Crockpot Beef Stew

Baby, it's COLD outside.  Iowa winters suck.  I tend to make a lot of soups and stews in the winter, but I'm really picky about my beef stew.  I've tried a million recipes, none of which I've been ecstatic with.  I came across this one on Pinterest and doctored it up.  I was very pleased with the results, I hope you will be too! 

Ingredients:

2 lb. beef stew meat, cut into cubes

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks (I like to leave the skin on)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8 oz) container fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 bay leaf

2 envelopes dry brown gravy

1 envelope McCormick beef stew seasoning

1 C. red wine

2 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet

3-4 C. beef broth

Mix meat, veggies, and seasoning ingredients into crockpot insert.  Pour in enough beef broth so that everything is submerged.  Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.  To thicken, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tsp. cornstarch with 2 tsp. water - pour into stew and stir occasionally until stew has thickened to desired consistency.