Sometimes you want to make an awesome meal with as little work as possible, that’s when you turn to the slow cooker!! JEM and I received one for our wedding, but we haven’t used it for much (2 berry cobblers and a stew). I have these super fond memories of having beef stew as a kid. It was one of my favorite meals when camping. I think the best part was the dumplings…bread soaked with gravy = AWESOME. I suspect this could easily be given a vegetarian twist–replace the meat with root veggies, eggplant, meat-substitute or lentils, something of similar weight and protein content, and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
It’s a gross, damp, cold day here. Neither JEM or are I feeling great. We had furniture delivered so we’ve got a lot on our plates already. That means, if you haven’t already guessed, it’s slow cooker beef stew day!!!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
Dumplings
- 1 1/2 c. bisquick
- 1/2 c. skim milk
- 1/2 tsp thyme (optional)
- 1/4 tsp sage (optional)
- 1/4 tsp rosemary (optional)
Stew
- Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
- Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.
Dumplings (on top of the Stew)
- (about 40 mins till serving)Mix the bisquick, milk, and herbs until just moistened.
- Drop by the spoonful on top of the stew.
- Cover and cook on high for 25-35 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve
