I knew it was going to be a cold, cloudy, sleety, NASTY day yesterday so it was a perfect day to try out not one but two recipes I found on Pinterest.  Beef Stew and Beer Bread.

I have made many different beef stews over the years, but they all had several steps to prep, which is very time consuming and not out the door quickly.  I’ve been looking for a fast one, that was hearty and flavorful so when I saw this recipe; Crock Pot Beef Stew it appealed to me. 

1 pound beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced
4-6 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 bay leaf
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato soup
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas

Place beef cubes at the bottom of the crock pot. Layer carrots, then potatoes, placing bay leaf on top. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients and pour over beef and veggies.

Cover with lid and cook on low 6-10 hours.
So yummy with Rhodes bread and honey butter.

 

I already had the beef stew meat cut up into cubes since I had bought some on sale a few weeks ago so I just poured the dethawed meat into the crock pot, then instead of using full carrots sliced, I used half a bag of mini carrots I had in the fridge and added the rest of the ingredients.  The only other change I made to this was at the last minute I realized I didn’t have any frozen peas but I did have a big bag of frozen mixed veggies so I used those instead.  I then cooked it on low for 7 hours which was perfect. The start to finish prep time was 15 minutes, perfectly acceptable out the door quickly prep time in my opinion. 

and here it is:

John loved it and so did I! Thick and hearty with just the perfect blend of flavors. We had two huge servings and have at least 3-4 more left.  It is definitely a freezer friendly meal as well.

Next up was the Honey Beer Bread.  Now I must admit, there is a very special place in my heart for Beer Bread as my dad use to make it for us all the time as kids. It was so good and I can still see it, smell it and taste it.  It was chuck full of love and fun and goodness so no recipe will ever be as good as dad’s but this one sounded pretty good so I decided to give it a whirl.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)

(Makes 1 loaf)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed.  (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter.  (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Prep was simple and straight forward and let me tell you the baking aroma,  mixed with the Beef Stew cooking was to die for. Total comfort food smells. The bread cooked perfectly in 50 minutes,  It was a heavy loaf and the top crust was a bit crumblier than I expected it to be. 

My first impression  was WOW you can taste the beer, it was very strong, in my opinion. John thought it was perfectly flavored though. I personally still think I used to strong a beer (Corona, which was all we had in the house).  Next time I think I will just buy a can of Bud, it’s what dad always used

What won me over though was this mornings taste test.  The recipe is clear about eating it immediately out of the oven.  We had half  of the loaf left over so I cut myself a slice this morning, added some butter and munched away.  The beer taste was so much less strong and it was really good. 

So overall another successful Pinterest Recipe challenge.  I will definitely be making both again soon.

And with this review done I am out of here, lots to get done today.  If you are blogging Pinterest challenges somewhere let me know so I can go read them.  Until next time, take care!