Slow Cooker Beef Stew
adapted from: BUCHKO’s Slow Cooker Beef Stew I
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1-½ cups red wine
1-½ cups beef broth (or chicken stock if you are in a pinch)
1 packet McCormik’s Beef Stew Seasoning
3 medium Russet potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

Method
Rinse meat and pat dry. In a ziplock bag mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; shake beef in bag to coat with flour mixture. Saute coated beef in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion to beef and cook until browned. Transfer to slow cooker.

Mix beef broth with Worcestershire and red wine. Pour into hot skillet to deglaze, then pour over beef and onions in slow cooker. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Add packet of seasoning.

Cover, and cook on low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Serve with crusty bread.

Did you flinch? Oh I’m sorry.

What is with the aversion to this dish? Is it the cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup? If so, then I heartily agree with you. Yuck!

But get this. It’s really good if you make it from scratch.

I, of course, used my ‘Joy of Cooking’ for the recipe. I like to tweek it by adding rainbow fusilli pasta and vegetables (I used corn and peas which were on hand). For the breadcrumb topping, I smashed up some Caesar salad croutons and sprinkled them on top. Also, I used a mix of cheese: sharp cheddar and parmesan.

And it hit the spot for comfort food.