I do mine pretty much like Angela, but I brown the meat in a pan and then remove it to the pot or crock pot I am going to cook it in. Then, I deglaze the pan with some red wine along with the broth, and I add some worcestishire and the bay leaf.
Then, I put all the veggies in the pot (onions, carrots, potatoes, and if it is green bean season, green beans) I usually portion my veggies by the number of people eating. (like, one potato per person, 2 carrots, 5 or so green beans, and then never do I do more than two small onions. )
I normally do it in the crock pot, and I just let it go until it is done.
As far as the search does, if you typed in "beef stew" while you were in this "soups" forum, it is unlikely you will have gotten anything. You can go to the main Cookbook forum, and search again, and you should get threads that way.
A lot of them just mention beef stew, but
Here is one I found
http://www.gentlechristianmothers.co...701#msg2113701
a good thread
http://www.gentlechristianmothers.co...topic=192056.0