It’s spring break this week and next week for my kids. I took this week off and we decided not to go anywhere, just stay home and have relaxing family time together. It’s been really nice. And, I finally have time to blog! I’ve been so busy with work and the kids’ schedules that I haven’t had as much time to devote to the blog lately, so this is a real treat for me to sit down and blog without being in a rush.

This beautiful beef stew reflects my mood this week – taking it slow and keeping it simple. I also thought it would be a good one to post because St. Patrick’s Day is coming up. I usually like to make a nice hearty stew on St. Patrick’s Day. This would be awesome with a warm loaf of Irish soda bread or beer bread. In my photos, all I had was plain old whole wheat sandwich bread, which isn’t very fancy but honestly, my kids like it the best. That’s fine by me, since it’s the simplest and easiest side to serve with this stew. Whatever you choose, it’s good to have some kind of bread to soak up that gorgeous rich broth.

I use my slow cooker for this stew so it can simmer all day to make the meat super tender. All you need to do is dump all the ingredients in the crockpot and you’ve got a great stew at the end of the day. If you use baby potatoes and baby carrots, you don’t even have to do any chopping beforehand.

So what do the Whine Critics think about this stew? Well, we have it quite often so they’re very familiar with it. The boys are real “meat and potatoes” guys so this is right up their alley. Ayla’s not such a big fan of meat (or food in general lately) so she doesn’t love it. She looks like she approves in this photo, but I think she’s just imitating her brothers!

Ingredients

• 1 lb stewing beef, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 lb baby potatoes, or regular potatoes cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 bag (16 oz) of baby carrots
• 1 can (10 oz) sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Place stewing beef in a crockpot. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and cornstarch. Mix until the beef is fully coated.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir together.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. Remove bay leaf before serving.