Ingredients:
3 pounds stew beef, cubed
4 potatoes, peeled & cubed
4 carrots, peeled thickly sliced
1 onion, peeled & cut in wedges
2 ribs celery thickly sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups beef broth
dash Worcestershire sauce
and/or dash balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Place potatoes, carrots and onions in bottom of large crock pot. In a gallon ziplock bag, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Place stew beef in the bag and coat with flour mixture.
Heat oil over med-high heat in a large heavy skillet. Sear the beef in the oil, and place on top of vegetables in crock pot.
De-glaze the pan with the beef broth, scraping all that great burnt stuff off the bottom, and pour it over the roast. Sprinkle with a dash of both Worcestershire sauce and/or balsamic vinegar - you can use one or the other or both depending on your taste.
Depending on your slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours. Stew is done when meat is fork tender. Remove the meat & vegetables and thicken the broth with flour if desired.
Note: You can substitute any spices that suit your taste in the flour mixture, oregano is just a suggestion that has worked well for me in the past. Let me know what you try!
