Being I am so much more of a morning person than a night person I love to cook in the morning, not elaborate breakfasts mind you but Dinner. I prep , chop and set up my slow cooker and it’s all in by 8 a.m. I cooked this on low for 8 hours and then on high for 2. You can do it on high for 6-8 as well. Almost fool-proof and you’ll love the benefits. When you enter your home at the end of the day your house will smell amazing, your dinner will be almost ready and you’ll have one pot to clean after dinner! Wow! Now of course you’ll have a bit of a mess in the morning but that’s OK because you’ll have more energy in the morning . Shop ahead and have all your ingredients ready and you’re set . I love slow cooker meals. Perfect week-night meal and you can freeze left over just add a little beef broth when you heat it up. ( as needed)
This is what I did:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes — the butcher usually has this meat already cut up. You can add an extra lb. of meat if you have more people.
5 medium size carrots, sliced into chunks
1 lb. baby potatoes — they come in a bag and are perfect just the way they are. Of course you can cut up larger potatoes if you wish.
1 small white onion–diced
3 cloves garlic–minced
3 cups Beef Broth
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasonings–dry and available in most spice sections
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Flour
2 cups Frozen Peas– I used frozen peas you can also add frozen corn if you like or use both.
Directions:
Take out the meat and dry it off with a paper towel. Sprinkle liberally with Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper on all sides. Heat a skillet with a little olive oil and sear on each side for a few minutes just to get a crust on the meat. You will not be cooking the meat just searing.
I spray my slow-cooker with cooking spray (Pam) and then add the meat, the carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic.
Add the beef broth , tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and I added about a 1/2 tsp. of Kosher Salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill (6) . You can taste at some point and always add more.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours or High for 6-8 hours. An hour before serving, I take out about a cup of gravy from the beef stew and whisk with 1/4 cup flour. Then stir into the stew along with the frozen peas. Stir and taste for S and P at this point.
I let it cook on high for 2 more hours. You should let it cook for at least 1 more hour after the addition of the flour. The flour will thicken the gravy, so you’ll want to cook for at least 1 more hour on high setting.
Enjoy! a loaf of crusty bread would be in order on the side.
If you don’t want potatoes you can cook up some broad egg noodles which would also be delicious or just omit the carbs all together . Do whatever you like with this recipe it’s very adaptable.