Country French Beef Stew

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 boneless beef chuck roast ( 3 lbs ), trimmed
of fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
(use can substitute stew meat in place of roast)

1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

3 cups baby carrots

1 cup red Zinfandel wine or non alcoholic red wine

3/4 cup beef broth

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

salt and pepper

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup julienne-cut sun dried tomatoes
(not packed in oil)

Hot cooked egg noodles

Chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves

Spray a 5-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In a 12 inch skillet, cook bacon

over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp.

Place bacon in cooker. Discard all but one tbsp bacon grease. cook beef in bacon

fat in batches 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown.

Stir onion into beef. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into cooker.

Stir carrots, wine, broth, flour, basil, thyme, salt and pepper and canned diced

tomatoes into mixture in cooker.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7-8 hours.

Stir in mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Cover, cook on Low heat setting 20-30

minutes longer or until the sun dried tomatoes are tender. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

Sprinkle with parsley or basil leaves.