Crock-pot beef stew /Gin Lee

Crock-pot stew

On a chilly, damp day there's nothing quite like a crock-pot full of hot simmering beef stew to sink your teeth into.

It's 2:00 AM and I'm up making a crock-pot of beef stew for dinner later on today. I wonder if there is anyone else who stays up cooking in the wee morning hours, like me?

This stew recipe just can't be any simpler to make! The crock-pot does almost all the work for you. Sure, you will have to peel some potatoes, chop up a few carrots, and dice an onion. But you can make this recipe even easier by using canned carrots and potatoes. As for the beef that I used, I purchased pre-cut lean stew meat.

You don't have to season the meat, dredge it with flour, or cook it before adding it to the crock-pot if you don't want to. However, it will add a more distinct flavor to the stew if you do. For my stew, I didn't do this step this time making it. I will, however, be adding some flour to the stew sauce to thicken it.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds of stew meat
• 4-6 chopped carrots
• 4-6 peeled and diced potatoes
• 1 large onion diced
• 1-2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt
• 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
• 1 cup of water

Instructions:

Add all the ingredients into the crock-pot, and stir well. Place the temperature setting on high. Allow the stew to cook for about three hours on high, then stir and turn the temperature down to the lowest setting and simmer for another three to four hours. Serve with homemade cornbread or biscuits.