Beef Stew Recipe for the slow cooker

Here is my beef stew recipe for the slow cooker:

2 lbs cubed stew meat, cut into about 1" cubed
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. season salt, I use Lawry's
1/2 tsp. fine ground white pepper, you can use black pepper too
1-2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. paprika
1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 med. onion chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth, I use Swanson
3-4 potatoes quartered
1/2 small bag of baby carrots
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, I use the flavored kind, it depends on what mood I am in, which one I use, but for the most part they are all good. If you use the garlic tomatoes reduce the amount of garlic cloves you put in the stew or it becomes over powering.


Put flour mixture into gallon-sized, zippered bag. Shake beef in bag to coat. Sauté coated beef in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until browned. Add chopped onion to beef to sauté and soften. Transfer to slow cooker. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, and paprika to slow cooker. Mix beef broth with 1 tblsp Worcestershire and ½ cup red wine. Pour into hot skillet to deglaze, then pour over everything in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low of 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. I prefer the 10-12 hours myself, I'll get up and do all this early in the morning, it's worth it.
I serve the stew in bowls, accompanied by slices of fresh bread or Texas toast.