Recipe of the Week: Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Root Vegetables

I go to school on Thursday afternoons and get home either too late to cook dinner, or too zapped to want to cook dinner. This wouldn't be a big problem if Zach and I love eating out. But we don't. We actually have a list of less than ten places in town where we'd eat. So for us, it's slow cooker to the rescue for busy Thursdays!

This week, we made a balsamic vinegar-based beef stew with carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, onions, and mushrooms. So very season-appropriate, and so very delicious. Here's what you need:

Ingredients
2lb beef stew meat
2 large carrots, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 large beets, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 parsnip, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup white mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 sprig rosemary
3-4 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups beef broth
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
You can choose to coat the meat in flour and sear them before putting in the slow cooker, but I did not do that for this recipe. Instead, I placed the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker and arranged all the herbs and vegetables around it.
Mix together red wine, balsamic vinegar, and beef broth, then drizzle over meat and veggies.
Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours, or until meat is tender.
Season with salt and pepper.