I don't care for stew made in a crock pot as I think it overcooks the
vegetables, but the following is an old family stand-by

2 1/2 pounds stew meat  (approximate)
I Envelope Lipton Dried Onion Soup Mix
I can Cream of Mushroom Soup
I can of red wine.\
1 Bay Leaf

We usually cook it for about 4 hours in a 300 degree oven but a crock pot
should work as well.

Good with rice or noodles or mashed potatoes
Jo

A lot

Patti--

I am making mine tommorrow! This recipe makes enough to have for
a few meals for two plus some to freeze:

3 lbs London Broil or any good lean beef. (Don't get stew beef there is too
much fat!) Cut it into bite sized chunks.

2 cups flour salted and peppered, spread on a tray or plate.

Coat meat cubes with flour, maybe 15 at a time.

1/2 cup olive oil. Put half in a large, deep skillet or heavy soup pot.
Set burner on high.

When pan is hot, brown meat cubes, being careful not to put too many in the
pot at a time because it takes longer for them to brown. Using
a slotted spoon place browned cubes to drain on paper towels.
(The browning takes the longest, but is worth it. All that good
browned flour becomes the rich brown broth.)

When it looks like you need more oil in the pan, add the other
half of the olive oil.

When all meat is browned, return to the skillet, add four cups
of water, and bring to a boil. (At this point, if you want to put it
in a crock pot on "auto" you can.) Put a few bay leaves in.
Simmer 2.5 hours.

Add potatoes and carrots last 20 minutes if on stove top,
last hour in crock pot. (Sometimes I brown onions and
put them in, too, it just depends on your taste.)

It is a really nice stew, especially if you use fresh ground
pepper and good meat. Remember, some of the leanest
cuts are the toughest, and are meant to be braised this way!

Hope you like it.

I'm not a cook.  I used to take organ lessons in my teacher's home.
Sometimes she would be making chicken soup or stew and she used Rosemary.
Boy! that smelled good.   She added the vegetables later.

You can't eat tomatoes???

I'd starve.  I really would.

Chicken stew is easy; I'm winging this so forgive me.  You'll want to brown
the chicken first.  Chop your veggies (onion, carrots, celery, potatoes,
maybe a parsnip) and put them in the bottom of the crock pot.  Put the
browned chicken pieces on top of the vegetables.

NOTE:  You want to remove the meat from the bones - some cooks here in the
Southern US don't but asthetically I like my stew without having to pick
bones out when I'm eating.  You can use boneless chicken breasts or thighs
if you'd like; still brown them in a skillet in a little oil first; you can
do this the night before and refrigerate it.  Tear the meat into bite-size
pieces.

Anyway, place the chicken on top of the veggies.  Blend a can of cream of
chicken (or cream of celery) soup with a can of water or chicken broth and
add to the pot.  Season with rubbed sage (or "poultry seasoning" which is
mostly sage) and black pepper.  Put the lid on the crock pot and set it on
LOW.  Go to work.  Come home.  Eat.

I like to add dumplings to stew.  If you want to do that, crank the heat up
on the crock pot when you get home so it comes to a simmer.  Mix together
1-3/4 cups. flour, 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/3 c. vegetable
shortening until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in 1 c. milk or buttermilk
with a fork until you have a gooey dough.  Drop this by teaspoonfuls onto
the bubbling stew.  Let it simmer 10 minutes uncovered, then cover the pot
again and cook another 10 minutes.

Jill

I love beef & barley stew. All you need is gravy beef, onions, stock and
lots of pearl barley, plus whatever seasonings you like. An hour before
serving, you might want to pop in some potatoes, but its just as good all by
itself.

Its *eccellent* for a cold winter's night, and ideally should be sopped up
with some nice crusty bread.

Yowie

Try Irish Stew recipes, substitute the lamb with beef.  On we used recently
was modified from the Joy of Cooking.  We took it to a party and everyone
loved it.  It didn't last the evening.

Diane

Irish Stew

Cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 pounds beef

Peel and slice 3/4 cup onions
2/1/2 pounds potatoes  (note we didn't peel the potatoes, just scrubbed them
well and cut them up.)

Put in the bottom of a heavy pan a layer of potatoes, a layer of meat, and a
few slices of onion.  Repeat this twice, ending with potatoes on top.

Season each layer with salt and pepper.  (We also added rosemary, and
garlic)

Add to the pot 1 bay leaf

Pour over the layers:
2 cups of boiling stock or water
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Bring to a boil.  cover and simmer gently about 2 1/2 hours or until the
meat is tender.  Shake the pot periodically to keep the potatoes from
sticking.  When done, all the moisture should have been absorbed by the
potatoes.