All-Day Beef Stew (No Wine) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs stewing beef, cubed
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 white onions, diced
2 white boiling potatoes, cubed
2 cloves garlic
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 cups water
10 beef bouillon cubes
basil
oregano
1/4 cup cornstarch (rough amount, to thicken)

Preparation

Shake up flour, salt, pepper, and beef in a plastic bag.
Brown beef with olive oil.
Dissolve bouillon cubes into water Add beef, onions, potatoes, garlic, and broth to crock pot.
Simmer on low for 3 hours.
Add carrots, celery and spices (to taste).
Simmer another hour.
Turn off crock pot, remove half the broth to another pan.
Mix 2 tbsp corn starch with 1/4 cup cold water, add to broth and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Repeat until as thick as you like, stir back into stew.
When stew is the right consistency, simmer until dinner time.
The longer it simmers the better, but check the veggies every hour so they don't get too soft.