Fiction Diner: Crockpot Alcohol-free Irish Stew

I found the inspiration for this recipe while scrolling through Pinterest. After viewing a variety of recipes and crockpot directions, I developed this recipe for you. Let me just say that it tastes as good as it smells and it goes great with a tall glass of sweet tea! 🙂 

Crockpot Alcohol-free Irish Stew: 

You can serve this stew over a mound of mashed potatoes as I did or chop the potatoes up and add them to the stew and enjoy in a bowl. It’s your call. For me, I was itching to try it out over a mound of mashed potatoes since this was a new idea for me.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of stew meat
4 Tb tomato sauce
3 Tb flour
drizzle of olive oil
4 large carrots
2 cans of beef stock
*1 can of peas

Directions: 
Coat meat in salt, pepper, and flour. Toss to coat evenly, adding another tablespoon of flour if needed for an even coat. Drizzle olive oil in a pan and sear the beef until it’s brown on all sides.
Peel and chop carrots.
Add beef stock, meat, tomato sauce, and carrots into crockpot. Season to taste. Cook on high for 4 hr or until meat is tender.
Add peas into the pot in the last hour.

Tips:
As mentioned this recipe can be served over mashed potatoes or you could add potatoes into the pot at the same time as the carrots.
The gravy didn’t thicken up as much as I would have liked, so if you have a preferred thickening method feel free to add that step to your process…and tell me about it so I can try it next time. 😉

Novel Quote:

 Let me set the stage for this quote. We’re in Ireland in 1170 on the eve of battle. The faithful warrior enters in and informs our heroine of their plan to keep her safe. She thanks him, and he replies,

“You are my princess.” -The Distant Tide by Heather Day Gilbert, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection. 

There’s something so beautiful and simplistic about that line that made me sigh every time I read it.