7 Soups in 7 Days- Beef Stew was a WIN!

Ahhhh so much comfort in a good Beef Stew.... We have lots of Irish going on over here so it always has to have Guiness in it :)  Still no complaints on soup now 3 days in a row.  That amazes me!  In fact, my husband raved about the stew.  We'll see how tonight goes... I'll be trying something I've never made before!

The "extras", as I was reminded by a friend (thanks Andrea!), are very important to keep the man-folk happy when eating soup.  With the stew, my extra was homemade french bread.  You can view the recipe HERE.  Its an awesome and easy recipe.  I let it rise longer than she states though (I don't have a bread machine), and I usually triple the recipe to get 6 loaves and freeze them.

Here's how I make my Guiness Stew (makes enough for 4)

1.5 lbs stew meat
2 cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
1tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves

small sprig of fresh rosemary
salt/pepper
1 bottle Guiness

3/4 c beef broth
3 potatoes, chunked (smallish)

10 baby carrots, cut in half

2 tbsp flour mixed in 1/3 cup water

Brown the beef in olive oil and garlic.  Add bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper, Guiness and broth.  Cover and let simmer on low for a looong time :)  I think I let mine simmer for 2.5 hours or so.  During the last 25 minutes of cooking, add the carrots and potatoes.  When there are 5 minutes left, thicken it up with the flour and water mixture to your liking.