Home Made Yeast Rolls

These are so good and pretty easy to make.

Heres what to do:

1/3 Cup real butter
1 Cup full fat milk
1/3 Cup sugar
1 Tbl. active dry yeast
4 Cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs

I use a Kitchen Aid blender. You can do this by hand also. These directions are for the kitchen aid.
Place milk and butter in saucepan. You are not going to even let this simmer. Watch this close and melt butter. You want the milk to reach 120 degrees. Yeast works best in a temp. of 110 - 115. So if the milk is 120 by the time you pour it into the metal bowl it will cool off. I check it with a thermometer and make sure it is not below 110 as this will not activate the yeast and not above 120 as this will kill the yeast. Pour warmed milk and butter into blender bowl (have the dough hook on the blender) and add the sugar and stir. Then sprinkle with the yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. It should start to foam up and smell like yeast. Add 3/4th of the flour and the salt. Start to blend. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to blend. You will blend on number 2 to 3 for 5-7 minutes. The dough will be sticky but should pull together and be smooth. If it is too sticky add a tablespoon of flour one at a time till it blends to a smooth consistency. It should feel moist and not dry at all. Sprinkle the counter with what is left of the flour onto the counter and put the dough on it and knead for a minute or two till dough is soft and slightly sticky. form into a ball and place in a oiled bowl. Oil the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap and then a towel. Place in warm area and let rise 60-90 minutes or till dough has doubled in size. Once dough has doubles place dough on counter and pat down slightly. Cut into 12 equal pieces and form into balls. Place on lightly oiled sheet pan. Cover and let rise another 60-90 minutes till doubled in size. Bake in preheated over (350 degrees) for 20-30 minutes till deep brown and done.

Beef Guinness Stew

This is a really good stew anytime but perfect for one of those Irish holidays. It is adapted from a few recipes that I researched. Heres what I did: You can half this if you want.


Guinness Beef Stew:
 5 lbs. bonelss beef chuck. Trimmed and cut into chunks. (chuck roast in my opinion makes the best stew meat.)
8 strips of bacon, cut or sliced into small pieces
4 large onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper (the salt and pepper is really to taste)
8 cloves of garlic minced
2 (14oz. Guinness beer. I actually used a little less. I probably used about 20oz.)
1/2 cup tomato paste
8-10 sprigs thyme
6 carrots, cleaned and cut into one inch slices
4 ribs of celery cut into one inch slices
5 Cups of chicken stock (enough to just cover ingredients in cooking pot
1-2 tsp. sugar (to offset the bitterness of the guinness)

In large stew pot add bacon and fry till crisp. remove to a bowl with slotted spoon. Leave bacon grease in pan. Liberally salt and pepper your beef chunks. On med-high brown the beef chunks and remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon (you can add the browned beef to the same bowl with the bacon.) Add chopped onions and saute till they start to get some color. You should have a nice brown glaze stuck to the bottom of the pot. This is where a lot of flavor is and will impart good flavor to the stew. Add the minced garlic to the onions and stir for a minute. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Pour beer into the pot to de-glaze the pot. Stir and scrape all the brown off the bottom. Add the beef and onions and any juice that has collected in the bowl. Add tomato paste,thyme, sliced carrots and celery. Stir. Add enough chicken stock to just cover ingredients. Add 1 tsp sugar and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a mild simmer. Cover and cook one hour. Skim fat and foam off top and give it a good stir. Cover and cook another hour and skim fat and foam again. Cover and continue to cook till beef is very tender. Once meat is tender remove lid and stir and remove thyme stems. Turn heat up and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook till liquid cooks down some and thickens. Stir regularly. Test and adjust for seasoning.
Serve on mashed potatoes, colcannon, or buttered noodles.