Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Although the weather outside is reverting to summer temperature, I'm already in fall season cooking mode.  Stews always warm me up and smell so good while they cook.  You can pretty much put any vegetables to your liking in with the beef and it will taste great no matter what! This is our slow cooker version (a mix of my mom's and this recipe) because it's always easier to set it and forget it. Also, since we chose a leaner piece of meat than the usual stew meat, we were able to skip the browning step at the beginning; the beef was still extremely tender and flavourful at the end.

Ingredients
1/4 cup (60mL) all-purpose flour
pinch salt
1 tsp (5mL) black pepper
1/2 tsp (2.5mL) dried thyme
1 1/2-2lbs sirloin tip roast, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp (5mL) paprika
1 tsp (5mL) Worcestershire sauce
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
4 carrots, largely sliced
3 celery stalks, largely sliced
2 cups (480mL) mushroom, washed and whole
3 1/2 cups (900mL) no salt beef broth
2 bay leaves

Method
1. In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and black pepper. In a 6-quart slow cooker, coat the beef with the flour mixture.
2. Add the garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms in the slow cooker. Mix well.
3. Add the broth and the bay leaves.
4. Cook for 10-12 hours on low or 4 to 6 hours on high.

Serves 6.