Guinness Beef Stew in a Crock Pot

With my Irish father in town, I wanted a ready-made meal after a long day of sight-seeing. I chose a hearty beef stew and wanted to incorporate his favorite beer, Guinness. I was worried that we left it in too long, but after 10 hours on low and 2 hours on warm ( it was a long day of sight-seeing) it was still awesome! Makes a flavorful, thick sauce to dip bread in. I filled the crock pot to the top because I wanted enough for them to have lunch left-overs, so decrease the amounts if needed. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 8 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 8 -10  red potatoes, skin on, quartered
• 6  carrots, peeled, sliced into thick chunks
• 2  stalks celery, cut in chunks
• 3  bay leaves
• 3  lbs  stew meat, cubed (I used chuck)
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 1  dash salt
• 1  dash pepper
• 1  dash garlic powder
• 2 -3  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 4  large garlic cloves, minced
• 8  ounces baby portabella mushrooms, halved
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 10 3⁄4 ounces beef broth (I used consomme)
• 1 (13 g) envelope  Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1  teaspoon  creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
• 1  teaspoon  Italian herb seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
• 12  ounces beer (Guinness, draught or stout)
• 1  cup  frozen peas, if desired

Directions

1. Put potato, carrot, and celery chunks in the bottom of crock pot. Top with 2 bay leaves.
2. Season flour with a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder and coat the beef with the flour mixture. Heat a couple of tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat in a large skillet and add 1 bay leaf. Sauté beef in batches, just until browned.(It took me about 3 batches in a 12" skillet). Add more oil to pan as necessary for each batch. Remove and set aside.
3. Add onion and garlic to the same pan and sauté over med heat for a few minutes, then add about half the can of beef broth to deglaze, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. (That's Flavor!).
4. Add meat and onions to crock pot, top with mushrooms.
5. Mix remaining beef broth with tomato sauce, onion soup mix, remaining seasonings, and add to crock pot. Pour in most of bottle of beer (whatever fits, I had a few sips left for me).
6. Cook 8 hours on low heat. Stir in frozen peas when done, they'll heat up on their own.
7. Serve with crusty French bread!
8. *Tony Chachere's and Mrs. Dash are my "go-to" seasonings for everything. You can use your favorite if these are not available.