I just use pieces of stew meat, flour and brown them. Throw them into a crock pot (I ususally add garlic, a glug of worchestshire sauce, sliced onions, some water). Turn the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours or so.
I parboil all of the vegetables before dinner and add them at the end to the crock pot. It's been my experience, if you crock pot the vegetables all day, they usually come out mushy.