"I absolutely loved this stew. I used almost 2 lbs of squash and added carrots and an extra 2 cups of broth and only 3/4 cup of marsala. After browning the meat I put it in my crock pot with the other ingredients (i only put in 1/2 of the squash at that point I put it on high for 4 hours. About 20 minutes before serving I took some of the broth and the rest of the squash, and carrots and simmered them until just soft. This made the broth thicker from the softer squash but it still had the chunks of the firmer squash /carrots and the beef was really tender and delicious. My 2 kids ate a lot of this and it was loaded with vegetables. Both of them usually HATE squash but they loved this.