Foodie Friday ~ Guinness Stew

It's FRIDAY!! Woo hoo! With St. Patty's Day right around the corner it's time to start thinking about the most important thing about this day....what we're going to eat and drink!!!! Now, what to drink is a no-brainer--you gotta go for a nice tall pint (or 3) of Guinness. But why stop there?! Why not throw a pint into your meal, too!!??

Although I tuck away my soup and stew recipes come spring, this Guinness Stew recipe is an exception. I make it every St. Patty's Day because it's easy, delicious and and forces me to buy Guinness and drink the leftovers! Bottoms up!!!

Photo Credit: Blissfully Delicious

Beef & Guinness Stew
**serves 4-6

1 lb. stew meat, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can of Guinness
1 cup beef stock (or more, as it cooks)
3-45large carrots, cut into chunks
2 springs fresh thyme
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt/Pepper

1. Toss stew meat with flour, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.

2. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large skillet and cook meat in batches until it is just golden brown on the outside (does NOT need to be cooked through).

**LAZY GIRL NOTE: You can skip the browning of the meat and just throw it right until the crockpot after you have seasoned it, but know that you will be missing a KEY layer of flavor that happens when you brown the meat.

3. Toss browned meat into the crockpot along with the onions, garlic, carrot, tomato paste and sprigs of thyme. Pour beef stock and Guinness down over the top of everything and give everything a nice stir.

4. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 5-6 hours until meat is tender. If the stew needs more liquid as it cooks, feel free to add more beer or beef stock :)

5. Serve with Irish soda bread or any crusty bread...and more Guinness :) Because remember....

Now go get your Irish on!

Recipe Wednesday: Stew with Red Wine & Bacon

Stew with Red Wine and BACON? Do I really need to say more?

It's pretty much forbidden in my house and bust out the soups and stews until the temps drop below about 60 degrees. So these cozy, one-pot dishes are pretty much reserved for December, January and February around here. Since "winter" has finally hit in Northern California (kinda, sorta), I am ready for some full-on cozy, comfort food! This is my go-to one-pot, slow cooker dish. One of of the main ingredients is WINE, sooooooo does anything else need to be said? Make it. Now!

A little background because I have to give credit where credit is due...this is my sweet friend Maureen's recipe. Maureen was my teacher's aide back when I taught an elementary school special ed class. At the time, she had 3 kids in high school and I had 2 little-little "babies." She was always SOOOOOO amazing and supportive with both work and "personal stuff." If I had to call in sick because my kids were sick, she always just took over the class and I never had to worry about anything. She saw me cry and supported me countless times in the four years we worked together in that crazy, crazy job. She was always my biggest cheerleader and she is one of the reasons (although she doesn't know this) that I started attending church.

Anyway--enough of the sappy stuff. Maureen is an amazing cook, so she was always making and sharing something delicious! This is her grandmother's stew recipe that she shared with me years ago and it's still on my recipe repertoire all the time in the winter!

Stew with Red Wine & Bacon
5-6 slices of bacon, diced
1lb stew meat (you can buy it already cut into chunks)
3-4 carrots cut into chunks
1 medium onion, sliced
4-5 small red potatoes cut into chunks (you can use any kind of potatoes)
1 tablespoon of flour
1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste
About a 1/2 to 3/4 bottle or more of good red wine (the bolder the better--i like using a Zin..as in the red kind, not White Zin- LOL!)
1 cup of beef stock (store bought)
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika


1. In a large skillet cook bacon pieces into almost done and most of the fat has rendered out.

2. Meanwhile, toss the meat lightly in flour and salt/pepper and about a tablespoon of smoked paprika.

**If you are short on time, skip to Lazy Girl's Note below** :)

3. If there is a large amount of grease from the bacon, drain a little out (but not all of it!). In the skillet with the bacon grease, add meat and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the meat is browned on the outside (DOES NOT have to be cooked through!)

4. Remove meat and toss it in the crockpot.

**Lazy Girl's Note: You can skip browning the meat and just throw it into the crockpot if you are really pressed for time. However, I always take the extra 10 minutes or so because all of that amazing bacon grease is just sitting there, waiting to be used!!!

5. To the crockpot, add veggies,  reserved bacon, tomato paste, beef stock and wine. Give it and good stir. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours or HIGH 5-6 hours until meat is super tender. While it's cooking, if it seems to need more liquid, add more wine (or beef stock).

I always serve this up with some nice, crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful juices. It's soooooooooooo good!

XO ~ Casey