Beef Stew

I think it has been at least 15 years since I made beef stew, maybe longer. And before that, well, we're talkin' High School or Jr. High Home Ec class. Yeah, I'm not a big stew person. But today at the store I was pondering what I had in my pantry/fridge, and saw a nice big pack of beef chunks just calling out to me. So here is what I made:

Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

stew meat
flour
salt & pepper
corn oil

Dredge stew meat in flour that has been liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper. Heat enough corn oil to just barely cover the bottom of a large straight-sided skillet. Brown stew meat.

carrots
parsnips
potatoes
onion
diced tomatoes

Coarsley chop root veggies (peeled or not) and place in bottom of large crock pot. Add browned stew meat and any leftover oil in the pan. Top with chunky slices of onion. Pour a can of diced tomatoes (I used the kind with jalepeno peppers in it) over all and pat down to make sure the juice gets to the bottom. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Remove cover and stir. Turn heat up to HIGH and cook for another hour or so, until a nice gravy forms. Enjoy!

ps- I will probably add some fresh garlic next time, but I was short of prep time today. Quantities are individual preference, and will vary with the size of crock pot you have and also whether you want left overs or not. A bit of salt and pepper wouldn't hurt either; we just seasoned ours at the table.