whatever veggies suit your fancy. I start out my stew by gathering my bounty of goods. this varies from whatever sounds good, to what needs to get used up in the pantry:

                                                      So very rustic looking, I can almost picture my old Irish Great-Great grandmother pulling these out of the musty pantry during the Potato Famine.  In addition, I've also started buying Bision in stew pieces, like so:

    Basically because they're convenient and just about the right amount for stew. This is from a  local Buffalo farm and there meat is always excellent quality.

Bison Stew:

-  1 Medium Rutabaga, peeled and cubed
-3 medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
-1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
-3 Bay Leaves
-1 medium onion, chopped
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-1 cup button mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
-1 lb. Bison stew meat
- 1 can Cream of mushroom soup ( I make a batch of this and freeze it in one cup containers, but the stuff from the store works fine too in a pinch)
-2 cups water
-2.5 T. dried minced onions
-4 cubes crumbled beef bullion
-1 t. onion powder
-1/2 t. salt
-1 t. pepper
Directions:
Put all liquid ingredients in crock-pot and stir to combine. Layer vegetables and meat in and cover with liquid. Stir ingredients every few hours to cook evenly, cook on low temp for 5-7 hours.
Nothing tops a beef stew on a cold and windy day. Except of course coming home from a long day at work to having a delicious and perfectly cooked meal waiting for you!

                                                   


Serving with a chunk of buttered bread is the final touch for a fantastically easy dinner.