Oven Beef Stew

Ruth's Recipe Box has received its first request!  Christine Bryan mentioned her boys wanted her to get the recipe for "that really good stew Grandma made that time we were at her house."  I found the recipe and made it twice, once in the crock-pot and once in the oven.  It turned out just as yummy either way.  True to form, Mom didn't write any instructions, baking temperature, or baking time.  I looked up another oven stew recipe in one of my cookbooks and went with that baking temperature and time.

2 lbs. beef stew meat (dust with flour and brown in a little hot oil)
1 c. onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, cut into chunks
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can golden mushrooms
1 cup water
3 Tbls. pearl tapioca
10-12 green peppercorns
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 pkg. frozen green peas
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Layer browned meat, onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, tomatoes, peas and mushrooms in large oven-proof casserole dish with a lid.  Mix soup, water, bouillon cubes, tapioca, peppercorns and Worcestershire sauce and pour over stew.
Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 3 to 4 hours.  (If you prefer to use a crock-pot, cook at a low temperature for about 7 hours.)  Remove stew from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving to help the sauce thicken up.