Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

I have been making this one for a few years in the slow cooker.  I don't always love meat in the slow cooker as it's often too watery for my taste but coating the meat with flour prior to cooking helps a lot.  And we love the flavor of this recipe!  We usually have it with bread so we don't waste any of the delicious juices.  I will provide the recipe first as it is written for the slow cooker and then I'll tell you how I adapted it for the stove top to make a big pot for the meal swap!

3 carrots, peeled, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
1 large onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 lbs stewing beef, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaves
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons browning sauce

1. Arrange vegetables in a slow cooker - top with beef chunks.  Set aside.
2. Mix flour, salt, pepper and sprinkle over meat.
3. Stir well, add remaining ingredients.
4. Cover, Heat on low setting for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
5. Remove and discard bay leaf.

So I quadrupled the recipe for our meal swap.  I kept all the ingredients the same, I just changed the order I did everything. First, I sauteed the onions, celery and garlic in a bit of olive oil until soft.  Then I added the beef (tip: my beef was still partially frozen when I was dicing and it is SO much easier to cut...will remember this for the future!) and let it brown up a bit. Next, I added the spices, veggies and beef broth.  Then I mixed up the flour with water as if I was making gravy.  I turned the heat up to high and got everything boiling, added my flour/water mix and reduced it down to simmer.  I probably let it simmer for 2-3 hours.  I think everything was cooked earlier than that, but I thought it would be nice to let the flavors simmer as long as possible.  Cooled it all off in the fridge and froze it in individual Ziploc bags.