When crock pots first came out I used mine a lot because I was working. One of my favorite things to make was Beef Stew. The recipe I used called for a 16 oz bag of frozen stew vegetables. The brands that I use to always get were Jolly Green Giant and Birds Eye. I have not had a chance to make this recipe for a while because I was living where someone else did the cooking until recently. I now have a crock pot again and wanted to make this recipe. When I checked the stores for Birds Eye and Jolly Green Giant Frozen Stew Vegetables I did not find them. I called at least one of these companies to find out where I could purchase them and was told that they have discontinued the product. I have not checked all the different store brands for stew vegetables yet but the ones I did, I did not find it there either. I did see online today that Pictsweet brand has frozen stew vegetables. Their website did not have a place to see what stores carried them so you may have to contact them and find out. I plan on purchasing separate packages of potatoes (quartered not diced or sliced), carrots (cut into-2 inch lengths not diced), onions (pearl onions and not quartered, sliced or diced onions. The pearl onions are easier to work with because you do not have to cut them and they look a little fancier making the dish more visually appealing), and celery (if there is none frozen it will be fresh)and make up my own frozen stew vegetables.
When I made my beef stew I always cooked it 6-8 hours on low and always added the frozen vegetables first creating a meat rack if you will, and then added the stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes, and then I added 1 can of condensed soup (usually Cream of Mushroom, or Cream of Tomato) to make a sauce. I never added the vegetables at the end and if there was every any liquid added to any of the recipes it was never over 1/2 cup or 1/2 can (regular 10 oz size) or it would be too much liquid. I hope this helps you.
WholeFoods has a great range of frozen vegetables. I use when I am in a rush to supplement all sorts of dishes and they cook really quickly so I just pop them in towards the end.
Most of the store brands, and probably giants like Birds Eye, have something or another of the sort- they're usually cut fairly large, but there's no particular reason you can't use any sort of frozen or fresh vegetables in a stew, it doesn't have to say so on the package. You do need to know how much time to give individual vegetables if you want them to maintain any brightness; a good reason NOT to use a packaged mix..
I think frozen vegetables for stew is fine and don't notice any discernable color deterioration. It depends on when you add the fresh or frozen vegetables into the stew for color and consistency, IMO.
@Jeannette - Walk the frozen aisle in any supermarket. You will see bagged mixed frozen vegetable. Choose what you like or what's recommended in the recipe that matches the quantity you need.
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When I made my beef stew I always cooked it 6-8 hours on low and always added the frozen vegetables first creating a meat rack if you will, and then added the stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes, and then I added 1 can of condensed soup (usually Cream of Mushroom, or Cream of Tomato) to make a sauce. I never added the vegetables at the end and if there was every any liquid added to any of the recipes it was never over 1/2 cup or 1/2 can (regular 10 oz size) or it would be too much liquid. I hope this helps you.
@Jeannette - Walk the frozen aisle in any supermarket. You will see bagged mixed frozen vegetable. Choose what you like or what's recommended in the recipe that matches the quantity you need.