There is nothing like cracking open a beer at 7:15 in the morning. On a Wednesday. And while I may or may not have done just that with the express purpose of consuming said beer in my younger and more exciting days, I still get pretty excited about it even if I’m just going to pour it into a slow cooker over a bunch of meat and veggies. Because BEER.

For this I used a triple IPA (India Pale Ale) but I’ve used Guinness or other IPAs to good results in the past. Do not, I repeat, do NOT use what we lovingly refer to in our house as “yellow beer.” We love yellow beer, but it’s not right for this application.

So there you have it, the secret to my amazing vegetable beef soup. A good ale or a bottle of Guinness brings flavor to the party like nothing else. And even if you think you’re not a beer drinker, just trust me on this. You will like it. It’s subtle, with all the other flavors in your pot, but it’s a fine nuance above just beef broth or water or bouillon.

Other than the ale, my soup is pretty standard, but it’s exactly how I like it, after many years of experimenting.

My kids like it (the alcohol cooks off, don’t worry) and it makes a huge amount, which is great because sometimes I love not cooking.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2014/oct/15/280607/

Veggie-Ale Beef Soup

2 to 2 1/2 pounds stew meat

3 large carrots

3 stalks celery

1/2 large onion

1 bottle of beer – preferably Guinness or IPA (lots of flavor)

1 box beef broth

1 can diced tomatoes

4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon pepper (I like white pepper for this — it’s finely ground)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat a large skillet (I used cast iron) over high heat and add the stew meat in to brown thoroughly on all sides.

Meanwhile, peel and dice your potatoes (I like to have a little skin left on). Toss all that into your slow cooker, give the celery and carrots a rough chop, and add in a can of diced tomatoes. Cut the onion into large hunks and add it to the pot. Then pour the beer and beef broth over everything. Add in the spices and sugar, and put it on high to cook for at least 6 hours.

You can add whatever other veggies you like. I have thrown in a bag of peas, frozen green beans, even corn and kidney beans in the past. Whatever you have will work, but usually I prefer the uniformity of size and simplicity of the basic ingredients I have here.

I serve it with some crusty bread and nice cheddar cheese. And I am happy. Mostly because I have very few dishes to do, and dinner is ready when I walk in the door after work.