Earlier this year, I mentioned in a post that I joined a really inspiring food blogging group on Facebook.  This group is full of so much fun and positivity.  And, duh, photographic inspiration!  Seeing everyone else’s work cuts both ways for me – on the one hand, I feel like I have so much work left to do; on the other, it is so inspiring to see how others photograph food!

I met Anyonita through this group, and asked if I could make one of her recipes for my blog.  She has a vast selection of delicious recipes on her site, //Anyonita Nibbles//, where she focuses primarily on gluten-free eats.  It was really difficult to choose just one recipe, but this //beef bourguignon// was the winner!

Beef bourguignon is probably one of my husband’s favorite dishes, so I knew I had to make this.  Also, bonus?  It’s a crock pot recipe!  I have made a couple different beef bourguignon recipes over the years that require hours of simmering and watching a pot, with tons of different ingredients, and granted, they were all tasty, but oh so much effort.  This recipe was practically effortless, and I LOVE simple crock pot recipes that I can throw together on a Sunday and have leftovers for lunch at work the next day!

The only thing I did different here was, Anyonita recommends serving with carrots and mashed potatoes, but I decided to put sliced carrots into the stew itself.  I added these to the bacon fat in the skillet just prior to adding the shallots, as they would need some more time to cook down a bit.  Then everything went into the crock pot with some delicious red wine, and oh, what a rich, hearty, delicious beef stew!

This was so easy, and so quick, that it will definitely make my fall rotation of soups and stews.  (I know, I know, it’s the middle of summer and I’m already counting down to fall… it’s my favorite season!)

Y’all go make this recipe, it gets two thumbs up from me!