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ditzyscrap

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Making stew, lol. It's been a REALLY long time since I made stew, lol...and we now have a crockpot (which I've never used, haha...DH has, but I haven't).

Anyhow, OK...so I brown the meat (I'm planning on doing that in a pan because I don't really TRUST the crockpot and I'm really picky about how I cook meat). Then I make the gravy in the crockpot, put in the meat, and simmer...

But at what point should I start doing this (for supper tonight)? How long will it take the baby potatoes and carrots/celery to cook?

I really need to figure out this whole domestic thing, lol...I'm SO lame! :o
 
Not stew, but I made a roast with carrots and potatoes the other day. Does that count??

The roast cooked on Low from 11 am until 5 or 5:30 and was a little overdone, but not too dry. I dumped enough water in until most of the roast was covered. I threw the potatoes & carrots in around 2, I think, and they were ready to fall apart by the time 5/5:30 rolled around. I cut the potatoes up pretty small and the carrots were just the dunkable finger-size ones you get at the store, so I know next time to cook them less OR cut them bigger. :)

All in all, it was pretty good, though, and FI told me it was the FIRST TIME someone other than his mother made him a roast (one of his favorite things to eat). Evidently, that is a BIG DEAL. *lol*
 
Oh, and BTW, I was GOING to be super awesome and make little bread bowls - I had some frozen bread dough in the freezer. Well, evidently last week when DH was cleaning out the freezer to make room for all the freaking DEER meat (ewww) that he got from a friend, he THREW IT OUT. Grrr. So, no cute little bread bowls, lol.
 
I guess mine is more like a vegetable stew/soup.

I take a can of tomato juice, some stew meat, frozen mixed vegetables, diced tomatoes, potatoes, some celery, salt and pepper to taste. I just throw it in the crock pot, cook on high for few hours, turn down to low and let cook all day. I don't brown the meat and it's fine.
 
The veggies and potatoes take hardly any time to cook at all. Half an hour is PLENTY.

Usually if I'm doing a roast I put it on low heat all day while I'm at work, and then toss in the potatoes and carrots when I get home.
 
hmm, I throw everything in at once and cook for like 6-8 hours on low. I use baby carrots.
 
meems said:
hmm, I throw everything in at once and cook for like 6-8 hours on low. I use baby carrots.
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Me too. I don't brown the meat if I'm using the crockpot either. It's cooking all day. It will be done.

I just use beef, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, water and about 10 beef broth cubes, salt & pepper. I thicken it with a little cornstarch & water right before serving.
 
I roll my meat in flour before I brown it. I don't cook it all the way just brown it. The flour hold in the meats juices. Then I use a package of McKormicks beef stew seasoning, water and a can of tomato paste to make the broth. Add in meet, chopped up potatoes, baby carrots, a can of green beans, a can of corn and some whole mushrooms. I then add my perferred seasoning, garlic, pepper, minced onion, parsley. Basically I start this in the am and let it cook on low all day in the crock pot to have for dinner that night.

MMMM, bread bowls. Now I'm craving one!
 
I would brown the meat on all sides in a hot hot pan first, like you were thinking. It helps hold the juices in! I'm not sure about cooking times though, I've never made a stew. Just a sec, I think I have a Slow Cooker stew seasoning in my cupboard (by Club House... found at Superstore or Walmart)....

Okay, here's what the back says:
5 cups cubed veggies, 2lbs stewing meat, 1 1/3 cups water, seasoning mix
- Place veggies (carrot, celery, onion & potatos) & meat in crockpot
- Add water and seasoning *this would obviously be your own recipe*, pour over meat & veggies.
- Cover, cook 8 hours on LOW, or 4 hours on HIGH.

One tip for crock-pot cooking... don't be tempted to lift the lid to look. Every time you lift the lid, you have to add 15 minutes to your cooking time, plus you let out a lot of moisture. Leave the lid on at all times! Unless it looks like its burning and you need to add more water (then add boiling water), but the chances of THAT happening are pretty slim, lol!
 
deer meat is yummy!! Ill take some if you dont want it LOL I love deer burgers. It is way healthier then beef and tastes 100 times better IMO

As for stew my husband usually makes it but I think cooking the carrots and potatoes for like an hour or two with the meat should do.

ditzyscrap said:
Oh, and BTW, I was GOING to be super awesome and make little bread bowls - I had some frozen bread dough in the freezer. Well, evidently last week when DH was cleaning out the freezer to make room for all the freaking DEER meat (ewww) that he got from a friend, he THREW IT OUT. Grrr. So, no cute little bread bowls, lol.
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