This beef stew can be made fresh, browning the meat then tossing all the ingredients together in the slow cooker, or it can be prepared ahead of time by freezing the meat and vegetables separately and assembling on the day.
This was so good! My search for a great beef stew is finally over. My husband raved about it while he was eating it, mentioned it again later that night, and then raved again when we had leftovers the next night. I cooked the beef stew on low overnight and had my husband shut it off when he got up so it would cool enough for me to put it in the refrigerator before I left for work. It was so good I couldn't stop taking bites. That night, I let it simmer on the stove for about an hour while I made some corn bread to go with it and I had all I could do not to take a bowl. But I convinced myself to wait until I thickened it and it was so worth it. I made no changes to the recipe other than not putting in the mushrooms (my husband hates them) and I used regular paprika and diced tomatoes since that is what I had. I had never put tomatoes in a beef stew but I really think it added something. Thanks for sharing. - 11 Nov 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
Outstanding! I made minor changes: omitted the wine since I didn't have any and the mushrooms because I don't like them in stew, increased carrots, celery, potatoes by about 50%. This is now THE stew recipe at my house! - 24 Nov 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I really liked this. I changed a little bit but overall was the same recipe. I didn't have marsala so i used dry white wine and i used regular paprika. The flavor is great, i will make that again. - 21 Sep 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)