Crock Pot Beef Stew

Last week we had a cold, blustery day that called out for something hearty and home cooked. I had some bottom round beef in the fridge and settled on beef stew. Typically beef stew in our house involves throwing some beef, frozen veggies, broth and tomatoes in the crock pot and leaving it go. I wanted to be a little more sophisticated with this dish so here is what I came up with:



Classic Crock Pot Beef Stew

• 1-2 pounds bottom round, fat trimmed and cut to 2" cubes
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp each salt, pepper and garlic powder
• Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (or pearl onions)
• 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, don't drain the juice
• 1 cup vegetable or tomato juice (I used a small can of V8)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered
• 2 cups baby carrots (go for the organic, the taste is WAY better)
• 2 cans beef broth
• 1 TB salt
• 1 TB dry thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn

1. In a bowl mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the beef to the flour mix and coat. 
2. Heat a skillet with about 3 TB olive oil. Brown the meat in batches (don't overcrowd the pan). Make sure each piece is nice and brown. (Add more olive oil throughout the cooking process.)
3. Transfer cooked beef to the crock pot. 
4. Add the onion to the skillet and saute until tender. Transfer to the crock pot. 
5. Pour the wine into the skillet and scrape any stuck on bits of yumminess. 
6. Add the remaining ingredients to the crock pot, cover and cook on low 7-9 hours or high for 4 hours. 
7. Add the peas and corn for the last 30 minutes of cooking. 

We served our stew with crusty bread that I warmed in the oven, with olive oil and herbs as well as our favorite warm goat cheese recipe. I'll make sure to get that recipe out soon!