Chunky Beef Stew

Ingredients

3-4 lbs Chuck Tender Steak (not thin)
7-10 Medium Potatoes
16 oz Bag of Mini Carrots
1/3 Cup Minced Onions (if you prefer fresh onions, go for it!)
1 pkg McCormick Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew
1 32 oz. Carton Beef Broth
1 tub Knorr Homestyle Stock, Concentrated Stock Beef Broth (comes in a 4 pack)
3 Instant Bouillon Beef Cubes
4 Cups Water / 1/2 Cup Water / 1/2 Cup Water

Prep Time:
        *About an hour

Cooking Times:
        *Overnight: 2 hours on high, 6-8 hours low
         *Daytime:  8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high



Step 1

Using your handy dandy kitchen shears cut your Chuck Tender Steak into bite size chunks.  Unless you crave fat, I strongly urge you to cut away all traces of the offending stuff!  Toss your fat-free chunks into your deep frying pan and start cooking them. Stir frequently.

Step 2

While your meat is cooking peel, rinse and slice your potatoes into bite size chunks.  Toss them into your large Crockpot.  Do the same to your mini carrots.  They go into your Crockpot as well.

*interesting note-Did you know that baby carrots are regular carrots?  No really.  They are simply cut into smaller pieces and then tumbled in a large metal drum until smooth and baby carrot shaped!  Ha!  Trivia is so cool!

Step 3

By now your meat should be cooked.  Ignore the fact that they will most likely be swimming in liquid, pick up the pan and carefully drain as much of the liquid into the sink that you can without any of your meat chunks committing suicide into the sink as well.  Dump into the Crockpot.  Add 1/3 cup minced onions and then stir to mix.  Drop in the 3 bouillon cubes (don't worry, they will dissolve as the stew cooks).

*note - if you want it saltier, add another bouillon cube or two. But beware, you might want to let your diner's add their own salt when it's done as it may end up too salty.

Step 4

Now you can add your liquids!  Pour in your beef broth.  Take one of your 1/2 cups water and add your seasoning packet.  Mix well, until lumps are gone, then add to the pot.  Take your other 1/2 cup water, add the Knorr tub to it, and microwave for 1 minute.  Stir until dissolved and you guessed it, dump it into the pot as well!  Add the remaining 4 cups water and stir until well mixed.

Step 5

Put the lid on your Crockpot and get ready to enjoy the mouth-watering aroma of stew bubbling all day!

I generally cook mine overnight, because then I can turn it off when I get up and by the time my Hubby gets up it's cool enough for him to eat (he works nights, sleeps til mid-morning).  By the time he's finished it's cool enough to pop into the fridge.

Set it on High for about 2 hours, then before you go to bed set it on low for another 6-8 hours.  Or set it on Low for a full 8-10 hours, depending on how much liquid you want. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will get.

Now, if you cook it too long, don't panic!  Just add some more beef broth to make it liquidy again!  (Heat your broth in the microwave first so that it doesn't change the temperature.)

Stir and serve up big bowls of your delicious Chunky Beef Stew with your favorite bread or rolls!