crockpot madness

We got a really pretty crockpot for a wedding gift, and it's been decorating our kitchen ever since. This week, I decided to actually use it, so I went to barnes & noble for a slow cooker cookbook. I think I looked at about 17 before settling on this one, because it had a good-looking beef stew recipe. (The amazon reviews don't look too promising, though, do they?)

So, last night I bought all the ingredients for the beef stew, and I followed the recipe exactly. Except...well, it said to put in the meat, then the liquid, then the veggies, put the cover on, and leave it for 8-9 hours. It didn't say anything about stirring. In our 6-quart oval, the liquid doesn't cover any of the veggies. I'm a little worried that I'm going to have beautifully stewed meat, topped with raw, dry vegetables.

So, to stir or not to stir, that is the question. I looked at the other stew recipes in the book, and they have directions to stir if stirring is required. So for today, I'm just going to leave it alone, but I just know I'm going to be nervous about it all day long.

UPDATE, 20 minutes later: Okay, I feel a little better...the steam is starting to rise up to the lid, so I think that might be what is going to cook the veggies. Man, I hope this doesn't suck.

Don't worry about the crockpot. That's one thing I've learned. Also don't lift the lid until the cooking time is up- apparently every time you peek you have to add 10 minutes to the time. And whatever you do, DON'T ADD MORE WATER. I learned the hard way so my stew ended up like oversized veggie soup.

And last of all, love the crockpot. Despite the prep and the weird layering system it's good meals with little work, and ready when ya get home.

Enjoy!