To want stew and dumplings

[Trippingthelighteddaylight]

I’m on my own since DH passed away. Cooking feels like a massive chore. I’m lying here craving stew and dumplings. I think I’ll start a stew and dumplings takeaway. Do you think it would work?

Some lovely posts on here, thank you. ❤️

Why not use butter instead of vegetarian suet?

Cooking an be a chore when you ‘have to’ do it. I sometimes enjoy setting some time aside during the day at a weekend and spend a bit of time in the kitchen doing a bit of batch cooking for the freezer as PP have said.

Can you look to do this, radio on, nice drink, having a chat with DH whilst you do it? I often have conversations in my head with people who aren’t around or I haven’t seen in ages.

And you’ll end up with some nice food you can go to when you need that comfort.

Because then you would be making scones or a cobbler...

Finally got round to making my stew and dumplings last night - found a Mary Berry beef and ale recipe online, added more veg, and just made the Atora box recipe for dumplings. What a delight that was siiiigh.

But have concluded I definitely prefer dumplings when they have been cooked with the casserole lid on - tried without the lid last night and did not love the crusty tops, maybe I should have flipped over halfway through? We live and learn!

Anyway thanks OP for the idea - I hope you had had an equally cosy stew yourself

I tried the Aunty Bessie dumpling mix, as it’s just me. They are nothing like the proper dumplings you make yourself. I’ve bought some suet now.

Should've got the frozen sort ,they're nicer.

M&S does beef stew with proper suet dumplings. I’ve also discovered they’ve (re)introduced suet jam roly poly, haven’t tried it yet but plan to very soon. With custard of course

Cook do a very tasty steak and stout stew with mini cheese scone dumplings - one of my favourite meals for a cold and wet winter evening.

@Ponderingwindow have you an allergen friendly dumpling recipe? Been searching for a gluten free one for a while

Suma make a gluten free suet. All you need is half the suet in weight to GF self raising flour, a pinch of salt and enough water to make it into a dough.

You can add herbs and grated cheese as well. We prefer our dumplings to have a crispy top so I bake them on top on the stew/mince at 200 deg fan for 20 minutes. You need to make sure the dish has plenty of gravy if you do them this way as the liquid evaporates as the dumplings cook.

Can you share your recipe? I make a beef one but my chicken stew is usually a bit bland. Thanks

I’ve already shared it on this thread if you read a bit further through it!

This is my guilty pleasure when DH and kids are out and I want to Netflix and chill on my own!

This will change your life: CURRY and dumplings!

It was a revelation and scratched two itches at once for me.

Love stew and dumplings, but gluten free ones are a sad affair. DH always said he didn't like stew, this winter after 40 odd years he says he does. We have ours with Yorkshire puddings.
A small slow cooker sounds a great idea, be enough for 2 days.

This thread prompted me to make this recipe 😋
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-beef-stew-with-dumplings