Beef Stew

There are a couple of items in my kitchen that I absolutely cannot live without.  One is definitely my slow cooker.  I suggest that anyone who does not own one to go out and buy one, and anyone who does own one to pull it off the shelf and put that baby to work!  Here is the recipe I used for a warm you up and filling stew:

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3 lb beef stew meat
3 large onions, cut into eighths
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups water
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 dried bay leaves
1 bag (1 lb) ready to eat baby cut carrots
1 bag (1 lb) frozen cut green beans

1. In 4 to 5 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except green beans.

2. Cover, cook on High heat setting 6 or 7 hours, stirring occasionally, adding green beans during last hour of cook time.  Before serving remove and discard bay leaves.

Recipe from bettycrocker.com


I don't know if anyone has ever tried to dig through a 5 quart slow cooker for bay leaves but it is next to impossible. I found one by chance but the other one has evaded me.  I could not find beef bouillon granules at the store so I substituted it with 1 beef bouillon cube.  For the diced tomatoes I used a can that was flavored with roasted garlic and onion.  Now the one thing about this recipe I didn't understand was there were no potatoes in the stew so I added about a pound of potatoes and after that it was perfection.  I will say that this is a HUGE amount of food, but it is perfect for leftovers!    

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