Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

Well, the weather has certainly made up it's mind to NOT make up it's mind. Once again. Hello Utah.

Thankfully, this past weekend was on the chilly side of life, and this bread bowl was a perfect and easy way to get dinner on the table.

With my Sundays now being filled with, well, everything you can possibly think of (and then some), I've decided this month I'd do a slow cooker recipe every Sunday. It's been a dream, and has been nice to come home after church to dinner already made and piping hot. I love walking up our stairs in anticipation of a wave of fragrant meats slow cooked away in the apartment all afternoon. Best smell to come home to - well, except for a cozy little baby or a handsome hunka husband. Yep, I said it.

This soup was per request. Ryan wanted some hearty meat stew, and lots of it. It came out really great! I needed more salt than I anticipated, though. Adding a little more wasn't a chore, by any means. The soup broth immediately seeped right into the thick bread bowls. The sogginess drives me crazy (I mean, I can't even stand soggy cookies dipped in milk!), but he LOVED it. It's his dream, his bag, his dinner. So I let him go crazy.

xo, 

blondie 

Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

makes 6 servings

ingredients:

2 lbs cubed stew meat 

1/3 C all-purpose flour

3 T EVOO

Red cooking wine

1/2 T salt 

1/2 T ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1 t paprika

1 t Worcestershire sauce 

1 onion, chopped

3 C beef broth

3 potatoes, diced

4 carrots, sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped

chopped parsley for garnish

directions:

1. Add cubed stew meat into a bowl and toss with flour until it's completely coated. Saute coated beef in oil until browned. Deglaze pan with a little wine. Let simmer for about a minute. Pour contents of pan & stew into your large slow cooker. 

2. Layer with salt, pepper, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Toss to mix. Pour beef broth over mixture. Cover with lid, slow cook for 6-8 hours. Serve in a bread bowl with chopped parsley. 

recipe adapted from: all recipes