Irish Stew in slow cooker

Irish Stew

As soon as October hits, I pull out the slow cooker. It's that time of year when the temperature dips and the hunger for warm comfort food rises. I love chilli, soup and stew, so I decided to start with an Irish stew on this cool Autumn day.

Below is a delicious recipe for Irish stew in a slow cooker. I swear, if you give this a try you will not be disappointed. The beef literally falls apart, it's so tender and delicious. The flavours are intense, and so savoury! I only wish I had a larger slow cooker so I could make double the servings to last all week. Yum!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2lbs top sirloin beef or lamb, cubed

3 large potatoes, cubed

3 large stalks celery, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 large onion, diced

1 cup frozen peas

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp olive oil

3 cups rich beef broth

1 cup Guinness stout 

1/2 cup red wine

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp dry thyme

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp Worcestershire 

1 tsp back pepper

parsely for garnish 

Method

In a hot pot with some oil, brown the beef/lamb.  Do not over crowd the pot, so you'll want to brown the pieces in batches. When you've finished browning, add garlic for a minute, then add Guinness and red wine. After a few minutes of simmering, transfer all of it to the slow cooker. In the same pot, add a bit more oil, and all the vegetables. Let cook to soften on medium heat for about 20 minutes, then transfer to slow cooker. 

Grab a large mixing bowl and add broth, tomato paste, sugar, salt, dry thyme, bay leaf, worcestershire and black pepper. Mix and add to the slower cooker. It should be nice and full. Give it a bit of a stir to incorporate everything, and set it on high. Let sit 4 - 6 hours. 

Not long before serving, mix 3 tbsp flour with some of the hot broth, then pour back into the stew. I also add more green peas at this stage because I like the pop of colour. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken, and then serve.

Enjoy hot with some buttered bread.

Happy Autumn everyone x

Chipotle Chicken Chilli with Sweet Potato

It's Autumn and you know what that means fellow foodies! COMFORT FOOD!

One of my favourite kitchen gadgets to use this time of year is the slow cooker. Here is a different kind of chilli recipe that I came up with based solely on my love for sweet potato and also by being a bit tired of the conventional chilli recipes out there. Give it a try!

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts, cubed

2 sweet potatoes, cubed

1 onion, chopped

1 cup canned black beans

1 cup corn niblets

1/2 cup water

3 chipotles peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black cracked pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

Method

In large pan over high heat, heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil. Add chicken and onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add potato and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes until slightly tender. Move all contents of pan to a slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and stir. Set on low and cook for 5+ hours. Serve with green onion, sour cream, avocado or crushed tortilla chips.

Enjoy!