Chilly Night Beef Stew

You can't just say "beef stew," apparently.  We did have this on a fall night, but it wasn't that chilly.  But that's okay because I do what I want.  I like when recipes give you another recipe right after to try with the leftovers, because with beef stew there are always leftovers, and it's fun to try something new.  So this one had the stew, and then a second one using stew leftovers which is kind of like scalloped potatoes, which I will post separately.  This is from Simple & Delicious.  It's written to go into the crock pot, but I didn't get myself in gear enough to get it in there in time on Monday morning, so at about 2ish I started it and it simmered on the stove all afternoon. That would have been good for a chilly night, too.

Chilly Night Beef Stew
6 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper, divided
2 lbs beef stew meat
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium onions, diced
4 celery ribs, sliced
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) beef broth (I used 4 cups homemade stock)
2 cans (11 1/2 oz each) V8 juice (I had plain tomato juice leftover from something else so I used that)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
6 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water

Combine flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in large ziploc bag.  Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.  Brown beef in oil in batches in a large skillet.

Transfer meat and drippings to a 6-qt slow cooker.  Add potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery.  Combine broth, juice, worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, basil, paprika, and remaining salt and pepper; pour over top.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat and veggies are tender.  Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into stew.  Cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until thickened.  Discard bay leaves and serve.

To make on the stovetop:  Brown meat in smallish sized stockpot (I started in a Dutch oven and had to switch over because it wasn't big enough), then add all other ingredients through cornstarch.  Cover and simmer until your husband gets home, and then eat it (making it this way, I didn't add the cornstarch to thicken it, it was thick enough already).

This came out yummy.  I am going to have to compare it to my other beef stew recipe(s) to see if it will replace it or not.  I liked the spices and I liked the tomato juice in this one.