Beef Burgundy Stew

There is this totally crazy thing happening in Ohio right now called, "Daylight Savings Time."

Have you heard of it?

I figured.

This girl is soooo not a fan. Sure, in the fall we gain an hour of time, but we also lost the ability to see sunlight for the next four months. Or take a halfway decent picture of your dinner. Or walk the dog after work. Or feel like you're not a cave dweller.

You think I'm an exaggerating, but yesterday when I got home from work it was already dark. And my photo taking skills and equipment just aren't up to the task of creating good photos from bad artificial light. And our dog is afraid of the dark.

Okay, okay he's not. That was an exaggeration. But the whole daylight savings time thing? I am so not impressed.

What I am impressed with is stew. Rich, dark, meaty stew. Stew that's ready when you walk in the door. Stew that comforts and warms even on the coldest winter nights. Stew with booze in it.

Now, let's talk for a second about what this stew isn't.

This stew isn't pretty. It's dark, tangled, and filled with hunks of beef and sweet, soft onions that kind of resemble worms. And the dumplings on top aren't winning any beauty contests either. Since they're cooked in the crockpot they don't get the brownness that an oven baked dumpling might. So they sort of just look like big beige rocks.

That's the bad news.

But now let's talk about what this stew is.

This stew is amazingly wonderfully epically delicious. The Mr. said it was probably the best stew he's ever had.

This stew is meaty, emphasis on the meat part. It does have some broth to it (made out of wine...ummm...AMAZING!), but the focus is really on the meat and veggies.

This stew is the perfect warmer for cold hands. Ladle some into a soup bowl, wrap your hands around it, and just let it do its magic.

This stew is a cinch to make. Once you've chopped the veggies all you do is mix them together and let them cook away while you're at work (during the only hours of daylight that exist anymore. And no, I'm not bitter). When you come home, the house will smell like you have your own personal sous chef who comes and cooks for you all day. And the steak?? The steak will be oh-so-tender.

And what about those dumplings?

Those were an interesting surprise. Turns out you can actually cook dumplings in a crockpot. Who knew? You just drop them onto the stew pieces, cover, and let the steam do its thing. I went the easy route and used Bisquick to whip up the dumplings, but you could certainly make them from scratch as well. Plus, it's super fun watching them get big and puffy under the crockpot glass.

To sum up, daylight savings time sucks. Stew is super awesome. Crockpots are magical. The end.

Beef Burgundy Stew
Recipe adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook: Bridal Edition
Serves 5

Ingredients:
For the stew:
2 lb round, tip, or chuck steak cut into 1 inch pieces
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Beef broth, for a thinner soup, if desired

For the dumplings:
1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Directions:
 In a large slow cooker, stir together all of the stew ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
 
For dumplings, mix together all ingredients until a wet dough forms. Uncover the stew mixture and drop dumplings by the heaping tablespoon full onto the stew pieces. Try not to drop it into the liquid. 
This made about 6 dumplings.
 
Cover and allow dumplings to cook for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.