Beef Stew

Beef Stew
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat , cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups beef stock, at room temperature
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 pound small (golf ball size) new potatoes , quartered
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
Set a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan and season the beef with 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon Essence and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Sear the beef (in 2 batches) in the saute pan for about 2 or 3 minutes per side.
Add the butter, mushrooms, flour, beef stock, tomato paste, herbs, spices, and browned meat to a slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and set the temperature to high. Cook for 1 hour. Add the potatoes and carrots and continue to cook the stew for another 7 hours. During the last hour of cooking, add the pearl onions and replace the lid. Once the stew is cooked, stir in the peas and parsley and serve immediately.

At the end I didnt think it was quite thick enough so I added some flour to a little water and added it plus another T of the tomatoe paste and a few shakes of worchestershire sauce. I also added chopped onion with the potatoes no pearl onions . I seasoned my beef with garlic powder onion powder salt pepper and thyme and basil before searing and browned the mushrooms. This is pretty easy to do.