easy one pot beef stew

I was looking for a recipe for braised beef and came across one. But it says it will take 2 hours in the oven, or 4-6 hours in a slow cooker. It was already 4:30pm and I only had an hour to make dinner. So I put everything in the pot and made it over the stove. It turned out really yummy and it only took 45-50 minutes! If I ever make the 2-hour oven braised beef, I will post it on the blog. For today, here's what I did (the picture doesn't look too appetizing... need to work on photo taking skill. haha)

Ingredients: 

Beef - 2 cups (cut in 1-inch chunks)
Water- 1/2 cup
Stock - 1/2 cup + more to add later one (if you have about 2 cups, it should be enough)
Red wine - 1/4 cup (optional)
Soy sauce - 4 TBS
Apple cider vinegar - 4 TBS
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Brown sugar - 1/2 TBS

Carrots - 3 medium (chopped into 1 inch)
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Potatoes - 3 small (chopped)

Prep:

1. Cut all veggies & beef into chunks
2. Cook rice

Cook:

1. Put all the ingredients (veggies first then place beef on top) in a 5-qrt or bigger pot. Cover and bring it to boil on med high. Reduce heat to low. 
2. Check and stir occasionally. Add stock if it's getting dry. Simmer on low for 40-45 minutes.
3. Adjust taste if needed.

Serve:

1. Serve with rice.