I make this frequently in the slow cooker, but take the extra time to brown my beef in a skillet and deglaze the pan with some red wine before I assemble the ingredients per the recipe's instructions. I also add celery and extra garlic cloves/potatoes/carrots, just because of personal preference. It always turns out extremely well. It's so easy, even with the extra step, and gives a huge flavor payoff. I have never tried the dutch oven version because I don't have the best oven (renter).

In spite of alll of the ingredients cooking up perfectly. the meat was tender, the carrots and potatoes were perfect, this dish was just ok to me, but my husband liked it. I shared with a friend and she said that although it had some kick to it she still liked it. I thought it was too salty and just not colorful enough. The flavors didn't excite me. My list of what I didn't like about this dish is too long so I'll just say I won't be making it again. To be fair -- I just don't think I like beef stew.

I've been using this beef stew recipe for a few years now and I love it! I make it in the crock pot. The only thing I change is that I add additional flour to the beef in the beginning as I like my beef stew thick. I also add a can of beef broth or french onion soup. It comes out perfect every time.

I've been making this recipe for years. It's in constant rotation for my winter recipes. It's simple and delicious. I've made it in both a crockpot and dutch oven and prefer the dutch oven method.

Great spring board recipe! The balsamic vinegar definitely gives this stew a tasty kick. I do this in the oven vs. crock pock and instead of adding water, I bump it up and add 2 cups of beef stock and 1 cup of red wine. After 2 hours I throw in a package of quartered baby bella mushrooms and a few handfuls of fresh string beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces. You can also throw in a handful of frozen peas at the end as well. One dish wonder and oh so good.

As a relatively new "cook", I try to follow the recipes to a T but I read the review beforehand for an overall impression. I have never used a slow cooker before but it worked very well. No water was needed and there was plenty of moisture created by the ingredients themselves. I felt that the amount of carrots and onions were heavy. This dish was tasty immediately afterwards; however, re-heated, it lacked its original flavor and texture. A keeper but not on a regular rotation.

This recipe is perfect , easy , delicious and exactly what I was looking for .

Very very simple and tasty without going to much trouble. I made this in the crock pot using a little over 1 and 1/2 lbs lean stew beef, halved the potatoes and carrots, substituted 8 oz frozen pearl onions for chopped, and added 8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms. Also added some celery seed and dried basil and oregano. Cooked on high for 5 hours. Will probably add a little red wine next time because I would like more gravy. A little crumbled bacon would probably be a nice touch, too.

The slow cooker recipe doesn't say anything about adding water??? I just added it anyway and started it. Sure hope it's right!

Remove bay leaf? My grandmother always said "whoever gets the bay leaf has to kiss the cook".