Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings

My first foray into cooking for a blog! I cook every Tuesday for my family and enjoy trying out new recipes. Right now, I am working my way through the wonderful Taste of Home cookbook! Here's the recipe:

Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds beef stew meat (I used about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (this is for cooking the onions. Use olive oil if you prefer- I did!)
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each condensed beef broth, undiluted
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 medium carrots, cut into 2 inch chunks (I used baby carrots and halved them. Carrots are carrots, and this was an easy shortcut.)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Dumplings:
1 egg
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley (I used dried. It's October. Sue me.)
1 tablespoon minced onion (I used onion powder)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 cups finely shredded raw potato
Additional all-purpose flour

1. In a plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add meat, toss to coat. In a Dutch oven, cook meat along with onions in oil until the meat is browned on all sides and onions are tender.
2. Stir in the broth, water, vinegar, carrots and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is almost tender. Discard bay leaves.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg; add the crumbs, flour, parsley, onion and seasonings. Stir in potatoes; mix well. With floured hands, shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Dust with flour.
4. Bring stew to a boil, drop dumplings into stew. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes (do not lift cover while simmering). Serve immediately.




The array of ingredients! (The carrots were taking a bath in the sink to defrost)



Prep included 2 1/2 cups of finely shredded raw potatoes. I could have used the food processor, but that doesn't make for a very fun picture, does it? Be forewarned: your arm will be sore later on if you choose this method!



All done! I drained the "juice" from the potatoes so the dumplings wouldn't fall apart.

I followed the first two steps, and my mother stopped by to observe briefly:



and took a picture of me in action:



I love chopping onions for some reason. I think because, when done well, it's so methodical. It satisfies my OCD.



This is what the pot looked like after the first 2 steps:



Yum!

Next, to the dumplings! I was curious and nervous, as I've never made dumplings before, or even really eaten them.




I'm a big fan of the way Rachael Ray measures: by the handful!

The finished product:



The cat was licking his chops in anticipation!



My beautiful dumplings awaiting their bath:



In they go!



Note: do not, as I did, forget to lower the heat for the last half hour after bringing it to a boil. The pot is still soaking to remove the remains...

The finished product, along with Sour Cream Drop Biscuits



The recipe did not make very much at all, although part of that may have been my fault for boiling the stew down by accident. I'm not sure if this is a keeper, but I may try it again without the dumplings.

Bon appetit!