Celebrate the Luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day

Instructions:​

Cut the beef into 1½- to 2-inch chunks. Pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy-based wide pot over high heat. Add beef and brown the pieces well on all sides. Remove and place on a plate until needed.​

Lower heat to medium. Add additional oil if needed. Add garlic, onions and mushrooms and cook for 3–4 minutes. Add bacon and continue to cook until the bacon is browned (about 5 minutes). Add carrots and celery and continue to cook for 3–5 minutes.​

Add flour to the pan and mix in well. Allow the mixture to cook for 2–3 minutes. Add Guinness to deglaze the pan, then add beef stock and tomato paste. Mix well.​

Add the browned beef (including any juices) and potatoes. Cover and lower heat so mixture is bubbling gently. Let the stew cook covered for 2 hours. After 2 hours the beef should be pretty tender. Remove lid and let the stew continue to simmer for an additional 1–2 hours. The sauce will have reduced and will be flavorful.​

Skim off any surface fat. Adjust seasonings to taste with sea salt and pepper. Remove thyme and serve.​

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Try Irish step dancing​

Free and paid lessons are easy to come by online. You can check out hour-long lessons from a professional freelance dancer living in Galway, Ireland. Or learn a proper stance, skips, hop backs and more.​

If you’re in the mood for a celebratory cocktail, try an Irish Mudslide topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Serve for dessert and kill two birds with one stone. Sláinte! (Cheers!)​

Or start your day by sneaking some greens into your breakfast smoothie, says Ginger Hultin, a registered dietitian nutritionist from Seattle.​

In fact, according to Hultin, author of the cookbook Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep, there are lots of ways to give foods a green twist for St. Patrick’s Day without using green food dye.​

“Get creative with spinach, kale, peppers, wheatgrass, green herbs like parsley and cilantro, green tea and matcha powder, and even natural powders like spirulina or chlorella for that beautiful emerald color,” she says.​

Learn more about St. Patrick​

Want to know more about St. Patrick? Take a look at HISTORY, which features information about the man who wasn’t actually Irish and was never canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. ​

Jennifer Paxton, a clinical associate professor in the history department at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., has lectured on St. Patrick and says he remains an intriguing historical figure. ​

“Who wouldn’t be inspired by someone who campaigned against the slave trade, faced down powerful kings, and battled the medieval equivalent of fake news on his way to sainthood?” she asks.​

​No wonder people revere him.​

"The myth is amazing as well,” Paxton continues. “The Irish turned St. Patrick into a sort of saintly superhero who could defeat druids in magical duels and drive the snakes out of Ireland, creating a marvelous mixture of Christian theology and native Irish mythology.”​​