Simple Fare, Fairly Simple

With cooler weather right around the corner, what's better than soups and stews? I love both! Stew is not brain surgery by any means and this recipe is just a basic, simple stew. The onion soup mix gives it a little extra flavor and makes for a really good bowl of warmth!!

Crock Pot Beef Stew



3 pounds stew meat
5 medium potatoes – cut in bite sized chunks
5 carrots – cut in bite sized chunks
3 -4 stalks celery – cut in bite sized chunks
1 medium onion
1 packet onion soup mix
Salt and pepper
4 cups water

Spray crock pot with cooking spray or line crock pot with liner.

Layer stew meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, onion soup mix, salt and pepper in crock pot. Pour water over layered ingredients.

Turn crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours on low or 6 on high.

If you want a thicker stew, make a slurry out of flour/water or cornstarch/water and add to crock pot the last hour or so of cooking.

One thing I like to do is to make this up the night before and put my removable crockpot crock in my fridge. I cover it with plastic wrap and put the lid on. Then in the morning all I have to do is pull it out, remove the plastic wrap, plug it in, turn it on and I'm good to go!

This is what you'll need. I used baby carrots for two reasons. One was because that's all I had....and two, because they are a little sweeter than big carrots. But big carrots sliced in "coins" work fine, too. Just make sure everything is about the same size...makes for even cooking.

Throw everything in the crock pot in no particular order. Sprinkle the onion soup mix over everything then pour the water in.

After it's cooked a most of the day, look at the liquid. If you want it thicker, make a slurry out of cornstarch or flour and water.

Pour it right in and stir it up. I used about 1/4 cup of water and 3 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch. Give it a stir and let it thicken up....about an hour or so.

Warm deliciousness.