We found that this was a real good recipe, however, I did tweak it a little bit. After it cooked for 4 hrs, I saw the broth was thin, so I removed some of the juice. After tasting it, I found it quite bland. I chose to use chinese 5 spice, celery salt and black pepper for the seasonings, and it was spectacular. I also added fresh mushrooms. Next time, I might add more mushrooms, forget the stewed tomatoes, and use Tomato soup instead of the juice.
I following this recipe exactly as written, but it came out with way too much tomato taste to it. I will not make this again. I wanted a beef stew recipe that actually tastes like beef, not all tomato. I'll keep looking.
Overall, this beef stew was very delicious. The first time I made it the potatoes weren't quite soft enough, but I think it was because it smelled so good and I got impatient and began eating ;-) This stew also tastes very good with a white or vidalia onion substituted for the yellow onion. Great recipe!
This stew will warm you right up. The beef was tender made a hearty meal but it tasted a little bland. In the future I will add more salt and doctor it up with some spices.
This is a good foundation for stew however needs a LOT of boosting and personalization. I can't imagine anyone eating it 'as is' in the recipe. First you need some herbs and nix the jalepeno. Jalepeno in stew? Interesting but really? Also never cook raw beef in a slow cooker without browning first...even if for 5 moinutes on each side. The browning process activates amino acids in the beef to enhance the flavor... that is Slow Cooking 101. You don't need to do this with pork or chicken but with beef it really is a must or you'll get very bland meat. So 3 stars for the recipe 'as is' with the understanding that this is the foundation of a potentially great stew... much more needs to be added to make it 5.
I made this recipe because it seemed so quick and easy. It was just that and it was too die for. I cooked it for 6 people coming to my house for dinner and they raved about it and all want the recipe. This recipe will become a regular meal in my house.
Broth was thin and a little too tomato-y. The meat turned out ok but potatoes were still not cooked all the way after 9 hours and I did soak them...
This recipe starts out so simple yet winds up tasting sooooo great! Nice going!
Good easy recipe to make. I made it without marinating and the flavor was still very good. The broth was a bit thin. Overall good one-dish meal.