Guinness Stew for St. Paddy's

Top o'th mornin' to ya! I made this slow-cooker stew in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I used to never care a whiff about this feast day, mostly because it's little more now than an excuse for college kids to get drunk, and I just don't dig that scene. But once I married a man named Patrick, it became a lot more meaningful to me.

So now I raise a pint each year to me hubby's patron saint and pray me Irish blessings like a good lass. Erin Go Bragh! Or whatever.

• 1-2lbs. cubed stew meat (I used beef, but lamb would be scrumptious too - and very traditional)
• 2 cans of tomato soup + 1 soup can of water
• 2 cups diced carrots
• 1/2 bag of frozen peas
• 1 pkg dry onion soup mix
• 1 14oz. can of Guinness

Grease bottom of your slow cooker, place meat on the bottom. Pour onion soup on top of the meat, followed by the tomato soup and water. Next layer the carrots on top of the soup, and pour the Guinness all over everything. (Actually I used about 3/4 of the can; Patrick drank the rest of it with his breakfast.) Slow cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. During the last hour of cooking, dump in the peas and give the stew a stir. You can also shred the meat with two forks at this point, if you like.

I served this over mashed potatoes, so it was kind of like shepherd's pie as well as stew. Wow it was good. Very comforting! But you could also cube some potatoes and throw them into the stew along with the carrots and I bet that would be good too. Enjoy!