What is the best dish for a cold winter evening? Stew, of course!

Well, here we are, cloudy days are among us. When this happens, I get into soup/stew mode. That is about all I want to cook and eat. This week it was beef stew. As I usually say, I did not make up this recipe, per say. I basically took what sounded good from a bunch of recipes and combined it.
Here are the deets:

1 1/2 lbs Stew beef (New Seasons has great quality beef - I always cut mine into smaller pieces than the butcher. Make sure they are about 1 inch square)
1 quart organic beef stock
1 package organic onion dip mix (This is really all the salt you need, and it is tasty! The reason I buy this kind is that it does not contain MSG)
1 Stout beer (like Guinness - this adds some good flavor!)
1 small can of tomato paste (This will offset the bitter of the beer)
1 white onion, chopped
4-6 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 large or about 10 small potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped (I like a lot of garlic!)
Optional:1-2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Wasn't that fun?! Okay, now what do you do with all of the ingredients? Listen carefully, this is really complicated: You pour them all into a crock pot and stir. Whew! That was difficult! If you have not discovered the amazingness of the crock pot, get ready! You can get all of the ingredients together the night before and then in the morning, set the crock pot on low and go about your day! You can even leave it cooking while you are at work. The best!

Here is a picture for all you visual learners:

Bon Appetit!