Today we are estimated to get a foot of snow here in northern Illinois. Not what I wanted to hear but that is what I get for choosing to live near Chicago!  Since I'm expecting a snow day tomorrow, it is the perfect time for today's recipe: Beef Stew Delight.

My husband will be thrilled because this is his absolute favorite crockpot recipe that I make on a regular basis. Momma always said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and Momma was always right!

Don't worry - it cooks down so that your kids won't get tipsy :)

This is a slow cook recipe which takes all day to cook. I typically set the timer to start cooking around 10:00 in the morning. It is the perfect crock pot recipe for chilly winter days. It takes a little extra effort but you'll see that it's completely worth it! You can delete or add from the recipe depending on your family's taste.

Beef Stew Delight

Total Cooktime: 6-8 hours

What you will need:

•  2-3 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 c. beer
• 1/4 c. flour

Fill a ziplock bag with 1/2 cup of flour. Dump in the beef cubes and coat thoroughly.

Get out a saute pan and melt the butter. Brown the beef cubes just until all sides have been seared. Drain off the excess fat.

In your crockpot combine the meat, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and beer. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours (all day) until the meat is tender.

Crank the crockpot up to high. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour in a small amount of water (about 4T). Stir into the crockpot and cook on high for an additional 30-40 minutes.

Complete the meal by serving this over egg noodles or rice.

Family Verdict:  My husband loves this recipe! The meat turns out so tender it practically is falling apart when you lift it on the fork. One thing we tend to do with the recipe is to add 3/4 C. baby carrots, 5 peeled and cubed potatoes and 4C. of beef broth. This really gives you more of a beef stew consistency that our family just loves. It's really up to you - cooking is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Add the ingredients you like and odds are you'll have a winner!

As for the type of beer you should choose: get creative!  Try a wide variety of beers from light beer to Guinness. A good rule of thumb is if you would drink it - it will taste good to you when you cook it. I'd love to hear how your batch went!

Enjoy!