How to make a husband really happy...

...Beef and Beer.

That's how it's done in our house.

The other day I mentioned in my post that I was making a stew. Well, Matt had a taste for some Guinness Beef Stew like he gets at the local Irish pub in our downtown area.... So he did a little research and found a recipe that he thought would work and I tweaked it to our taste.

Now, I'm not really that into beef, it's too hearty for me, however, I could have eaten this for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next morning.

Matt and I once met a man who knew my Granny from church. He said that her banana pudding was so good that if you put a bowl of it on the top of your head, you'd lick your brains out trying to get it.

That's the only way I can think to describe this beef stew recipe.

Okay, so maybe I'm not willing to lick my brains out for it... but I did lick the bowl clean.

I thought I'd share the recipe and some photos, the way we made it, with you. This recipe should feed a family of four (two adults and two children) so you may need to adjust it for a larger sized family. For a smaller family, it reheats very well. I've included some ideas of how to involve your kids in the prep process as well.

Bowl (or Brain) Lickin' Murphy's Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 pounds stewing beef, boneless and well trimmed, cut into 1 inch cubes (you can usually find it already trimmed and cubed in the meat section)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of crushed thyme
Two pinches of ground cayenne
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup Murphy's Beer (or Guinness - we used Murphy's to mix it up and it's a bit cheaper, but any stout beer will work)
1 cup beef stock
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Bay leaf
2 cups baby carrots (add more or less to your liking)
2 cups chopped potatoes (we used the canned potatoes to save time)
Parsley for garnish
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Prep:

(Let the kids help out!)

Chop up the onion. (I have the Vidalia Chop Wizard... if you don't have it, get it, put it on your Christmas list, do whatever you have to do, just get it! It's one of my favorite kitchen tools. I use it to chop up vegetables, cheese, fruit, meat... whatever needs to be chopped. It's easy to clean and it has a measuring tool on the side. What's also neat is that it is something the kids can use because it doesn't have sharp blades!)

Go ahead and mix the flour, thyme, black pepper, and cayenne

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a wide skillet or saute pan

Add the beef and brown well, stirring occasionally to brown all sides

Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until onion is slightly browned

Add the flour, thyme, black pepper and cayenne to the beef, stirring to make a roux (I didn't know what a roux was, so I googled it... it's a thickening. Below is a photo of what mine looked like)

Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the roux is slightly browned but not burned
Stir in the beer and beef stock and bring to a boil, stirring until the sauce thickens and any lumps are cooked out

Add the carrots, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and the bay leaf

Cover and simmer on low heat for two hours or until the meat is tender

Sprinkle with parsley before serving

Prep + combining took about 20 minutes. I actually cooked it on Sunday night for Monday nights dinner which is why I recommend cooking this ahead of time or as a freezer meal since I know it is easy to reheat. You could also use a crock pot and cook it on low for several hours.

Hope you enjoy this easy meal as much as we did. I guess not only does it make for a happy husband, it makes for a happy wife who isn't having to spend hours in the kitchen on a weekday, and a happy baby who gets more play time with her momma and daddy...

Oh yeah, and some full bellies.

Just to let everyone know - I'm going to be giving my site a bit of a facelift to make it easier to access and load to include moving the music player to the top of the site so that you can pause the music if you like.