Reviewed: Mar. 5, 2012

This is a great stew, although I made a few changes. I added celery. Then I marinate the meat with 3/4 cup of "Hot and Spicy" V-8 (instead of tomato juice), a 1/4 cup for "Jack Daniels" and a packet of onion soup mix the Worcestershire and herbal seasoning.

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Reviewer:

Baron

Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2011

We made this again and used fresh jalapenos and added some garlic powder and Italian seasoning. We love this recipe! -------------------------------------- This was very good but needed a little more salt (I like salt!). We used jarred sliced jalapeno, because it is what we had and also V8 in place of tomato juice for the same reason. Very tasty and nice on a crisp day.

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Reviewer:

oceankath

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Towson, Maryland, USA

Living In: Timonium, Maryland, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 2, 2011

Didn't have any tomato juice so used the same amount of Ragu. Added 1/2 cup beef broth because I was worried it would be dry (turned out perfect). Didn't use a can of stewed tomatoes, but rather added a container of cherry tomatoes. Picky boyfriend loved it, & everything was super tender & flavorful.

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Reviewer:

honlde

Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2011

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.

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Reviewer:

Legomom

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: May 10, 2011

Excellent menu. I added fresh fennel and leeks to the vegetable mix, and substituted red wine for the tomato juice. I also added fresh rosemary and basil. The result tastes great the first meal and just as good the second. All of this also works well with a good roast instead of cubed stew meat.

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Reviewer:

Tom J

Reviewed: Feb. 10, 2011

It is a great recipe, but I had to add some corn starch to thicken it up a bit as it turned out to be more of a soup than a stew. Other than that, no complaints!

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Reviewer:

nvalene

Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2011

This was a really good dish, but I made some changes. First, I didn't include carrots, herb seasoning, or jalapeno peppers. Instead of tomato juice, I used two cans of Campbell's Old Fashioned Tomato Rice Soup and one can of water. I also put in an addition 2 or 3 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce and stirred it in the crock pot. I sprinkled pepper in the mixture as well and let it cook on low for about ten hours. I love the combination of Worcestershire sauce and tomato soup. Very tasty.

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Reviewer:

meredith

Home Town: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 27, 2010

I am sorry but I cannot give this a high rating. I followed the recipe to the letter, but even after 13 1/2 hours in the crockpot, the potatoes and carrots were still not done. The taste was ok, but this one is definitely NOT a keeper. Talq

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