ST. PATRICK'S DAY- SLOW COOKER GUINNESS BEEF STEW

According to www.history.com, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, lived in the fifth century and was the national apostle of Ireland. Kidnapped from his homeland of Roman Britain and brought to Ireland at the age of sixteen as a slave, he escaped, but returned to Ireland, and brought Christianity to the people.  His date of death was believed to be March 17, 461 A.D., and it was in the ensuring centuries that the mythology surrounding his ministry became more ingrained in the Irish culture.  Probably the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity using the three leaves of the shamrock, Ireland's native clover.  The Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick's Day began to be observed on March 17 around the ninth or 10th century.  The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762.  Today, the official New York City St. Patrick's Day is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.

For those of us of Irish descent, and for those of you who wish you were, we have a tendency to serve the traditional foods on St. Patrick's Day as our form of observance.  My ancestors came from Ireland over 200 years ago, and I've never been there, but I like to honor their memory on that day.  It took great courage in that time for a woman alone to make that voyage.  I would like to think that I possess at least some of Nancy's courage and fortitude.  And so, in that spirit, I present to you my recipe for Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew.

GUINNESS BEEF STEW

adapted from  Eons

3-4 lb. beef stew meat

1/4 c all-purpose flour

2 cans (6 oz.) tomato paste

8 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half     

1 onion, cut into chunks

3 c beef broth

1 bottle Guinness Extra Stout

10 garlic cloves, sliced

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 c frozen mixed vegetables (peas & carrots)

Place meat in bottom of slow cooker and cover with flour.  Add tomato paste, potatoes, and onion.  Pour broth and stout over mixture.  Add garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cook on High for 4 hours.  Add frozen vegetables and cook on High for additional 2 hours.

MUSIC TO COOK BY

Molly Malone

Until next time, Happy Cooking!  : )

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May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.  - Irish toast