Simple & Delicious Crockpot Beef Stew

• 1 1/2 lbs stewing beef
• 4 carrots
• 4 potatoes
• 1 large sweet onion
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 4 stalks celery
• 1 cup water
• salt
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
• 1/2 cup water (optional)

1. Basic Info about the ingredients:
2. This recipe is very forgiving -- so if you only have 3 potatoes, no biggie. The important thing is that you get what you have in a crockpot!
3. Amount of beef is flexible -- just buy around amount called for and don't sweat being exact.
4. All veggies need to be washed & cut into thick slices or chunks.
5. Potatoes should be left UNPEELED. I prefer red potatoes because I always leave the peel on - Yukon Gold are also a good choice).
6. Ready? Here Goes!
7. Dump beef in crockpot.
8. Dump thickly sliced carrots, thick chunks of potato, celery & onion in crockpot.
9. Open can of diced tomatoes with the juice, pour on top of beef and veggies.
10. Dump 1 cup water and about a palm-sized amount of salt in the crockpot and give it a bit of a stir.
11. Set crockpot to low and cook for 6-8 hours. If it ends up cooking longer - no biggie. It won't hurt the stew.
12. If you feel the stew is too liquid-- right before you get ready to serve, you can add 4 tablespoons of corn starch to about 1/2 cup of water until dissolved and pour over stew and stir until the broth thickens.

stewing beef, carrots, potatoes, sweet onion, tomatoes, stalks celery, water, salt, cornstarch, water

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/simple-delicious-crockpot-beef-stew-499782 (may not work)