happy new year!!

or

feliz año!! as they say back in my home country ;)

It’s been a GREAT year and here’s to another amazing one. i love starting a new year; you become wiser, more experienced and there’s always a brighter future ahead that you can’t wait to get your hands on. Welcome 2013!!

2012 was a bit bittersweet. it was amazing because my boyfriend of 6 1/2 years and I got married and it was the best day of my entire existence; words cannot describe the day. it was sweet because i got to see my mom after 3 years {she lives in venezuela}. it was sweet because our niece Pearl was born :)

it was bitter because we lost a family member and i was faced with a few health problems, which was hard on me and a bit on my faith. but i never lost sight of my faith and it’s stronger than ever!

to celebrate the start of 2013, i’m going to share one of my favorite winter recipes ever. beef stew. but this time i tweaked my recipe and added christmas ale. christmas ale is a local beer from the city of cleveland, ohio brewed by great lakes brewing company. it’s an amazing beer brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and other spices.

here’s the how to and down below you’ll find the recipe and directions.

a few of the key ingredients!

coat beef chunks with all purpose flour before browning.

cook in a hot pan with some oil until brown. do it in batches so you don’t crowd the pan.

cook the chopped onion to medium heat for a couple of minutes until caramelized.

add water, beef stock or chicken stock to hot pan and celery. cook for a few minutes.

onions ready to go in the crock pot!

turn crock pot to high and add broth, celery, onions and tomato paste.

i used a masher for the tomatoes so they weren’t as a whole. you can use a food processor and then add the tomatoes to the crock pot.

mix well until combined.

carrots are probably one of my favorite vegetables!!

add beef, potatoes, the rest of the broth and bay leaves. mix well.

and here it is!! mmmm.. so good!

a slow one, but good one!
christmas ale beef stew

ingredients:
2 pounds stewing beef
6 carrots, cut in 2 inch chunks
4 russet or yukon gold potatoes, cut in 3 inch chunks
4 celery stacks, cut 1 1/2 inch chunks
2 ripped tomatoes, cut in 2 inch chunks
1/2 big white onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves

seasoning:
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sea salt, and more if needed
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups homemade low fat/low sodium chicken broth or store bought {beef broth or water works great too!}
1/2 cup {or more} Christmas ale beer or any other beer you have in the fridge
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil

serves 8 people {aka leftovers}.

directions:
turn crock pot on {slow cooker} and set to high.

coat beef with flour. i do it in two batches so the beef it’s well covered. do 2 tbsp of flour at a time.

heat skillet to medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. let it heat up and add beef chunks covered in flour in two batches so it’s easy to manage. brown beef until golden and let it rest in a bowl.

in the same skillet add 2 tbsp of olive oil to cook the onions. cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally, add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. put onions and garlic in a bowl and set aside.

add 1 cup chicken broth to same skillet and add celery. cook for 3 minutes and add to crock pot along with tomato paste and tomatoes. mash tomatoes with a potato masher in the crock pot or you can mash them with a food processor.

stir celery, tomato paste and mashed tomatoes until well combined.

add carrots, potatoes, beef, onions, garlic, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, bay leaves to the crock pot and stir until all ingredients are combined. add 1/2 cup chicken broth and if it’s too dry add an extra 1/4 cup. don’t add more than that since it’s going to cook for a long time and all the ingredients will release water in the process.

cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 7 hours.

add beer 2 hours before the final cooking time. i.e. hour #3 if you cook it on high or hour #5 if you cook it on low. if you can’t, then add beer when you start cooking the beef stew :)

taste and if it needs extra salt, go ahead and season to taste, stir.

serve hot!!

{i made this recipe in a 6-quart crock pot. if you don’t have a slow cooker, you can cook the beef stew in a 350f oven for 3 hours or so.}

here’re some more pictures related to this post! if you follow me on instagram probably saw it already ;)