Beef and Beer Stew in the Slow Cooker or on the Stove with Video

Serve with Garlic Smashed Potatoes

I make a killer St. Patrick’s day corned beef that my family loves with Guinness Stout. It cooks all day in the slow cooker, and that was the inspiration for this recipe. I also found another similar stovetop recipe online with a video showing how to make it. You can use that recipe or mine. Whichever one you use, serve it up in a well of garlic smashed potatoes.






Ingredients for Beef and Beer Stew in the Slow Cooker

• 3 pounds of beef stew meat
• ¼ cup of oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bag of peeled baby carrots
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bottle of Guinness Stout

For the smashed potatoes:

• 6 russet potatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup of sour cream
• Milk to thin to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the Beef and Beer Stew

Brown the beef in hot oil. According to Julia Child’s cookbook, dry the beef, then the beef should be browned on all sides, with no pieces touching.
Next, place the beef, vegetables, and spices in the slow cooker.
Pour the Guinness Stout over the top.
Cook on low heat all day for 8-10 hours.
1 hour before serving, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir. This is called a roux.
Add the roux to the beef stew and stir well.
Cover again and cook for another hour.
Prepare the garlic smashed potatoes.
Cook the potatoes and garlic in boiling water for ½ hour or until tender.
Smash the potatoes using a potato masher with the butter and sour cream.
Stir in some salt and pepper and add milk to make the potatoes as thin as you like.
Place the potatoes in a bowl, and make a well.
Pour a heaping ladle of beef and beer stew into the potato well.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Diablo Beef and Rice

Ingredients:
2 lbs of beef stew meat, lean, cut in bite sized chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 small can of chopped green chilis
1 package of taco seasoning
2 tablespoons of flour
1 can (6 ounces) of tomato paste
1 can (6 ounces) of water
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chilis and onions)
2 cups of rice
½ head of lettuce
1 tomato, cut up
½ cucumber, cut up

Preparation:
Put the flour, taco seasoning, and meat into a bag and toss to coat the meat.
Place the meat with the seasoning and flour in the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients except the rice and stir together.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Pour the rice into the slow cooker and turn to high. Cook for 40 minutes or until the rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid.
While the rice cooks, toss the lettuce, tomato, and cucumber for a dinner salad.
Serve with grated cheese and sour cream, if desired.



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Saucy Beef Crockpot Stew

Hot Homemade Bread




For this dinner, everything is prepared in the morning. All you have to do is take the bread out of the bread machine in the afternoon and slice it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 lbs. beef stew meat, trimmed of all fat
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
1 onion, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 Tbsp Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce-32 oz.

Flour and yeast for the bread machine bread

Preparation:
Spray the crock pot with cooking spray or a thin coating of cooking oil.
Place the vegetables in the crock pot.
Place the meat in the crock pot on top of the vegetables.
Stir together the soups, red pepper flakes, and Kitchen Bouquet.
Pour over the meat and vegetables.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Place all the ingredients for the bread in the bread machine according to directions.
Set the delay bake function to have the bread ready 20 minutes before the stew.
Serve the beef stew with the hot homemade bread.


I've used Kitchen Bouquet for years, and there's nothing quite like it for browning and seasoning beef. There isn't any substitute for it. It has it's own unique flavor which is quite tasty. One bottle will last a long time in the kitchen. Store it in the refrigerator for best results.

Beef Pot Pie

Tossed Salad with Walnuts and Mandarin Oranges

Pot pies don’t have to be hard to make. Use ingredients that are already prepped to make it quick to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
1 jar of beef gravy
1 package of frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup of chopped celery, onion, and carrots, mixed
2 frozen pie crusts
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
Tossed salad ingredients:
½ head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup of chopped walnuts
Asian style salad dressing

Preparation:
Set the pie crusts on the counter to thaw out.
Wash and dry the beef stew meat and place it in a Ziploc bag.
Add the flour, salt and pepper to the bag.
Toss the meat to coat in flour.
Cook in hot oil until it is well done.
Remove the beef to a separate dish and cook the celery, onion, and carrots in the oil until tender.
Remove the vegetables and drain the oil from the pan.
Mix the beef, celery, onion, carrots, mixed vegetables, and gravy in the pan and warm through.
Pour the mixture into the bottom pie crust.
Remove the top pie crust from the pan and lay over the top of the other crust.
Crimp the edges together with finger and thumb.
Cut slats into the top crust.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
While the pot pie bakes, toss the salad ingredients together with ¼ cup of salad dressing.

Photo: Joshua M. Neff

Beouf Bourguignon a la Julia Child

After seeing the movie Julie and Juliain the theater yesterday, and watching the classic Boeuf Bourguignon made three times, I decided it was time for me to tackle the dish. Over the years I have eyed the two page recipe in my copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking,considering the myriad steps to the finished product. The steps aren’t difficult; there are just more than two pages of them. I have always passed it over thinking I didn’t have enough time.

Today, the movie scenes of people moaning in delight over the taste of the Boeuf Bourguignon was fresh in my mind, making me wonder if it truly is as wonderful as depicted. I had an open day and had plenty of energy, so there was no backing out. I went to the grocery store in the morning, and picked out a nice cut of beef, a bottle of red wine, some fresh onions, parsley, carrots, and mushrooms, then hurried home to begin the magic.

Although the recipe says to cook the mushrooms and onions after the beef is in the oven, I decided to cook them first, to give them my full attention. I added a sprig of lavender from the garden to the bouquet garni for the onions. I oohed and ahed in amazement as the mushrooms cooked just the way Julia Child said they would. The smell of the onions and mushrooms cooking in butter and beef stock was divine.

Next, I browned the beef after drying it, just as the recipe says you must, and I cooked the carrots and more onions in the pan. I poured the wine over the beef, only taking a tiny sip for myself. Into the oven the casserole went, and I began my first round of kitchen clean-up.

All in all, the Boeuf Bourguignon took about 6 hours to prepare, and about 15 minutes to eat.

Were the actors exaggerating about the taste in the movie? Not a bit.

Will I make it again? Maybe for a holiday dinner when I cook all day anyway.

Was it worth the effort? Definitely.

It was the most incredibly satisfying beef stew my family and I have ever eaten. Julia Child really knew what she was doing.