Crockpot Beef Stew with Dumplings

One of my most favorite things that my mom made as a kid was stew with dumplings. It wasn't the stew I loved, it was the dumplings. They were so good. I tolerated the stew in order to get more dumplings, I dipped the stew in ketchup in order to better suit my tastes. I bought a crockpot for the condo in Aspen because I figured it would be a useful tool in the winter. We can ski all day and come home to a nice, hot dinner. Miss F does not share my same love for dumplings, she much prefers the beef (no surprise there!) Which is fine by me, more dumplings for me! This stew is rich and hearty, I cannot wait to make it again once it is ski season. We had been playing in the snow all day, so this was the perfect meal to end the day. It turns out playing in the snow wears Miss F out as much as swimming, and makes her just as hungry. This recipe is adapted from The Magical Slow Cooker.

Crockpot Beef Stew with Dumplings

2 pounds stew beef
½ cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup red wine
14 ounce can beef broth
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 ½ pounds red potatoes,
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
½ pound button mushrooms, quartered
1 white onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups frozen peas

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme in a Ziplock bag. Seal, shake to combine, then add the stew meat. Shake to coat the pieces evenly. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides and add it to the crockpot.

Return the pan to the stove; de-glaze the pan with the red wine, scrape up any browned bits of meat and flour into the sauce. Whisk in the beef broth and tomato paste. Simmer for two minutes. Add the sauce to the crockpot. Add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions to the crockpot. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Stir in the peas for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, egg, milk and oil. Drop the dumplings by ¼ cup onto the top of the stew after you have stirred in the peas. Cover, turn heat to high and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the dumpling comes out cleanly.

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Brown Butter Doughnuts

Miss F had Columbus Day off from school. We had big plans to visit the local pumpkin patch. She wants three pumpkins this year: a happy pumpkin, a scary pumpkin and a Mickey Mouse pumpkin. I am not sure how the Mickey Mouse pumpkin can be done, but I will do my best. Sadly, rain kept us out of the pumpkin patch, so we decided to bake doughnuts instead. Miss F loves doughnuts. She always likes to point out doughnut shops whenever we are out and about.  These doughnuts were fantastic, but the best thing about them was the chocolate glaze.  It is the only way I am going to cover doughnuts in chocolate going forward.  It is easy, tasty and no melting is needed.  Win!  Thanks to Joy the Baker for the great recipe.

Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

For the Doughnuts:
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Glaze:
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the doughnut pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, once the butter begins to brown and smells nutty, remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl. In a two cup measure, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and two tablespoons of the brown butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir until just incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared doughnut pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the doughnuts cool on a wire rack.

Whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla until smooth. Dip each doughnut into the glaze and immediately top with sprinkles, if desired.

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Slow Baked Salmon with Lime Cream

Slow baked salmon was served at my wedding, that is how much I adore it (recipe here.) My friend Courtney had a dinner party for my birthday and prepared this amazing slow baked salmon. It was cooked on a bed of onions, which added this wonderful flavor to the fish. She prepares it with lemons, but I had a bunch of limes leftover from Key Lime Pie, so I decided to switch it up. It was equally good. And drumroll....Miss F tasted it AND liked it. I am so thrilled she finally tried fish and that it was my favorite fish, salmon. Courtney got the recipe from Steamy Kitchen, which provides a multitude of ways to prepare slow baked salmon.

Slow Baked Salmon with Lime Cream

1 onion, sliced
2 limes, one sliced and one juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons cumin, divided
½ cup sour cream
¼ teaspoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. While the oven is preheating, set the salmon out to come to room temperature. Arrange the onion slices and lime slices on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the salmon on top of the onion and limes. Brush each filet with oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of the cumin. Bake for 30 minutes.

Whisk together the sour cream, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cumin and sugar together. Top the cooked salmon with the lime cream.

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