Beef Stew for a cold Saturday evening

I've been on the road a lot. But, finally I have a long weekend and a week at home.
This recipe for beef stew looked some what daunting. And it certainly made a lot of dirty dishes. Still, it was nice to come home to after church on Saturday.

BEEF STEW (Mary & Jim)

VEGETABLE PREPARATION
4 large potatoes cut in 1/6ths 1 onion
6 carrots, diagonally cut chunks 1 tsp stew seasoning mix
1 envelope G Washington Brown seasoning

In a 4 quart pot add the above ingredients with water to cover the vegetables; cook 15 minutes. Drain and save liquid.

MEAT PREPARATION
2 1/2 to 3 lb boneless chuck 1 cup red wine
1/3 cup flour 1 10 oz can beef broth
2 tsp salt 1 15 oz can beef broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
2 tbsp margarine 1 bay leaf

Cut beef into 1 inch cubes and pat dry with paper towels. Roll half of meat in mixture of flour and salt in a shallow dish. Heat half of oil and margarine in Dutch oven over medium high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add beef without crowding and turn until dark brown and crusty on all sides. Remove with slotted spoon and repeat with remaining meat. Deglaze with wine, scraping bottom to loosen all browned bits; boil about 3 minutes. Return meat, add broth and sufficient vegetable liquid to cover meat by about an inch. Add thyme and bay leaf; reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until tender.

STEW PREPARATION
2/3 jar pearl onions, drained 1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
1 can (10 oz) mushrooms, drained Salt to taste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2 tsp McCormick stew seasoning mix
2 envelopes McCormick brown gravy mix

Remove meat with slotted spoon to vegetable pot. Dissolve and mix 2 packages of gravy mix with 1/2 cup of vegetable liquid, add to Dutch oven and bring to boil. Add mixture of flour and vegetable liquid to make enough gravy to cover meat and vegetables when returned to Dutch oven. Add pepper, garlic, Stew Seasoning and salt to taste. Return meat and vegetables, add onions and mushrooms and simmer covered for 1/2 hour.