beef stew secret?

i made this beef stew recipe the other day:

beef stew

i added celery and green beans to it
and it was good, but i felt like something was missing. any secrets?

Re: beef stew secret?

I like adding some mushrooms.

perhaps some salt?
did you add too much water?

Re: beef stew secret?

I add salt, pepper, granulated garlic and thyme to the flour before coating and browning the meat. I also like to brown in the rendered fat from a few pieces of bacon.. and I throw the bacon into the stew after rendering. If using a crock pot, I would deglaze the pot that you used to brown the beef with the red wine before adding it to the crockpot.. that way you get all the browned bits of goodness. I'd add some parsley to the stew while cooking. I would also use a little parsley, a dash of gravy master and a knob of butter to finish the stew.