Pinterest Fun: Crockpot Beef Stew

So, as I'm sure you've noticed, I've been spending lots of time checking out new recipes (and other fun activities) that I found on Pinterest.

So this week's Pinterest dinner was crockpot beef stew! This recipe was adapted from Marie's Cooking Adventures blog post - which was originally for pot roast... I just like stew better.

Ingredients:

1 pound of baby carrots
4-ish potatos
2-3 pounds of beef stew meat
Ranch dressing mix
Italian dressing mix
Brown gravy mix (I used lower sodium)
3 cups water
Flour
Olive oil

Feel free to add more meat/veggies for your family. This time, I only used 1.5 pounds of meat and that made about 5-6 adult-sized servings. You can also use beef chuck. This last time I couldn't find the beef for stew, and bought boneless short ribs, and diced it myself. Works just as well... just takes longer.

Directions:

1. Dice potatoes. Add carrots & potatoes to bottom of the crockpot.

2. Coat diced beef in flour, and brown in a pan with olive oil. Add to crockpot.
Note: This step is OPTIONAL.
(I take the time to do this because the extra browning adds more flavor, plus if the meat is already cooked when you start the crockpot, all the meat has to do is get oh, so tender!

3. Sprinkle all 3 seasoning packets to the top of the crockpot. Pour apx. 3 cups of water into the pot (more if needed).
Note: Yes, it is weird to have ranch dressing & Italian dressing mix in this stew. Just go with it. As it cooks and blends, it will taste amazing. I promise!

This is where it gets tricky for me...

4. Set the crockpot on high for 5-7 hours.
Note: I had it on high for 5 hours... It was all cooked, but not as tender as I would like. I then let it simmer more on low for another 2-3 hours. If you work, I'm sure setting it to low for 8-10 hours would work just as well.

I don't have pictures of the finished product, but it was delicious (and even better the next day!).

Happy Cooking!