Rainbows and Leprechauns

Happy Belated St Paddy’s Day- All Rainbows and Leprechauns

Leprechaun Rainbow Stock Photos

I hope your day was filled with Rainbows, pots of gold and Leprechauns. Did you do anything to celebrate? A pint of Guinness or just a green beer?. I made beef stew. Its not quite Irish stew but close. What is the difference between classic beef stew and Irish stew? According to the internet its all in the meat. Traditional Irish Stew uses lamb (mutton) while beef uses, well, beef.

a very cute and adorable few day old lamb

Lamb stock photo

Beef Cattle Stock Photos,

I love making stew since we have slow cookers now and I confess, I often cheat by using the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef Stew seasoning packets. I’ve found it keeps the prep simple and the flavor consistent. But whether I make it from scratch with beef broth and seasonings or use the packets one step I never skip is browning the stew meat.

I dump all those little meat cubes in a plastic bag with flour, salt and pepper and give them a good shake to coat. Then I toss them into a hot cast iron pan and brown the sides. Once they are all browned up into the crock pot they go. (By the way, I started using a liner and it makes clean up a breeze. )

My mom used to add a can of Veg All but I just chop up celery, carrots and onions and lots of potatoes. Any kind will do but I like the Yukon gold the best for my stew.

Beef Stew- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Basic Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs beef stew meat , cut in 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas ground black pepper
1 1/2 Cups beef broth
4 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium onion , chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the meat in a plastic bag or large bowl and coat with flour, salt and pepper
Brown the floured meat and place in your crock pot/ slow cooker
Add Broth, Vegetables and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Set Slow Cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

NOTES

You can add other seasonings to taste like garlic, paprika, a dash of Worcestershire sauce for example. Like I mentioned above, My mom always added a can of Veg-All.
I’ve used the low setting and the high settings and I have the best luck for tender, fall apart meat with the low setting. Long and slow wins in my house every time but when time is an issue I’d rather use high and a shorter cook time than go without.
AS mentioned above, the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef Stew Seasoning packets produce a consistently flavored stew and are easy to use and you don’t need the beef broth when you use them. Just water