I Cooked! - Beef & Beer Stew

I love beef stew. It's one of my favorite meals. My mother always made it from a recipe on a crusty old index card that got lost in the many moves over the years, so I went in search of a good recipe.

I stumbled upon this recipe and it looked easy. Easy is one of my criteria when I pick a recipe since most of my friends are moms with small children or single ladies, and neither group have the time or desire to spend hours in the kitchen. Since this one didn't require browning the meat first, making a roux, or any effort beyond buying the ingredients and throwing them in the crockpot, I was all for it!

I was leery at first. Could it really be this easy and taste ok?

Yes! As it cooked our place filled with the smells of beer and beef, and had my mouth watering for hours before it was ready to eat.

This is how it all looked 2 hours into cooking. 

It cooked on high in the crockpot for about 6 hours and I was careful not to give into temptation and open it! When it was finished, I wasn't all that excited about the flavor. It lacked a little oomph (for lack of a better description), but next day it was delicious!

The finished product!

Traditionally I make rice to go along with the stew, but it's fabulous on it's own. I like to have something on the side so tortilla chips worked well for me.

Variations:
I love burgundy beef, so next time I think I'll use a good burgundy wine instead of beer. When I do that, I'll let you know how it turns out. If you are adverse to using alcohol, you probably could use beef broth instead.