Hearty Beef Stew

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 6-7 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (October 2005)

A lot of people would groan knowing that this recipe (a slow cooker recipe) takes 40 minutes to prep. But it is necessary to prebrown the beef and the onions to get the best flavor, and I think it is well worth the time. For me, the beauty of the slow cooker is the long cook time and time to get a lot of things done before serving dinner. If you want to make something, (like biscuits) you have the time. Plus, it is nice to have the smell of dinner all afternoon to whet your appetite.

This is a very tasty stew. I made a half recipe, remembering that they create huge recipes for very large slow cookers. It got 4 good size servings out of this, and I am freezing the leftovers. I was skeptical that the vegetables would end up as flavorful as I like, since they are cooked separately on top in a foil packet. But when stirred in with the beef, the tasty sauce flavors them enough, in additional to their own seasonings.