Directions:
Place the flour and seasonings in a large plastic bag. Add the beef chunks to the bag, close it and shake the bag until all the beef chunks are nicely coated. Remove them from the bag one at a time and shake off the excess flour. Place floured beef into a shallow bowl and keep near the stove.
Peel the carrots and dice up or slice into diagonal slices. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite sized chunks. Place both carrots and potatoes in a bowl of cold water until ready to add to the stew.
Slice or dice the green onion or scallion stems. Set them aside. (If using onion, dice it up)
Peel and slice the garlic and set it aside.
In a large deep heavy frying pan, over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers and is hot. Add the sliced garlic and saute until the oil is flavored with garlic. Remove. Throw in the diced up green onion stems and saute until a bit softened and the flavor is in the oil. Remove onion stems and place stems into the slow cooker.Add more oil to the skillet or dutch oven (whatever you are using). Then brown the beef chunks a few at a time until brown on all sides. As you finish browning them, remove them and place in the slow cooker. If using the diced onion instead of the stems, when all the beef is browned and added to the slow cooker, add a bit more oil to the frying pan.Throw in the diced onions and stir them around until they soften and become translucent. Then add to slow cooker.
Add the contents of the can of consomme to the mixture in the frying pan, and then add 1 and 1/2 cans of water using the consomme can as a measure.
Add the thyme. Bring to a boil, stir well and then add this liquid mixture to the beef in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker. Set the timer for 4 hours on LOW. Check after four hours to see if the beef is almost at the tender stage.
If so, add the cut up carrots and potatoes. Set the timer for 2 more hours. Test the beef and vegetables to make sure all is tender. If not, keep cooking until the stew reaches the tender stage you want it to be. Don't overcook your vegetables.
If at the end of the cooking time, you find that the stew is not thick enough, you can put one or two tablespoons of flour in 1/2 cup of warm broth. Stir it with a fork until all lumps are smoothed out. Then add it to the stew, stirring with a wooden spoon until stew thickens. If it thickens too much just add more consomme or broth until the thickness is the way you like it. If not serving right away, keep the stew on WARM in the slow cooker until ready to serve.
Save leftovers in a tupperware container. This stew reheats well. When you reheat it over low heat, if it seems too thick, just thin with broth until it is the right consistency.
