Cozy Cottage Beef Stew Soup

"I am the submitter of this recipe, and it IS a soup. However, it can be changed easily to make a stew. Increase the meat to 3 to 3.5 pounds. Cut the liquids in half (meaning 1 can chicken broth, one c..." See morean beef consomme or stock.) Mix 1/2 cup of flour into the cool stock before adding to the pot, then stir until the mixture comes to a simmer, in order to keep it smooth. Vegetables can be tailored to suit your taste. Root veggies are good, like turnip or yams. You can use less onion if you like (should read 2 SMALL onions,) and omit the green beans and mushrooms if you don't like them. Use more or less pepper, as you prefer. THIS RECIPE IS EASILY TAILORED TO YOUR TASTE. i.e. if you don't like lots of onion, cut it back to one. Use more spice if you like stronger flavors, or more garlic if that's the way you like things. Omit the tomato sauce and/or crushed tomatoes if you don't like your soup somewhat tomatoey - if you do, feel free to add some fresh chopped tomato. Cut the vegetables in chunks instead of mincing, if you like it heartier. If you have a crock pot smaller than the largest size, for which this recipe was created, be sure to cut down on your liquids. Use whatever is needed to fill your particular pot to no more than 3/4 full, then STOP ADDING LIQUID. The crock pot should NEVER be filled to overflowing - that's just plain common sense. Important: Taste for salt before serving and adjust as necessary. That should always be your last step before serving any dish."

"Good, but it only gets 4 stars because the name is a little misleading. I expected a beef stew with a bit of tomato flavor, but it was really like a thick minestrone with some chunks of beef. Very g..." See moreood though. I had to cut the amount of broth in half because my crockpot was too full. I loved the fresh green beans in this! Served with garlic bread."

"A really good beef stew! It has a number of advantages over other recipes - no flouring and browning the meat, lower in fat and calories, and spices other than salt! Next time I will leave out the t..." See moreomato sauce - didn't seem to add much except extra liquid. In order to thicken the stew, though (which was surprisingly thin even with the flour), I had to add 2 tbsp. of corn starch/cold water an hour before eating, and that did the trick. This makes A LOT, and I think that the amount affects the cooking time - I cooked it for 8 hours on low then 6 hours on high because after 8 hours the potatoes were still hard and the meat still chewy. Next time I'll go with 6-10 hours on high. Thanks, Cat!"