Slow Cooker Mushroom Beef Stew

Another successful slow cooker recipe! This was very yummy (even though it's not very beautiful to look at), and it smelled good all day long as it was cooking.

*Note: The original recipe is called "Wild Mushroom Beef Stew" and calls for shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms were way expensive, so I just got regular ones. It was still yummy. :)


Slow Cooker Mushroom Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1 in. cubes (we bought ours already cubed at the grocery store)
2 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced (I used two ;) )
1 bay leaf
1 t. paprika
1/2 package sliced mushrooms (or 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced...see note above)
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium red potatoes, diced
1 small white onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced

*Side note: I thought all the different words used for cutting things up in this recipe were humorous. Sliced, diced, chopped...ha ha ha. Okay, maybe I'm just silly. ;)

Directions:
Place beef in slow cooker. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl. Sprinkle over beef and stir to coat beef evenly. Add all remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to mix well. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours, or on high 4-6 hours (I did about six hours on high). Stir stew and remove bay leaf before serving.

I just love slow cooker recipes! So easy! This was a nice, fall meal. Very warm and comforting. We had bread and butter with ours, but I wish I had thought of making homemade rolls. That would have been even better. :)