Beef Stew

This is not your typical beef stew!  What I love about this particular recipe is the addition of apples.  I absolutly love almost anything with apples included.  This stew uses apple juice in the broth as well as applesauce in the dumplings.  It is the perfect dish for a crisp Autumn evening.  

Stew
5 pounds stew beef cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1/2 cup flour
3 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups onions -- sliced
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1/2 cup beef broth
3/4 cup apple juice
2 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp curry

Apple Dumplings
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs, well beaten
2 tsp parsley, chopped
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

To make dumpling batter, blend applesauce with eggs and parsley; add flour, baking powder and salt and beat into egg mixture.

Coat meat with mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Combine meat, onion, garlic, beef broth, apple juice, vinegar, thyme and curry in crockpot. Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or low 8 to 10 hours. 
Remove cover and place tablespoons of dumpling batter on top of stew. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes.