SLOW COOKED BEEF STEW & DUMPLINGS (AUTISM SAFE FOOD TEXTURE FRIENDLY)

How to cook a Crockpot/Slow Cooker Beef Stew & Dumplings, the perfect meal to see you through Autumn and Winter activities.

I’ve made this (with my Mum who you might see doing the bits of prep I’m not good at!) and with my very fussy taste buds in mind. I have ASD and do not like the texture of some obvious stew ingredients such as mushrooms and onions (When Mum makes this for me, she doesn't use mushroom and adds undetectable Onion Granules instead of Sliced Onions). You can of course add actual mushrooms/onions at the prep stage, I chose not to here, as I thought there maybe others like me, with a food intolerance to what I call ‘slimy’ textures. This recipe avoids all those for me. I’ve also taken out any chat, as sometimes we just want to prepare our ingredients and follow along without hearing distracting talk.
Hope you enjoy! As always, Jake 😊

INGREDIENTS
400g Cubed Stewing Beef.
500g Peeled & Cubed White Potatoes.
250g Peeled and Chopped Carrots.
1 Bay Leaf (optional).
Liberal shake of Onion Granules (or 1 x Large Sliced Onion, if you like the texture).
Ground Pepper (to your taste).
Liberal shake of Worcestershire Sauce (do not add any salt if using this).
Beef Stock Cube (dissolved in 1 Pint of Hot Water).
3 Tablespoons of Instant Gravy Granules.
Dumpling Mix & Cold Water (optional).

METHOD:~

Turn Slow Cooker/Crockpot to HIGH.

Cube your Stewing Beef Steak.

Peel and Cube your White Potatoes (any variety).

Peel and Chop your Carrots.

Prepare your Beef Stock by placing in a Measuring Jug and pouring 1 Pint of Hot Water over. Stir until it dissolves.

Tip your Beef, Potatoes and Carrots into the Crockpot/Slow Cooker.

Add in Ground Pepper to your taste requirements.

Add in a liberal shake of Worcestershire Sauce (This is optional - if using Worcestershire Sauce do not add Salt in to taste, if not using Worcestershire Sauce, add in Salt with your Pepper to season).

*Add in one Bay Leaf (optional but does add a nice flavour – we take it out after cooking).

Add in a liberal shake of Onion Granules (not to be confused with Onion Salt!) – If you prefer using an actual Onion instead, swap and throw in a Large Sliced Onion with your Beef, Potatoes and Carrots (you don’t need an Onion and Onion Granules, one or the other will suffice).

Pour over your dissolved Beef Stock.

Give everything a real good mix.

Place lid on Crock Pot/Slow Cook for 3 hours (do not remove lid in that time).

Towards the end of the cooking time, if you want Dumplings, grab your Dumpling mix, check the packet instructions (which should be similar to my video’s instructions of weighing out what you need, pouring on cold water and mixing with your hands until a dough ball is formed, then split into how many dumplings you require.) Go straight to next step if omitting Dumplings.

After 3 hours cooking time is up, remove the Bay Leaf from your stew and place in 3 tablespoons of Instant Gravy Granules. Mix in well.

Add in your dumplings, spacing them out a little as they do expand.

Place the lid back on your Crockpot/Slow Cooker and cook for a further 1 hour. (You can check consistency of stew after 30 minutes cooking time, just in case you prefer a stew that isn’t as thick as mine).

Serve and Enjoy!