Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if necessary

3 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 onion

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more if needed

4 cups beef stock, at room temperature

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 lb potato, diced

1 1/2 cups carrots, diced

1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Directions:

Combine oil, meat, onions, seasoned salt and pepper in a stock pot over medium-high heat and brown 2-3 min per side, remove to crock pot.  You may need to brown the meat in more than one batch

Add the butter to the pan and season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to scrape up any browned bits, continue to cook for 3 minutes.  Savor the flavor

Add the flour to the pan, stir to combine and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the stock, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Once the stock boils, add it to the crock pot and set the temperature to high. Cover and cook for 1 hour.

Add the potatoes and carrots, and cook the stew until the meat is fork-tender, about 5 hours longer on high.

Skim any fat from the top of the stew and, if you prefer a thicker gravy, transfer 2 tablespoons of the skimmed fat to a small bowl, whisk in 2 additional tablespoons of flour; add a small amount of the hot gravy to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.

Stir this mixture into the stew and cook until stew is further thickened, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Stir in the peas, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary

I served this with a warm loaf of Pillsbury French Bread that I got couponing and it complimented it wonderfully.