Beef Stew

Perhaps where you are it's getting a bit colder. Well, not where I am. In truth, the weather here is usually high 70s in the day and mid 50s in the evening. But I'm feeling very autumnal and heading up to Chicago next week for work, so I'm trying to get in the cold(er) weather mindset. Pair that with a tight budget due to some upcoming home renovations and I thought this week would be a good week to make something in the crock pot that would feed me for several days. So, I thought my mom's beef stew would be a good recipe to tackle and share with you all!

You will need:

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of stew beef (it's usually labeled as such in the butcher section of your grocery store)
• 1 medium sized sweet onion
• 1 package of whole mushrooms
• 1 medium bag of baby carrots or 2 full sized carrots
• 2-3 medium red potatoes
  
• 1 packet of beef stew seasoning (I use McCormick brand)
• Flour
• Vegetable oil
  

1. Coat the stew beef in flour


2. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and brown stew beef on the outside (it will cook the rest of the way through in the crock pot, so just brown them)


3. Quarter the mushrooms, slice the onion and chop the potatoes into small cubes



4. Place everything in the crock pot - don't forget the carrots and the beef! (you'll note I use a crock pot liner - this will make your clean up so much easier!)


5. Dump in the packet of beef stew seasoning


6. Pour in water until the vegetables and beef are covered


7. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.

I'm a big fan of my crock pot because when it's done it switches to the Warm setting so nothing gets overcooked but it's still warm when I wake up or get home from work or whenever. This makes a ton of stew! I like it with some type of bread and I will eat it for days. It's also really good over rice and freezes nicely if you get tired of eating it but want to save it for later. I was eating it for lunch today and Bowie stole my bread >:[ Jerk. Like I said, he gets a bite of just about everything. Bon appetit!