BEEF STEW WITH BASIL

Olive oil to coat pan 

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrot

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup flour
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, trimmed of fat, cut into cubes

3/4 tsp. salt, divided 

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup dry red wine (I used Yellow Tail Shiraz/Cabernet blend)

28 oz. diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups beef stock

2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

1/2 tsp. dry thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup cubed potatoes

3/4 cup sliced carrot (separate from chopped carrot above)

2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Place tomatoes, beef stock, oregano, thyme, and bay leaf in the crock pot. Sautee chopped carrot and chopped onion in olive oil. Add garlic for 45 seconds. Remove to crock pot. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to beef, then dredge beef in flour. Add more oil to pan and brown beef. You'll have to do this in batches, and it'll take a while, but it's worth it. Remove beef to crock pot. Add wine to pan and scrape off all the little pieces of beef sticking to it, reduce to ~1/3 volume. Move to crock pot.

At this point, I moved the entire crock pot to the fridge overnight and took it out to cook the next day. You could start cooking immediately, though.

Cook on low ~6-8 hours. Add potatoes and sliced carrots. Cook another 1-2 hours, removing lid if you need to thicken your stew. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in basil and parsley, and enjoy! Make sure you remove the bay leaf before eating.