Sweet and Sour Beef

I love my crock pot. During the days of warmer weather it is a life saver because it will do the cooking for me without making our house hot. I also love that you can throw anything into a crock pot and all you have to do is put it all together and walk away. I saw a recipe for sweet and sour pork made in a crock pot in an issue of Taste of Home. I wanted to try it out. I found a chunk of beef I'd forgotten was in the freezer, and decided to make the recipe with beef instead of pork. It smelled amazing while it was cooking (another thing I love about crock pots). However, the flavor wasn't quite what I was wanting. It seemed a bit bland. The smell didn't match the taste. The next time I make it (I will make it again) I'm going to double the "sweet and sour" aspects of the seasoning. I've written out the recipe with the seasonings as double the original.

Sweet and Sour Beef
2 pounds beef shoulder cut into 2 X 1 pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large onion peeled and diced
1 large green pepper cored, seeds removed, and chopped
about 12 fresh mushrooms chopped (you could use a 4oz can of mushrooms, I just like the real thing)
1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
6 Tblsp brown sugar
4 Tblsp rice vinegar
4 Tblsp soy sauce
either rice or egg noodles

Cut beef into 2 X 1 pieces and place in crock pot. Add chopped onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Stir to mix. In a bowl mix tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Pour over beef mixture. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours (my crock pot is a little crazy and I cooked it on low for 6 hours and it was more than done). Serve over the top of either rice of egg noodles.