Simpler technique?

This is actually a very ordinary, somewhat Spartan stew- I'm guessing that the only reason a pressure cooker was used is because she was writing a pressure cooker book. You might find it useful to do a google search for "Martha Stewart beef stew" for similar recipes by the same author.

Sure, you can always opt to simmer on the stovetop or in a covered pot in the oven. A pressure cooker doesn't do anything except shave cooking time, and the slow cooker is steady low heat. On the stovetop, you will need to simmer it for a few hours, or until the meat is tender- and you'd need to slightly increase the liquid and keep an eye on it while it simmers. I imagine it would take about 2-3 hours. An oven braised version will bake at about 325, and it will take at least that same 2-3 hours to get fork tender. I generally oven braise with a cover for the first hour and a half, then uncover to get some browning- but you wouldn't have to do that. I like oven braising, because it is steady low heat- but not as time consuming as the slow cooker. You just check either stove top or oven method periodically to make sure you've still got sufficient liquid, and nearer the end of the time to look for fork tenderness.