Healthy Slow Cooker Beer Braised Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings

I'm going to make a confession.  I actually hate beef stew.  I've never really found a beef stew that I actually enjoyed eating.  I normally find them bland and rather unappealing. This beef stew is so good that it has totally converted me!  I actually had one and a half servings for dinner and was a little too stuffed. It's a perfect easy dinner for the whole family. My kids were enjoying it so much that they didn't actually speak until they were almost done with their dinner - pretty remarkable since my four-year-old will even talk in his sleep!

The fresh vegetables and herbs combine beautifully with the beer to make a rich gravy for the stew.  The meat is super tender and falls apart.  The alcohol also cooks off so that you don't need to worry about giving it to your children. This beef stew is a 'dump and cook' recipe and you can prepare everything the night before and just add the buttermilk and olive oil to the dumplings the next morning to cut down on the morning prep time. 

Healthy Slow Cooker Beer Braised Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings

homefamilylove.com
Servings: 8 ★ Size: 1 cup and 2 dumplings ★ Smart Points: 7 ★ Points Plus: 8 ★ Calories: 347 ★ Total Fat: 6 g ★ Saturated Fat: 0 g ★ Protein: 25 g ★ Carbohydrates: 45 g ★ Fiber: 6 g ★ Sugars: 4 g ★ Sodium: 197 mg ★ Cholesterol:  31 mg

Ingredients:· 

Beef Stew
· 1 1/2 lbs (700 g) extra lean stew beef, bite size chunks
· 1 lb (450 g) new potatoes, halved 
· 1 lb (450 g) carrots, roughly chopped
· 12 ounce (350 ml) light beer
· 2 cups (500 ml) beef stock, low sodium
· 1 onion, diced
· 4 celery stalks, diced
· 3 clove garlic, minced
· 2 bay leaves
· 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
· 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
· salt and pepper to taste

Herbed Dumplings
· 1 cup (150 g) whole wheat flour
· 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1 teaspoon onion powder
· 3 tablespoons fresh mixed herbs (I used parsley and thyme)
· pinch salt
· 1 tablespoon (20 ml) olive oil
· 1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk, low-fat 

Directions:
1.  Place the stew beef, potatoes, beer, stock, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper into a slow cooker and mix well.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, herbs, and salt together.  Slowly add the oil and buttermilk mixing with a spoon to make a dough.

3. Drop by heaped tablespoons in the stew baking sure to keep some space between the dumplings. Mine turned a little darker brown but they were in no way over cooked.  They remained fluffy and delicious.  Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.