Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)While beef stew is almost too easy to make, I will admit to not being great at replenishing my seasonings supplies as needed. Because seasonings and spices/herbs are so expensive, I keep putting off purchasing them and the list to replenish them just keeps getting longer and longer. Eventually, I don't have anything with which to work. As such, I planned 2 6-qt crock pots of beef stew for over the holidays to always have something hearty and warm on hand for family as they came/went. Lo and behold, when I finished cutting up all the meat and veggies and loaded them into the crock pots, I had nothing on hand to actually flavor those main ingredients. So, sent hubby off to the grocery store for a quick cheat...McCormick's beef stew seasoning packets. Of course I never told him how many to get, and as he wanted to 'do it right the first trip', he got a handful of them. Actually, in error, he grabbed the ones I'd never seen before: the "SLOW COOKERS" item. Man, oh, man! To heck with buying expensive, one-jar spices to keep on hand for this meal. This product worked perfectly! Open packet, mix with 1 1/3 Cups water, pour over ingredients in crock pot, mix it up just once and let the cooker rip for a few hours. The stew was excellently cooked, beef was so tender one needed a spoon with which to lift it otherwise it would break apart and the veggies were tender but not mooshy. It was more than flavorful; the au jus was not too thick and not too thin - perfect for sopping up with homemade bread that, unlike my spices, is always available in this house.
I liked it so much, as did the family members, I'm back to purchase the pack of 12 here to keep on hand as well as the "SLOW COOKERS" for pot roast. I confess, for these two meals from now on, I'm being lazy, but quick and efficient. No serious measuring, no countless bottles of assorted spices, no mess and a tremendous result.
NOTE: I did use 2 packets for each 6-qt slow cooker for although there is an easy recipe on the reverse of the packet, I don't measure my meat and veggies. I use what I have on hand and once the crock pot is at least 3/4 full, that's when I usually throw in my seasonings. The recipe provided would not be enough for my family. I didn't notice any additional recommendations on the packets indicating how much for what size slow cooker. I began with just one packet dissolved in the recommended 1 1/3 Cups of water (I used boiling water to dissolve it quicker add some warmth to the slow cooker as it begins cooking), but after pouring it over all the meat and veggies in the first pot, I just didn't think 1 packet was enough as my family likes a lot of the 'gravy'. Therefore, I added an additional prepared packet to each 6-qt crock pot which gave me perfect results.
This product uses only natural spices, no MSG, 0g trans fat per serving and no artificial flavors.
Edit: 1/2/10 - Another batch made for New Year's...this time, I reduced the amount of water per packet to 1 Cup (vs 1 1/3) and got thicker, more substantial 'gravy' vs the usual 'au jus' consistency. The family liked it much, much better that way.
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McCormick Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew Seasoning, 1.5-Ounce Packets (Pack of 12)
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