Beef Stew

My mom made this stew for us when I was growing up.  I remember my first time making it in college. It tasted SO good, especially after most of the on-campus food I'd been subjected to!  There is minimal prep work involved, in my opinion, and since you throw it in the crock pot, once you get your ingredients ready to go, you're pretty much done!  Feel free to veer away from the recipe as written.  I never incorporate celery into my stew and I prefer extra carrots to potatoes.  You really can't go wrong with this recipe, so put in what you like, add more of your favorites, and at the end of the day, you'll have a delicious dinner waiting for you!

2# stew meat
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 clove garlic
4 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
2 onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced

Place meat in the crock pot.  Mix the flour, salt, and pepper, and pour it over the meat.  Stir to coat the meat with the flour mixture.  Then add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.  Stir thoroughly before serving.

I didn't take a picture of the raw meat in the crock pot because it doesn't look all that nice, but here are some pictures of the other things I tossed in on top of the meat.

I also cut up a large onion, which you can see underneath the carrots here.

Add the beef broth and stir up the stew, then set to the designated cooking level based on how much time you have on hand.

Serve up along with a fresh loaf of bread or your favorite salad or fruit.  Enjoy!