Crock Pot Beef Stew

easy peasy.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

You Need:

1 1/2 lb stew chunks

1/2 cup wine (red)

1 can tomato soup

1 can beef consomme

1 can cream of celery

4 medium/large potatoes (cut into chunks)

1 tblsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic

1 tsp thyme

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp Kosher salt

3 tsp sugar

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 can corn

2 cans water

To thicken: (do not add till after the stew is done)

cornstarch/water

Directions:

get everything together (potatoes cut up, liquids measured out- etc etc)

toss the meat into a skillet with some oil & the garlic & sear it:

it'll take all of 3-5 minutes. then remove the pan from the heat.

now everything can go into the crock pot.

potatoes, meat, corn, seasonings, b cubes, liquid- all of it.

give it a stir & cook on low for 8-10 hours.

once the meat is tender (8-10 hours in) and everything smells awesome, it's time to thicken up your stew.

some people like flour- but i hate lumps & i use cornstarch.

i eyeball it- so use as much or as little as you want to reach your desired thickness.

i like to start with about 2 tblsp & i mix it with just enough water to dissolve the cornstarch- i then slowly stir it into the stew.

i give it a few minutes, see how thick it is & go from there.

like i said- it's your preference.

once you've got it where you want it- ladle it out & server with some crusty bread.

perfect!

FYI: i'm not a huge fan of tomato based beef stew- so i ended up draining about 3 cups of liquid from the finished stew & replacing it with water (and a little extra salt & an extra boullion cube)

this worked for me- but lots of people DO like tomato based stew. so yeah- whatever you like. i think next time i'll use 1/2 can tomato soup & see how that goes.