Fall Stew

With the cooler weather moving in, I decided it was time to start cooking hot dinners again.  So we decided to try a new stew recipe-- and it was super easy to make.  It tasted pretty good, but will make a few modifications next time (which I'll mention below).  I also used a lot of help from the grocery store of buying items like baby carrots you can just dump in the pot, rather than chopping up.

Ingredients

• 2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
• 2 c. red wine (I had used water, but would have been way better with the wine, trust me)
• 1c. flour
• 2 lbs. beef stew pieces
• 1 bag of small white onions (just peel and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small red potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small yellow potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 4 stalks of celery- cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 large package of whole mushrooms (approx. 24) (just clean and put in pot whole)
• Minced Garlic (we did not use, but will add next time- probably would use half of a bulb)
• 2 T. Italian herb seasonings
• 2 Bay leaves
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions
Mix together soup, wine, and flour until smooth.  Combine with remaining ingredients in covered roasting pan (make sure you have a nice large pot for this).  Note: It appears that the sauce barely covers all of the items, but once it cooks the sauce will thin out and you'll have plenty.  Bake at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours.  We served with fresh crusty bread!