Grandma Bouclairs Dumplings For Stew Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering, and place the onion and beef into the hot oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the steak seasoning, stir the meat and onions well, and sprinkle with 1 more teaspoon of seasoning. Add the celery, and cook and stir until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes.
• Pour in 2 cups of water to just cover the meat, onion, and celery, bring to a boil, and stir and scrape the browned bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the beef is very tender, about 2 hours. Remove the meat and celery pieces from the pan, set the meat aside, and discard the celery.
• In a bowl, whisk together the gravy mix with 4 cups of water. Add the mixture to the juices in the pot, bring to a boil, and stir the meat back into the gravy mixture. Stir in the turnip and carrots, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and simmer an additional 20 minutes.
• To make dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture looks crumbly. Pour in the milk, and lightly stir the mixture just until it combines to form a dough.
• Remove 2 cups of gravy from the pot, and reserve. Drop the dumplings by heaping tablespoon onto the meat and vegetables in the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peek until the time is up. Pour the reserved gravy back over the dumplings, stir lightly, and serve.

Steps:

• 1. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in medium size bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup or stew. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid. Serve.
• 2. VARIATION: To make parsley dumplings, add 1 tablespoon parsley flakes to the dry ingredients.

Steps:

• Put the flour, seasonings, & suet in a large mixing bowl, mix thoroughly.
• (If you are adding herbs or extra seasonings, add them now & mix well.).
• Add sufficient cold water - bit by bit - to make a pliable dough; it should not be too sticky, but just bound together.
• Divide the dumpling mixture into 8 portions, and roll into small balls with floured hands.
• Drop them into your soup, casserole or stew 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, making sure that the soup, stew or casserole is very hot.
• Put the lid on IMMEDIATELY and do NOT take the lid off until just before the end of the cooking time, about 15-18 minutes to check that they are nearly ready.
• They should have doubled in size at least, and be very light & fluffy looking!
• Ladle the soup, stew or casserole into warmed soup bowls & serve 2 dumplings per person.
• Oven baked: place the dumplings on top of your stew or casserole and cook for about 30 minutes at 200C or 400F, or until well risen, golden brown & crusty.

Steps:

• Mix the first 6 ingredients together until combined. Slowly add the water until you form a dough. You may have to add more or less water to form the ball.
• Roll out the dumpling dough on a floured surface thin and cut into bite size pieces.
• Drop them one at a time into simmering chicken/broth. She would always drop a few then wait a bit, then drop a few more. She said this kept them from sticking together in the end. After they are all added, give a gentle stir (once or twice around the pot, then leave it alone).
• Let the dumplings simmer in the chicken/broth mixture until they float to the top (about 15 minutes or so). I have let them simmer a longer, and that's fine. She would taste the broth one last time after the dumplings were done for seasoning before we got to eat them!