I have bought everything to make a beef stew tonight in my crockpot.

In preparation, I browsed a bunch of online recipes and found that there
are a couple of ways to approach the inclusion of potatoes in a crockpot
stew. Most tell one to cut the potatoes into chunks and put them into the
bottom of the crockpot, along with the other vegetables for the stew (i.e.,
carrots, celery, onions, etc.) But a few other recipes recommend boiling
the potatoes separately, until just tender, and adding them into the
crockpot mixture, during the last hour, or so, of cooking. Well, I had
thought about that, already. I certainly don't want moooshy 'taters! Can
someone with more experience than I, in these matters, share some
histories, pro and con, about getting the potatoes just right? I hate to
waste the time and money getting it all just right, except for the potatoes.
I plan on making enough to freeze for future meals.

One or two of the recipes which call for boiling the potatoes separately
note that leaving the potatoes out till the very end, also gives one the
option of serving a portion of the stew, without potatoes, over broad
egg noodles. And I kinda like that thought!

A quick separate inclusion: One of my pet peeves over the last
several years is buying a container of potato salad at a local supermarket,
almost ANY of them, only to find that the potatoes are almost raw.
Yuck! I am not averse to a little crunch in my potato salad. I usually
include a little sliced and diced celery, as much for the contrasting
texture as for the taste. But I really HATE it when the potatoes are
the source of the crunch. Who cooks this product that floods so many
major markets, in so many plastic tubs? Are they complete idiots?
Did they never eat potato salad growing up? I have thrown out so
many containers of this dreck over the years. It's not like you can
nuke it in the microwave to fix it. Not with all of the dressing already
mixed into it. I've tried mashing it with a fork, only to bend the tines
of the fork. I live alone and sometimes it just isn't practical to whomp
up a recipe's worth of potato salad for myself. I only want a
serving or two. So, every so often I give it another try. Sometimes
it is okay. But often, it is inedible. Am I alone in this?

Thanks, in advance!

Paul in Massachusetts