Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings

Happy Monday.  Welcome to my new followers.  Thank you all for stopping by my blog and reading my posts.  It is so nice to have you here.  Hope that you find the information I post useful.

Although it is still warm here, I recently was hungry for stew.  Pork is more tender than beef so it cooks more quickly.  This makes it a good choice for making stew in the summer.  Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings fits the bill.

Either pork shoulder or loin may be used, but the shoulder will be slightly more flavorful.  As with all stews, the vegetables can be changed to suit personal preferences.  Although I usually use frozen peas for this dish, the stew in the photos has drained, canned peas in it.  I had some of those left over in the fridge that needed to be used up.

Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings
1 to 1 1 /2 lbs. boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 c. flour
1 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
2 T. or more vegetable oil
3 medium/large potatoes (about 1  1/2 lb.) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 c. coarsely chopped onion
2-3 medium carrots (1 c.) cut into 1x1/4-inch matchstick pieces
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch bias slices
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz.) low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. frozen peas
Dumplings
1 c. flour
2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. dried dill weed
1/3 c. milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 egg

Place flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a plastic bag and shake to combine.  Add pork cubes and shake until the cubes are coated.  Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven.  Add pork cubes, but do not let them touch.  (You may need to do this in two batches.)  Brown cubes on all sides.  Remove and set aside.  Continue until all cubes are brown, adding more oil if necessary.  Return pork to Dutch oven and add potatoes,  onion, carrots, red pepper, celery, bay leaf and garlic.  Stir in remaining flour.  Pour in chicken broth and stir well.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes.  While stew is cooking, prepare dumplings.  In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and dill weed.  Stir to mix well.  Combine milk, vegetable oil and egg in a small bowl.  Add to flour mixture and stir just to  moisten dry ingredients.  Add peas to stew and bring back to a low boil.  Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoonsful into hot stew.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve.  Makes 6 servings.  Store dumplings and stew separately if there are leftovers.

Linking to these great parties:
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Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings

This  recipe originally used 2 lbs. of round steak cut into 6 portions.  I  cube the meat instead and use 1 to 2 lbs. round steak, depending on how many people I am feeding. The meat seems to go further that way.  I also use the Cream Soup Mix that I posted on Monday and add vegetables to the original dish to make it a one-dish meal.  We like our dish saucy, so I double the gravy ingredients.

If you choose to cut the steak into larger pieces, coat the meat with some seasoned flour, then pound it with a meat mallet, and coat it with the flour again before browning it.  This will help to get some flavor into the meat.  Round steak is inexpensive, and I use it a lot; but sometimes it does not have much flavor..

You can make this without rolling the dumplings in the buttered crumbs, but it is much better if you take the time to do it.  You may omit the poultry seasoning in the dumplings or use another herb.

Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings
1-1 1/2 lb. round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 T. salad oil
1/3 c. flour
salt or seasoned salt
pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup or 1/3 c. Cream Soup Mix and 1 1/3 c. water
1 can water
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen vegetables (mixed vegetables, peas and carrots, broccoli, California blend, carrots, etc.)

Heat salad oil in a skillet.  Combine flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag.  Shake steak cubes in the flour to coat.  When oil is hot, add steak cubes and cook until well browned on all sides.  Transfer to a 9x13-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Add the frozen vegetables to the meat.  Combine the soup or soup mix and 1 1/3 c. water, with the 1 c. water and the salt and pepper in the skillet in which the meat was browned.  Heat until boiling.  Pour over the meat and vegetables.  Cover.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until meat is tender.  Remove from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Butter Crumb Dumplings
1 c. fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. melted butter, divided
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. poultry seasoning (omit or use other seasoning if you want)
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk

Mix 1/4 c. melted butter into the bread crumbs combining until all the crumbs are well coated.  Combine flour, baking power, poultry seasoning, and salt.  Stir well.  Combine 1/4 c. melted butter and the milk.  Stir into the flour mixture.  Stir until dry ingredients are moistened.  Mixture will not be smooth.  Spray a kitchen tablespoon with cooking spray.  Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls into the buttered crumbs; roll dough in the crumbs until coated.  Place on top of meat and vegetables.  Bake 20 to 30 minutes until lightly browned on top.  Makes  6-8 servings.

You will probably have buttered crumbs left over, put in a freezer bag, freeze, and use later.

I am linking this recipe to Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen.

Monday:  DIY Groceries-Cornell Mix