boeuf bourguignon (beef burgundy) - slow cooker version

The french dish, Boeuf Bourguignon (beef burgundy), is normally made in the oven, however fpr this dish, I decided to adapt it for the slow cooker, since it's much easier to make on a work day.
(However, one of these weekends... I *will* tackle the dish with the traditional oven method).

When I had boeuf bourguignon in France, it tasted like every other regular beef stew that I make.
But when I made my own slow cooker version of boeuf bourguignon, it tasted different than my regular beef stew, and it was very delicious! 
Jeff was a fan, and we finished the dish faster than I expected! =D. 
It's always a compliment when food is consumed quickly.

The ingredients list is a bit long, so be prepared to make a grocery list:
1.5 cups red wine (what a good excuse to use up that opened bottle of red wine that is sitting in the fridge!), 2 tbps dry minced onion, 1 tsp dried leaf thyme, 2 tsp dried parsley flakes, 1 bay leaf, salt & pepper, 4 pounds lean stew beef (you can cube it up, but I just threw the entire chunk into the slow cooker), 1/3 cup flour, 8 slices bacon (diced), 1 large onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 box of sliced mushrooms.

In a ziploc bag, add in the wine, minced onion, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, pepper, and the hunk of beef,  Marinate overnight. 
The next day, heat up a large skillet with some oil and brown the hunk of meat.  When carmlized and browned add the meat to your slow cooker.  In the same skillet, add in the bacon until browned, then add in the garlic and onions.  Add the bacon, garlic, and onion to the slow cooker.  In the same skillet, add in the mushrooms and cook until it softened.  Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker, than pour the red wine marinade from the ziploc bag into the slow cooker. 

Turn on the slow cooker on low for about 9 hours.
Come home to a house smelling like red wine and beef!  Mmm!
Enjoy the dish with some bread or some baked potato.