Stew

I had one bottle of Guinness Extra Stout left in the fridge from gods know when, so I tried this recipe yesterday:  Guinness Stout Beef Stew (from Kathy Maister’s startcooking.com). It was very simple and didn’t require a lot of attention or fussing, except for the prep work in the beginning. I hate cutting up meat.

• 2 1/2 pounds of stew beef – cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 2 cups of onions – chopped
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of beef broth
• 12 ounces of Guinness Extra Stout
• 3 large carrots – sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 3/4 cup of prunes – pitted

My dad brought over a huge bag of fresh mushrooms on Friday night, so I added a few handfuls of sliced mushrooms with the carrots. The stew turned out really tender and savory. Aya gave the meat and carrots a thumbs up, and she’s not much of a beef fan.