Crock Pot Vegetable-Beef Soup

This is from my Better Homes and Garden cook book. I LOVE it! My husband always cringes when I say I am making stew, but then raves about it during dinner....so silly. I made a few changes (of course) but nothing too drastic.

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 pound lean boneless beef chuck pot roast cut into 3/4 inch pieces. (I buy pre-cut stewing meat)

1/4 C flour

1 T. olive oil

4 C water

1-14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 C frozen mixed vegetables (I do 1 C frozen corn and 2 C mix of carrots, peas & green beans)

2 C frozen loose-pack hash brown potatoes

1-1 oz. envelope onion soup mix

1 tsp instant beef bouillon granules

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add sliced onions and cook till translucent, then dump into crock pot. Dredge beef in flour and brown in same skillet, in batches, then put in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients to crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

If time is an issue in the morning, to cook the onions and beef, do it the night before and store in the fridge, then dump everything together in the morning and hit cook!

Calorie Total: 1 cup = 216 calories