Recipe: Slow cooker beef stew

As a young child, my mom made everything we ate from scratch. Bread, sauces, soups, salad dressing. You name it. She made it all.

Growing up on a farm in Indiana, it was what she knew. And, with my dad in graduate school, it was likely just about all they could afford.

But Mom also was mindful of the kind of food she fed her growing family. I remember her checking labels or commenting on a product's ingredients. Of course, when my sister came along and my mom opened a home daycare, she started buying loaves of bread and a few other convenience items. Most of our meals, however, were still homemade.

That's what I know. And that's how I'm trying to raise my kids now. I use more convenience items than my mom ever did. But, for the most part, when I'm making dinner for my family, I try to use the simplest ingredients.

This stew makes for a delicious, hearty meal, perfect for these cold winter days. I love that all you really have to do here is chop, dump and turn on the pot. I chop and measure everything the night before so the morning only requires the dumping and turning on bit.

Serves 6

1 stalk celery, chopped

Put the meat in a slow cooker. Mix together the flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Coat the meat with the flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Toward the end, with about 15 or 20 minutes to go, I like to add in about a cup of peas for a little extra color.