[Sca-cooks] OOP - help my stews!

[Amy Cooper]

So today I made a crockpot stew, and yet again, I'm highly
disappointed in how it tastes. There's a bitter edge, and I always
find that with my stews, plus I find the beef isn't really moist. It
falls apart, but feels dry to eat. I'll list my ingredients below -
then can ya'll tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Stew beef (30% off club pack)
flour
water
fresh white button mushrooms
frozen baby carrots (put in frozen)
garlic powder (forgot the real garlic and onion this time)
pinch of dried rosemary
half a small bag of skin on random baby potatoes - some red, some
blue, some yukon gold

The flour was in a slurry with some of the water - maybe 3 heaping TB?

This all cooked in the crockpot for about 5 or 6 hours on low, and a
little while on high. I did NOT brown the beef first - this was to be
quick and easy, and not generate lots of pans to wash *sigh*.

So it tastes icky - even my adventurous baby didn't want much for
dinner. Smelled GREAT while cooking, but just doesn't taste right....

Thanks - I HATE wasting ingredients like this :-(

Ilsebet