Slow-Cooker Provençal Beef Stew

Today was supposed to be a two recipe day, a stew from my new What's Cooking magazine, and my Mom's dill pickles. Unfortunately, i could not get the dill, so for now, i could only make the stew. Hopefully in the next day or two, i will be able to find some dill.

The beef stew did not cost a lot to make, i think the beef was a few bucks, all the fresh veggies were no more than 5 and the cans no more than 3. So you could easily make this 4 person meal for under 15 dollars, 5 dollars a person is not bad at all considering the cost of a meal out these days.

So, on with the recipe, and the professional picture:

1 Lb boneless stewing beef, cubed.

3 Tbsp flour

1 Lb sweet potatoes (2 large) peeled and cubed

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch slices

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup beef broth

1/4 cup sun-dried tomato and oregano dressing

1/3 cup fresh basil

Toss meat with flour in slow-cooker. Add all remaining ingredients except basil. Stir

Cover with lid, cook on High 4 to 6 hours; or on Low 6 to 8 hours.

Stir in basil just before serving.

Since i was bored this afternoon while it was cooking, I made tea biscuits to go with it (see my chicken soup post for the recipe).

I did not add the basil because i could not find it. I don't really know how much of a difference it will make, but i have to be honest that i found it so-so on the taste level. I am not crazy about tomatoes to begin with, but i still thought it went a bit overboard for the tomato taste, i love garlic, but in this recipe, it seemed to enhance the tomato taste. Maybe the basil would take some of that taste away.

If you like tomatoes and sweet potatoes, I'd say go for it. I really do not think I am going to try it again, though. I also looked the recipe up on the Kraft website, and it states it is better the next day. There was lots left over (recipe serves 4, made probably enough for 6) so i guess I will find out tomorrow!