Klondike Stew
Today for supper I am making one of my family's favorite fall comfort foods: Klondike stew. Now I tried to find a recipe on Pinterest for this or something close to it but I couldn't so I am putting together one for you. I'm going to be honest I have never written a true recipe before and in this family we don't measure. We just dump and pour so I am going to try my best to give measurements but keep in mind they are just guesses and you are more than welcome to adjust to your preferences.
Ingredients:
*4-5 pork chops (Any will do but I prefer center cut ones with bones in them)
*flour
*vegetable oil
*baby carrots
*potatoes
*baby food carrots
*dumplings (Later I will show you how to make them from scratch)
*salt and pepper to taste
Cut the pork chops into small cubes and around the bones. Then grab a gallon sized bag and put about 1/2 c of flour into it with the pork.
Seal up the bag and give it a good shake until all the pieces are coated. This is the perfect job to keep little hands busy!
Pour the vegetable oil into a large stew pot so that it covers the bottom and begin to heat on the stove. You don't want the oil so hot the meat will burn but when your put the meat in you want to hear a good sizzle. To see if the oil is ready sprinkle just a bit of flour into the pot. If it sizzles you are good to go. If not wait a little longer or turn up the heat. Shake of the excess flour off the pork and drop it into the pot.
Cook the meat just until it is browned stirring every couple of minutes.
Now when I tell you the next step you are going think I'm crazy but I promise everything will be fine. Pour water over the pork just until it is completely covered. The oil will not spit and splatter. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer so about 45 minutes. At this point you can dice the baby carrots and add them and the baby food carrots to the pot and stir everything together. Now, you may be thinking why baby food? This is a trick I learned from my mom. As kids carrots weren't exactly our favorite things to eat so she would put baby food carrots in the stew so we were still eating them. I have tried making it without and honestly it's just not the same!
After the pork has simmered, peal and cube the potatoes and add them to the pot. Now here is where you have a critical choice to make. In my family we only put about 4-5 cubed potatoes into the stew because we would much rather save the room in the pot for the dumplings! You can always add more water to the pot but keep in mind the more water you add the more diluted and mute the flavor will be.
When the potatoes are done add the dumplings and cook until soft. Now, it my home we always make our dumplings from scratch. Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 egg, and enough milk to make a stiff dough. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment and it works our perfectly.
When I'm ready to add the dumplings I just pinch of a small amount and add it to the pot stirring occasionally so the dumplings don't get stuck together.
As soon as the dumplings are done you are ready to eat!
We usually have this meal several times in a month. It take a little time and effort but it's so comforting for fall days and there's usually leftovers for a couple days. The amount of dumplings in the leftover bowls will be drastically different that what was in the original pot, at least that's how it goes in our family!
Enjoy!
