Jul 29 2009
badass slow cooker beef stew
Everybody knows the Crock Pot of the ’70s has been reborn as the slow cooker of the ’00s, and every busy parent/cook/homemaker must have one. If you don’t, get one, or you can do this recipe in a pot on the stove as long as you don’t mind having stuff cooking on your stove for like 20 hours.
I got the basis of this recipe from my friend Genevieve via Facebook. I actually know Genevieve in real life, but haven’t seen her for like 12 years or something. So, yay for Facebook. I’ve added and changed a few things to make it, well, more badass. It should come as no surprise to those who know me at all that one of the things I did was add alcohol – wine, in this case. But enough build-up. Here’s the recipe.
What you need
- 1 lb stew beef – cut into 1″ cubes
- 2 onion – rough chop
- 3–4 russets or small bag of creamer potatoes fron Trader Joe’s – rough chop
- 1 small bag baby carrots
- 1 bag sliced button mushrooms Trader Joe’s (or one package, chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic – chopped or crushed
- 2 cans stewed plum tomatoes (or one large can)
- 1/2 bag frozen corn
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups red wine
- Worchestershire sauce
- salt
- pepper
- italian seasoning
- garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
- flour
Put everything else EXCEPT the corn and peas into the slow cooker. (Note: don’t overfill your slow cooker. Leave a little space at the top or it’ll boil over and make a mess. You may have to leave out a few potatoes or something to fit everything in if your slow cooker is small. No biggie.) Add with the rest of the wine, the broth, and some Worchestershire. How much Worchestershire? You know, some. More than a tablespoon, less than a cup. Some. It’s good. Don’t be shy with it. Add all the seasonings in generous amounts and set the slow cooker on high for four hours. At that point, stir it and add the frozen corn and peas. Set it on low and do one of two things.
If you simply can’t wait, cook it another 30–60 minutes on low and serve it. It will be good. But, it will be a lot better if you cook it on low another 6-8 hours (overnight works well) and have it for dinner the next day. For extra awesomeness, let it cool and then reheat. Basically, as long as it’s cooking on low, the longer it cooks the better it will be.
If you make this leave a comment to let me know how it was, especially if you change anything that you think makes it better. Enjoy.
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Lovin the crockpot recipies…specially in this weather. Keem em coming!
love this recipe. It’s so easy compared to other stovetop beef stew recipes I’ve tried and the flavor is fantastic. I’ve also substituted guinness for the wine and it works great too.