Burgundy Beef & Mushroom Stew

Ingredients
2 lb. boneless beef shoulder roast
1 lb. fresh button mushrooms
1 lb. fresh cremini mushrooms
1 each medium onion, cut into thin slices
1 lb. carrots, washed, unpeeled, cut into abut 1-1/2" chunks
2 oz. cooked, chopped bacon
2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1 c. burgundy wine
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

Method
Place a heavy skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until nice and hot. Toss in the chopped bacon and fry until cooked well. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pan, and drain and reserve.

Trim all fat and silver skin off of the roast, cut into about 1-1/2" chunks, and place in a large bowl. Season liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and toss / stir to evenly coat. Put the chunks of meat in the still-hot skillet with the bacon fat until it is brown on all sides.


In this order, load up a slow cooker with: beef chunks, mushrooms, onions, herbs de Provence and carrots. Sprinkle the reserved bacon pieces over the top of the food, and then pour in the wine.


Put the top on the cooker and let it go on low for about 8 hours. Try really hard to ignore the lovely smells, and give it at least 8 hours to finish cooking.


Serve in a bowl or over rice or noodles.