Hearty Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Fall is in the air.

It's awesome!

Do you know what's even awesome-er?

The smell of steaming hot beef stew wafting through the house at the end of a busy busy day!

I'll share the recipe I adapted from my beloved BHG wedding-gift cookbook.

Aw, just looking at the picture above has me feeling nostalgic and a little sad...

That's my kitchen.

I really do miss my kitchen.

It's hard not having your own space, particularly your own kitchen.

But dry those tears everyone because- insert drum roll please- we finally found a house!!!!!

I'll share more on that later. Let's get back to the stew.

Here's what you need:

3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

4-5 carrots, either chopped or sliced

1/2 - 1 onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, diced or chopped

1 beef boullion cube

1 bay leaf

oregano and basil {& any other spices you like}

a few shakes of Mrs. Dash

1 1/2 cups V-8 vegetable juice

1 1/2 cups water

dash Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

1/2 - 1 lb beef

1/2 or so cup unbleached flour

canola oil for cooking beef cubes

 

Food? I smell food.... 

My constant kitchen companion, ha!

  Here's what you do:

I buy a cheaper solid cut of beef and cut it into cubes; coat cubes in flour and cook in oil until brown.

**I prefer to put the flour in a pie plate instead of a plastic bag, but some people like to "shake" to coat**

Okay, this next picture looks kinda gross, but it's how the meat looks as it's cooking

I usually brown the meat the night before so I don't have to deal with it in the morning.
I store it in a covered container in the fridge, and be warned, it looks really nasty at this point. Argh.
But I think this extra time actually makes the meat more tender, which makes the stew delicious.
You can also prepare the veggies ahead of time and leave them covered overnight in the fridge.
That's my favorite way to make beef stew. Much less drama in the morning.  =)

Place beef in crock pot, then veggies right on top.
Fill a liquid measuring cup with the V-8 and water - you can completely cater to taste here.
I don't care for too much tomato taste so this is a great combo for me.
Play around with the ratio to get what's perfect for you.
Be generous with the spices. Add a dash or two of the Worcestershire sauce.
Plop in the little cube and pour all of this over the beef and veggies.

Put the cover on and cook on low for about 6-7 hours.
My crock pot tends to run a tad warm, so maybe this would take longer with another one.
Buy or make fresh bread for dipping, and dinner is served. Yum!

My kids think it's fun to "win" the serving with the bay leaf.
Maybe they're just weirdies. That's okay. They're cute.
Don't eat the leaf - it was just for flavoring.
But dig in to everything else!
Perfect for a busy fall day.

Click HERE for the recipe for delicious, homemade rolls.

linking up here 

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