Scrumptious Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 cup cubed white potatoes
1 cup (about 20) baby carrots
1 large onion, quartered and cut into fairly large sections
1 cup diced celery
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds lean beef cubes for stew*
1/4 cup dry onion soup recipe mix*
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fat-free beef broth
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Peel the potatoes, if desired, and cut into roughly 1/2–inch cubes. Place evenly in bottom of slow-cooker pot. Scatter onions and carrots over potatoes. Cut celery into roughly 1/2–inch pieces, and add to pot. Add remaining ingredients, except for peas and cornstarch, in order listed. (Do not stir. See *Notes.)

Cover pot and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.

Remove lid and stir stew well. Rinse frozen peas with warm tap water to defrost slightly, and add to pot. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a small jar that has a lid. Cover and shake to combine well. Add half of cornstarch mixture to stew gradually, stirring gently but well. Add remaining cornstarch as needed to reach desired consistency. Serve at once.

Scrumptious Crock Pot Beef Stew

Beverly writes: It seems like I’ve made this beef stew forever – so long that I really have no idea where the recipe came from or if I just made it up. Alicia mentioned the other day that she couldn’t find the recipe for my beef stew in any of our books, and we realized we’d never written about it.

A cryin’ shame! This error must be corrected immediately, and thus, here it is on Kitchen Scoop.

When I tell you that I couldn’t even find a written recipe in any of my files, I am not fibbing. This is one of those endlessly flexible stews. You don’t have to use the exact same vegetables every time or measure precise amounts. That said my beef stew does have a few secret ingredients that should definitely be included. Think of them more as the flavor base: the onion soup mix, the Worcestershire, the dry spices, tomatoes and the mushroom soup.

So this is my beef stew secret. Alicia and I are both thrilled to have an official copy in our virtual recipe box. Let us know if you like it as much as we do.

Scrumptious Crock Pot Beef Stew

Feel Good About: Low-calorie and low-fat. Reduce sodium by using no-salt-added tomatoes

Approximate Values Per Serving: 286 calories (25% from fat), 8 g fat (2 g saturated), 50 mg cholesterol, 29 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, 960 mg sodium

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