Beef Stew with a French Flare

I love French food. Whenever my husband and I have a chance to go out for a nice dinner, we always head for the French Gourmet in Pacific Beach. This recipe feeds my French addiction with a minimum of fuss. It's perfect for a fall dinner and can be prepped ahead, placed in the fridge until your ready to start your slow cookers engines.

3lbs stew meat or beef pot roast cut into cubes and trimmed of fat
1 large onion, minced
6 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
2tsp dried thyme
1 cup red wine(I used a Merlot)
1 Knorr container of concentrated beef stock

1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
6 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
1 tsp salt(use this in bits on the meat and onions while cooking)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fresh Italian Parsley, minced
1 bag egg noodles
3 tsp smart balance

Heat the 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet. Cook the bacon and add it to slow cooker. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil from the pan. Return to heat and saute the onions and garlic in remaining drippings. Sprinkle a bit more salt and pepper over all. Add the dried thyme. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add this to the slow cooker. Return the skillet to the heat, add the remaining oil. Sprinkle some of the salt and pepper over the stew meat. Place it in a large zip-lock bag with the flour. Zip the bag closed and shake to coat. Remove the meat from the flour and save the flour in the bag. Place the meat in the hot oil and brown on all sides. Just before removing the meat from the pan, pour the remaining flour over the meat and mix in the pan. Let it cook for a few minutes. If the flour sticks to the bottom of the pan, pour some of the remaining beef stock over all. Stir and it will start to look like a gravy. Remove from heat and pour the contents into the slow cooker. Add the wine, beef stock, concentrated beef stock and carrots to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and return to the hot cooking pot. Add the smart balance and the minced parsley. Toss to coat. Serve the stew over the noodles.