Acupuncture Healthcare

How I managed to live without a crock-pot, I will never know…but that is a digression into life before cooking.

Winter days are for hibernating, contemplating, and in general slowing down. Seasonally this is the time to eat warming, grounding, slow-cooked foods. The crock-pot was made for winter, and it truly makes winter dining a pleasure.

Stews, soups, beans, lentils, roasts and jook are some of the great dinners that can be made in the crock-pot.  Best of all, once the ingredients are added to the pot in the morning,  dinner is ready when you get home!

A couple of notes about my preferences for this next recipe: I am not fond of the bland russet potato, I prefer potatoes with flavor such as fingerling or baby Dutch yellows, so I do not use russets in this recipe. Once I substituted yams for half of the potoatoes —that was yummy. Also, during the winter months, Scott and I stock up on stew meat, so that when I get the fancy for beef stew, it’s a relatively easy endeavor to thaw the meat and get started.

The best Irish Beef Stew I ever made, I used four cups of bone stock and two cups of beef stock with this recipe. Absolutely body-boggling fantastic! We could feel the soup nourishing all the ways to our bones. But how to make your own bone stock is another blog for another time. By the way this recipe can be made in a crock pot, but I tend to make a big batch to eat throughout the week so I make it on the stove in a large pot.  Enjoy!

Irish Beef Stew Recipe from Simply Recipes
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 1/4 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 large garlic cloves, minced
* 6 cups beef stock
* I cup of Guinness beer
* 1 cup of fine red wine
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 Tablespoon sugar
* 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
* 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
* 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
* Salt and Pepper
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Method
1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Salt and pepper to taste. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)

Serves 4 to 6.

Tags: appetite, dinner, jook, Recipes, soup, stew