has anyone ever....

Made beef soup/stew in the crock pot? If so, how do I do it? I am not creative when it comes to crock pot cooking. I would like to try it but would hate to screw it up. Thanks Allison

Me!!! I do it all the time!! I brown the beef first - just because I like it browned a bit. It looks a bit "gray" if you don't...at least I think it does. I toss in a bag of frozen veggies (either a soup mix or just a bag of mixed veggies). If the veggies don't have potatoes, I will cut up 1-2 and add into the soup/stew about 2 hours before I want to eat. I use petite diced tomatoes and sometimes a can of tomato sauce (no salt added) and spices. I love to add a little beef bouillon just to up the beefy flavor. Plus cumin, basil, pepper, garlic (chopped fresh), onion (fresh OR dried minced flakes) and parsley. Plus whatever else is in my pantry that I think will be good. I sometimes add a bit of Emeril's Essence - it's really tasty in the stew.... Add the spices you like...and be sure and taste test it at some point so you don't end up with too much pepper or not enough onion, etc. Ya know? Sorry I'm not giving you exact amounts, but, it depends on how much stew you want how much stuff to add. It's fun just to toss things in there and let it cook slowly all day long. The flavors blend and it's SUPER tasty!! Good luck with it. Basically, if you make beef stew on the stove, do the same stuff together for the crockpot, but cook it on low heat for about 8 hours. Susan

HIJACK!! I think that is what you should say when you talk about something else on a post.. lol.. Susan, your new avatar is sooooo cute!!! I know nothing about beef stew.. but want to tell you how cute you are!!! Luvs and Hugs! Tiff

Thanks Tiff!! I liked this pic best of all the ones taken yesterday. Felicia fixed it up for me with all the special stuff! I just LOVE what she did!! Isn't the ladybug the cutest?? When I was preggers with #3, the OB called me Ladybug every time she saw me. With #4 I got called "Trouble"... STILL not sure why she called me that.... Susan