Roz,

I find that a cassrole really benefits from browning the meat first - if you have stewing steak, seal it in a frying pan, and don't be afraid to let it go really brown. Brown = flavour. You can then cook it for however long it needs (which depends on the cut - something like beef shin will take about 3 hours on 120-130 degrees, chuck steak abut 2 hours). But don't brown too much at a time as a crowded pan will trap water and everything will just boil instead of brown. You could do a lot worse than pouring a whole bottle of red wine over some steak and vegetables (onions, carrots, celery). Cook it for 2,3,4,hours (depending on what meat you've got).

Also, I find that supermarkets are quite clever in how much they charge for 'cheaper cuts' - I actually think their 'cheaper' cuts are still quite expensive. I can get shin of beef from the butchers for about ?4.50 a kilo - 'stewing steak' from Sainsbury's I found to be in the sixes and sevens.