Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      tablespoons   oil
   2      pounds        beef chuck -- cut in 1 1/2" cubes
   1      medium        onion -- sliced
   1      clove         garlic
   2      cups          boiling water
   1      tablespoon    salt
   1      teaspoon      salt
   1      teaspoon      sugar
   1      teaspoon      worcestershire sauce
     1/2  teaspoon      pepper
     1/2  teaspoon      paprika
   1                    bay leaves -- up to 2
   1      dash          allspice or cloves
   6                    carrots
   1      pound         small onions
   6      medium        potato -- cubed (optional)
     1/4  cup           cold water
   2      tablespoons   flour

Preparation:

Thats the original receipe. I'll give it to you straight, then tell you how I did it. Brown meat in oil. Should take about 20 minutes. Then add sliced onion, along with garlic(on toothpicks so you can retrieve), boiling water,salt, sugar, worcestershire, pepper, paprika, bay, and allspice or cloves. Simmer(not boil) for 1 1/2 hours. Stir now and then to prevent sticking. Remove bay and garlic. Add the vegi's. Cover and simmer 30 to 45 min. until all is tender. Put cold water and flour in shaker to blend. Move vegi's to one side of pan and add flour mixture. Cook stirring constantly, till the gravy thickens and boils. Cook gently about 5 minutes more. NO LUMPS! (That's what it says!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's what I did different. Use about 1 med onion in first stage. Don't worry about retrieving it. Omit small onions in 2nd stage. I put the garlic on the toothpick, but it fell off....never did find it! Instead of boiling water I used can of beef broth and added water to make 2 cups. Omit salt.(Broth has plenty) Thought I had bay but didn't so I didn't put that in. Used a dash of grd cloves. Cooked that 1 1/2 hours. Added carrots, potatoes,celery. Looked like it needed a little more liquid so I added about 1/2 can of vegtable broth(out of beef!) and some water so it looked right. Cooked 45 minutes. Then added flour mixture.