Good Eats: beef stew

I love making soups and stews in the crockpot.  There is little prep work involved and the end result is delicious.  Plus, my house smells heavenly all day.

Today's Good Eats recipe is beef stew.  It's super easy to make so let's get started.

Ingredients
3 stalks celery, washed & sliced
4 medium carrots, washed & sliced
4 potatoes, washed & cubed
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1 container beef stew stock
stew meat, cooked & drained
water
ketchup to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions
1.  Wash & cut celery, carrots, potatoes and onion.  Add to crockpot.
2.  Pour in container of beef stew stock {found in the soup isle at your grocery store}.
3.  Cook stew meat.  Add to soup mixture.
4.  Add water.  There is no real exact amount to add - it depends on your soup preference.  If you love broth, add more water.  If you don't like broth much, add just enough water to cover your ingredients.  If you're like me, you add lots of water & then put some in jars to use for soups in the future {store it in fridge, of course.}.
5.  Add ketchup and pepper to taste.  Ketchup gives it good flavor.  My kids love the broth much more when I add ketchup.
6.  Cook on high until it boils.  Let boil for 5-10 minutes and then set crockpot to low heat.  Let simmer all day.
7.  Enjoy for dinner.  If it's too hot for the kids, add some ice cubes to their bowl to cook it off faster.

Enjoy!!
--Anna