As an alternative way of "beefing up" this beef stew, I would agree 100 percent with the chicken stock and the good meat, though I would more likely cube some roast and try to get it tender.  I like chunks of beef in my "stew"  but ground beef would work.

Even if you use less expensive beef for sake of the budget (ground sirloin does not come cheap these days) I would try the following ideas. (Be sure you brown and drain that cheaper beef before you add it to the stew.)  You could do one or two, or ALL of these.   Experiment and find what you like.  The three with the asterisks are ones I would absolutely do, no matter what.

Also agree with more black pepper but maybe not that much because I'd like some complex layered flavors in there, and you can get that and still have the zing of the black pepper.

*Another way to add GREAT flavor to any soup base like this is to first saute the onion just a bit (or add an extra onion, chopped and sauteed--)  in butter (or olive oil if you're on a cardiac diet) and add that to the stock.

*You could add--1/2-1 tsp garlic powder OR saute a head of garlic until it's just past fragrant, and dump that in with the stock.  (Don't ever believe "1 clove garlic"  in a recipe. Just...don't.)

*I would THEN add--in the early part of the stock preparation- BEFORE YOU ADD THE TOMATO PASTE-1/4-1/2 cup of dry red wine. NOT cooking wine.  That shit should be illegal.  Let the alcohol cook out of the wine before you add the tomato paste or the cayenne I suggest below.

Then I'd likely add  1/8-1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper if you can take any spice at all.

I'd add a half to a full teaspoon of dried  thyme.

I'd dump in a handful of parsley near the end, or a tablespoon of dried parsley in the early part of the cooking.

On top of that I would likely try some more exotic spices.   I'd try a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds (these are the whole seeds of cilantro-- I pound the seeds using a mortar/pestle.  If you use the pre-ground, don't use as much.  Maybe half.)  This might or might not appeal to you.  I like what it does to most meat or chicken-based soups, if they're meant to be the main dish.

You could even try a quarter to a half teaspoon of curry powder.  That would not turn a beef stew too much toward "Indian tasting food" and it would add a bunch of layers.



I've probably messed up the "easy" part of the whole slow cooker thing.

Several years back, the health authorities ruined crock pots, because although people had been slow cooking for decades, they decided that the bottom temperature was not hot enough to keep bacteria from forming.

I'm like,  It's freaking simmering in there.  It tenderizes beef.  It's PLENTY hot enough.

But they ruined it, and I had JUST GIVEN AWAY my old crock pot, which was amazing but did not have a lift-out crock for easy cleaning, to get a fancy new stainless model which I eventually tossed in the dumpster after I ruined one too many meals.

I think they're all too hot.  Even the warm setting on mine boils stuff.  More fine control of the time doesn't make any difference as far as I've seen.  

But maybe there is a good one out there and I have not found it.  

Trying this tonight, and just looking at it, I figured it would be too bland for us. (We like a lot of flavor.)  So based on what everyone was saying, I'm trying a slightly different tack for adding flavor.

My addition to up the flavor was as follows:

1 HEAD of garlic.
1 Tbsp butter

A bit of white wine (I used the Chardonnay I had open in the fridge)

More black pepper as midmo suggests, added later in the cooking. (Yeah, that whole "don't open the lid" thing?  Ain't happening in my world. It's just not my reality.  I have to taste as I go.)

Chicken broth replaces almost all the water

**I chopped the garlic and sauteed it in the butter in a hot skillet until the amazing flavor hit me in the face, then added a few splashes of the white wine to deglaze.  (I should've done this with half of the onion, too, for more layered flavors, but I didn't.   Garlic plus butter plus white wine usually makes magic for me.


We shall see...

ETA:  This was awesome, and I will definitely make it again.  Thanks to the original poster of  this recipe!

You probably could, but I'd say: Why bother?

The thing with a crock pot is that it allows hands-off cooking for long periods of time. Most of the time, the cooking method is sub-optimal but it does yield great results for somethings. Broccoli cheese soup is something that can be made in an hour using optimal cooking techniques so that your broccoli doesn't end up as goo. That's just my opinion...

In regards to the "chicken and cream" recipe that was one of the first ones posted in the thread: I have cooked the chicken breasts by their lonesome in the slow cooker with the seasonings, then made the gravy in a sauce pan (double the recipe). It turns out that the chicken breasts are perfectly cooked on low after about 3 hours. I add the leftover cooking juices to the cream of chicken soup along with some water, seasoning to taste, and then hitting the whole mess up with a stick blender to get a perfect consistency (the cream cheese is slow to disintegrate otherwise).