Beef Stew (slowcooker)

Well, hello there. I didn't see you come in. I was a little preoccupied with this steamy bowl of beefy goodness...

Serves: 4
Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 3-6 hours

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb stew beef
• 1/2 c flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5-6 carrots, chopped (or a good handful baby carrots)
• 4-5 potatoes, cubed (bite size)
• 1-2 packages brown gravy mix
• 3-4 shakes worchestire sauce
• 3/4 to 1 onion, cut into thick wedges
• 2 cubes beef bullion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shakes onion flakes (Ooo, that rhymes!)

 Directions:

1. Cube beef into bite size chunks.
2. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a ziploc bag, add beef, and shake to coat.
3. Optional: if you're in a pinch for time, brown the coated beef in a skillet in order to reduce overall cooking time to 3 hours instead of 6.
4. Add carrots, potatoes, onion, bullion, and gravy mix to a slowcooker with 5 cups water.
5. Add the beef on top and season with worchestire sauce, garlic, and onion flakes.
6. Close the lid and cook on low 6 hours or high 3 hours (if pre-browned beef). Stir once half-way though.
7. Also, optional: I like to add a little butter to mine when dishing up and then smash all my potatoes. Just saying.

Why pre-brown if cooking on high? Cooking stew meat too quickly can make the meat tough. Browning the outside locks in the juices and keeps the meat tender!

Is it necessary to put the beef on top? No, but I like to make sure my potatoes are nice and done.