Simple & Hearty Guinness Beef Stew

Since it's St Patrick's Day today, I wanted to make something Irish (or at least with something with some Irish influence) for dinner last night. Initially, I thought of making some traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage. So, I went online to look for a good recipe. While browsing through some recipes of Irish dishes, I came across an awesome recipe for Guinness Beef Stew. I thought to myself, "Hey, why not try this instead?" Well, I did and it turned out to be great! Not only was it rather easy to make but it was super yummy too. Let me share this recipe with you guys.

Start off by marinating about two and a half lbs of cubed stew beef (I used chuck) with some freshly crushed black pepper and garlic powder. When you pick your meat, make sure that it has some nice marbling. We do not want to get something that is too lean.
Next, coat the beef cubes in flour that has been seasoned with some salt.
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and throw in a bay leaf or two. Then, saute the beef in batches, just til it turns brown. Remember not to over crowd the pan. It took me about three batches to get it all done. Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside.
Alritey, time to cut up the vegetables. Quarter about 6-7 small red potatoes (leave the skin on) and drop them into the crockpot. Six to seven potatoes is just an estimate. It really depends on how big your potatoes are. Since the red potatoes that I have are really huge, I only used four and cubed them into smaller chunks. Then, add in a couple handfuls of baby carrots. You could also use regular carrots. Just cut them into cubes. If you like, you could also add in some celery. Now, I am not really a big fan of celery, so I decided to leave that out. Top all of that with a couple of bay leaves.
Next, slice up a medium onion and mince a few cloves of garlic. Then, throw them into the pan that you used to brown the meat earlier. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes and then add in about 1/4 can of beef broth (14 oz can) to deglaze the pan. Make sure that you scrap up all the yummy leftover bits from the beef at the bottom of the pan. Those tiny bits are just packed with flavor!
Once you are done with the onions and garlic, add in the beef that you have browned earlier into the crockpot and top that up with the onions and garlic.
After that, place some sliced fresh mushrooms on top of the onions and garlic. I used white mushrooms but you could also use portobellos if you like.
Now, we can start working on the stock. Pour the remaining beef broth into the pan that you used earlier to saute the onions and garlic. Then, add in two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce followed by an envelope of onion soup mix (approx 13g). Mix it all together.
Pour the mixture carefully into the crockpot. Finally, top everything up with a large can (14.9 oz) of Guinness. It really depends on how much space you have in your crockpot. Just crack open a bottle/can of Guinness and fill it to the top. For me, I used the entire large can. Cover your crockpot, set it on HIGH and allow it to cook for about 7 hours. Done! Now, wasn't that easy? I made this early in the day and we had a huge pot of piping hot stew waiting for us by dinner time. The best part of it all was the delicious smell that filled our whole apartment throughout the entire day. Mmmm mmmm mmmmm! I served this Guinness Beef Stew up with mashed potatoes and a some Irish Soda Bread that we had bought earlier from our local grocery store. Go ahead, try this recipe and let me know how it turned out. I bet you will enjoy it as much as we did!

Happy St Patrick's Day Everyone!!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Here is another simple crockpot recipe. I know I have said it many times before, but I'll say it again. I love cooking with the crockpot cos it's just so easy and hassle free. Dump everything in, just leave it and dinner will be ready by evening! We bought a packet of McCormick's Slow Cookers Beef Stroganoff Seasoning the other day, so I decided to try it out for dinner tonight.

It's really simple to make actually. Just dump in about 2 lbs of stew beef that has been cut into small pieces.

Then, add in about 1/2 cup of chopped onions. I chopped up about one large onion.

Next, add in one package (about 8oz) of mushrooms. You can either slice or quarter it. It's up to you.

Now, we have to prepare the seasoning. Add the packet of seasoning into 1 cup of water. Mix it well until its blended.

Pour the seasoning over the beef and vegetables. Mix it until everything is coated well.

Cover the lid, set the crockpot to LOW and allow it to cook for 8 hours. If you do not have much time, you can set it to HIGH and cook for 4 hours. For best results, do not open the lid until it's done cooking.

After 8 hours, add in about 1 cup of sour cream. Stir in the sour cream until it is mixed well. Cover the lid and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, the beef stroganoff is done!! You can serve it over some cooked egg noodles or rice. I served it over of a bed of buttered herb egg noodles. Mmmm mmm mmm, it tasted really good. And the best part? It's just so easy to make!! =)

Crockpot Italian Herb Chicken

I've always been a big fan of cooking with the crock pot. It's so easy, just dump everything into it in the morning, turn it on and dinner will be ready by evening. When we were out grocery shopping a few weeks back, I picked up a packet of McCormick's Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning for slow cookers. It looked pretty interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

This is what you will need to make this dish. McCormick's Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning (of course), one packet of fresh mushrooms, two cans of stewed tomatoes, one can of tomato paste and chicken. I used chicken drumsticks. Of course, you could use any part of the chicken that you like.

Start off by placing 8 pieces of chicken drumsticks into the crock pot.

Then, quarter the fresh mushrooms and add them into the crock pot. You can slice them if you like but I like my mushrooms chunky.

In a bowl, mix the seasoning, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste evenly. Remember, you do not need to drain the stewed tomatoes.

Next, pour the mixture over the chicken and mushrooms in the crock pot and give it a good mix.

Cover the crock pot and set it on "low" for about 8 hours. If you do not have much time, you can set it on "high" for 4 hours. For best results, do not remove the cover of the crock pot until it is done cooking.

After 8 hours, remove the lid, give it a good stir and it's ready. Doesn't it look yummy? The chicken meat was so tender and flavorful! I served it with some whole wheat spaghetti tossed in herbs and butter. A yummy wholesome meal...oh, and the best part? It's so so so easy to make! Dump everything in and forget about it til dinnertime! :D