Beef Stew!

The weather here in Northern Cali has been very odd this summer.  Yesterday, we had rain and lightening!  For as long as I've lived here, rain during the summer is unheard of!  I actually welcome it with open arms considering that we've been experiencing a horrible drought this year. :(

With the weird weather, I wanted to go ahead and try a pin I'd been saving for cold weather.  I've never attempted beef stew before, only had it from the can (thanks, Progresso) or an MRE!  Gotta love military ready to eat meals.  Anyway, after going through a few pins, I found this one:

It had a lot of good reviews on the blog, Get Crocked, managed by the lovely Jenn Bare.  Man, if you want a site with tons of slow cooker recipes, this is the site for you!  There are a few other beef stew recipes on the blog, but this one had the most votes!  The ingredients and directions are as follows:

• 2 lbs. stew beef
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 4 lg. carrots, peeled & sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 lg. potatoes, peeled & chopped into chunks
• 1 c. condensed beef broth
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 1 lg. onion, sliced
• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.) 

1. Layer potatoes on the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Next, layer carrots on top of potatoes.
3. Place meat on top of carrots.
4. Sprinkle meat with soy sauce, salt, paprika, pepper & flour.
5. Layer chopped onions evenly on top of sauce/seasonings.
6. Combine beef broth & tomato sauce and pour over everything in the slow cooker.
7. Cover. Cook on Low for 7 – 8 hrs. (or high 4 – 5 hrs. if pressed for time)

  The husband and I are fans of red potatoes, so we went with 3 large ones for this recipe.

                          

                                 Potatoes first since they take the longest to cook!

Carrot layer

Beef layer and pouring the soy sauce mixture over

ONIONS!

 

And last but not least, the tomato sauce and beef broth 

  

At first I set the slow cooker on high because I started it pretty late.  Almost two hours into it, the husband reminded me that the last time I cooked beef on high in the slow cooker, it was tough.  :(  I switched it to low for 4 more hours.  The aroma coming from the crock pot was amazing!  One of the things I love about cooking with the crock pot is that it fills your house with whatever delicious dish is cooking!  Of course the downfall is that it can make you hungry before it's done!!

The verdict: amazing! Seturned I turned it down in time because the beef came out tender!  Flavorful and hearty! I'll probably add celery and more onions next time, but it really is delicious!