Slow Cooker Beef Stew

With all this winter weather swirling about, I thought beef stew would be perfect. I have made this recipe a couple times and I think I finally perfected it. It's warm, hearty and really delicious. The leftovers were gone in one day! So bundle up and make some stew!!

Beef Stew

~1.5 lbs. of stew beef, cut into bite-size chunks
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups of low sodium beef broth
2-3 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, rough chop
1 tsp. sugar
pepper
paprika
3 bay leaves
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
4 ribs celery, sliced
4 red potatoes, quartered
Tabasco (if you like the spice)

Heat the veg. oil on low in the crockpot (you could also make this in a dutch oven) and add the beef, spices, garlic, and worcestershire sauce.

While that starts to slow cook, wash and chop all the vegetables. Add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot and gently stir to combine.

Cook everything on low for about 2-3 hours, then turn to high for about 5 hours. Dash Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce on top.

Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Notes: This is so delicious! Seriously. It's delicious. If you like a thick, more stew-like consistency you could add some cornstarch to the broth at the end. We like it prepared as listed above. Husband had 2 heaping bowls and I had a very large bowl. The meat was so tender and juicy you could cut it with a spoon. This is so tasty and pretty healthy too!! Next time I think I will serve it up with some cornbread to soak up the tasty juices in the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy!!

Servings: 6
Cook time: 7-8 hours