Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

My daughter had a very fun field trip to a local farm where you get to pick your own veggies. Oh she loved it! It was so neat to go with her and see how she loved digging and picking those vegetables. We decided to make beef stew with all the different veggies she picked and she loved the whole process of washing them, putting them in the crockpot, and eating them up at the end. I love this recipe. It is easy and tasty and perfect for a fall evening.

Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

2 - 2 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
6 - 7 red potatoes, cut into chunks
4-5 carrots, cut in thick slices
3 stalks celery, cut in thick slices
1 onion, chopped big
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 packet onion soup mix
2 tablespoons Ultra Gel or quick cooking tapioca, optional
1 cup frozen peas, optional

In a large skillet brown meat in a little hot oil. Place meat and chopped vegetables (except frozen peas) into crockpot. In a bowl combine soups and onion soup mix and pour over meat and vegetables; stir it well to distribute soup mixture evenly. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. During last hour or so of cooking you can mix in Ultra Gel if you have that or tapioca to thicken the sauce up a little, but you can definitely skip this for a saucier stew. Also at this point you can add frozen peas and continue cooking until time is up.