Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I have found two recipes for beef stew made in the crock pot.  The first one looks easier (and is a smaller batch) because you don't have to pre-brown the beef, but for that reason I wonder if it will still be good.  The second one is a lot like my own recipe other than it's cooked in a crock pot so I'm pretty sure it'd be good.  Anyway, I wanted to put them both in here so I'd have them when I wanted to try them.  The first calls for a bag of frozen stew vegetables, which are potatoes, carrots, pearl onions, and celery.  I assume I can use fresh if I don't have frozen.  

Recipe 1:

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon Spice Islands Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands Rosemary

1/4 teaspoon Spice Islands Pepper, Black Fine Grind

1 bag (16 ounces) frozen stew vegetables

1 pound beef stew meat, cut in 1 -inch cubes

1/4 cup red wine OR water

1 Spice Islands Bay Leaves

1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

Mix flour, sugar, garlic powder, salt, rosemary and pepper in a small bowl. Place frozen vegetables in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkle with flour/spice mixture. Add stew meat, wine, bay leaf and tomatoes. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours or on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Recipe 2:

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup baby carrots

4 large potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups boiling water

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

3 tablespoons butter

3 onions, sliced

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup warm water

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches small enough to prevent crowding chunks of meat, cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.  In the same skillet, melt butter and sauté onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.  Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water. Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.