Crockpot Beef Stew

Clearly I over ordered our prime rib roast for Christmas because we have had roast beef sandwiches (5), Beef stroganoff for 5 with two days of left overs, and enough to make roast beef stew. This is a hearty dish perfect for a cold December, January day. Enjoy!

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Instant Pot or Crockpot Beef Stew

1 lb. of left over beef roast already cooked and then cubed (or 1 lb. of beef roast cubed and sautéed.)

1 - 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Large Yellow Onion diced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced a bit

4 - 6 ribs of celery chopped (largish pieces)

1 small bag of baby carrots

1 small container of sliced mushrooms (we like baby portobellos)

1 Bay Leaf

2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

Approx. 4 cups of Beef Stock (I made stock from the bones of the prime rib roast we had but commercial stock works almost as well)

1 can of diced tomatoes (not flavored)

I have an instant pot which can sauté. This is an important step for flavor. If you don't have an instant pot start this recipe in a sauté pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil, then add the celery and carrots and stir just until the onion starts to brown well. Deglaze the pan with some of your stock and pour the whole mixture into the crock pot.

If you do have an instant pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil as listed above, add carrots and celery and toss. Add in all your remaining ingredients except for the diced tomatoes. Turn the instant pot to slow cook on high for 9 hours. You can cook this for less hours or in and instant pot use the steam setting to speed this up. But I think the flavor is the best if you let the stew cook for as many hours as you can.

If you have any leftover fauxtatoes, throw them in! They'll thicken and flavor the stew nicely.

After a couple of hours, open the instant pot/crockpot stir and add in the tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then let the stew continue to cook until done!

By the way, I forgot to add the tomatoes to this batch but it was still really good.