Irish Beef Stew

I have made this twice now and we really like it! The first time we ate it as stew, this time I made it into a shepherd’s pie. Both were that perfect comfort food for cold winter evenings!

2-3 pounds beef stew meat, chunks

1 small onion, chopped

3-4 large carrots, peeled & sliced

6-10 mushrooms, rough chopped

5-7 potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2-3 stalks celery, sliced

1 bottle Guinness stout beer

1 Tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon thyme

3 bay leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 cups cabbage, rough chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Brown stew meat in a bit of oil in a skillet.

Add meat and remaining ingredients, except for cabbage and parsley, to the crock pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low 8-10 hours, or until tender and bubbly.

Add cabbage last hour of cooking. Stir in parsley just before thickening.

Thicken with flour & water mixture and whisk in until smooth and stew is thick.

Here’s what you do if you want to make shepherd’s pie with it.

Leave out the potatoes when making the stew. Make them into mashed potatoes instead.

When the stew is done, spoon it into a glass baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. If you want, sprinkle the potatoes with shredded white cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are a bit golden and cheese is melted.