Venison Stew

I got this ginormous 7 qt dutch oven and nothing brings me more joy then busting it out and creating a cozy soup or stew. My kids are quite discerning (read, picky) and this one is a family favorite, which is great because my father's love language is venison that he shares lavishly with us. When my son was born we realized right away that he had issues with reflux and food intolerances. I had lofty expectations of baby led weaning but given his dietary needs, it meant that I was going to be making his purees. Outside of his big sister, Little Bug's first love was sweet potatoes. It quickly became my "gateway drug" to coaxing him to try a new food. Which brings us here to this sweet bubbling pot of goodness that is venison stew. Gluten free, dairy free and the kids will be so blissfully content with emptying their bowl with no complaints that you'll swear you can hear angels singing.

You'll note that the recipe uses celery flakes. I prefer to use these because I'm in a perpetual state of either forgetting the fresh celery or feeling guilt for not using up all the fresh celery. Dried celery flakes allows me to go hoard several jars of it from Penzey's so I am always ready to throw down with my dutch oven.

Venison Stew

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of venison, tossed in cornstarch

10 cups broth beef broth

2 tsp garlic, minced

2 tsp celery flakes (or fresh celery)

2 large sweet potatoes, diced

1/2 cup sweet potato puree

16 oz bag of frozen carrots

Slurry

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

Toss the venison in the cornstarch.

Heat olive oil in dutch oven. Add venison and brown.

Add garlic and stir in until fragrant. This is the perfect chance to toss in onions if they suit your fancy! It just isn't our jam.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Simmer.....and scroll through Facebook or decide now is the perfect time to make some cornbread.

When the potatoes are soft, mix the slurry until you get out all the clumps. Add mixture to the stew and stir. Thicker stews are easier for little ones to manage, so add another cornstarch slurry if you'd like to thicken further.