French Oven Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs boneless beef stew meat, cut in chunks
12 ounces white pearl onions
4 large carrots, quartered crosswise
6 ounces small fresh mushrooms, trimmed
3 large celery ribs, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup red wine, good quality
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 small bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper (to taste)

Preparation

Heat oven 300 degrees.
Mix all ingredients in a heavy 3 quart ovenproof saucepot.
Cover and bake, stirring once an hour, for 3 hours or until meat is tender and sauce is thickened.
Discard bay leaves before serving or storing.
Serve over buttered noodles if desired.
You can use frozen small white onions instead of fresh but add them to the pot 1 hour before stew is done.
You can also add frozen peas or frozen beans 20 minutes before stew is done -- .