Chicken and Dumplings

It is now time to get cozy. Snow and rain forecasts are increasing, while temperatures are decreasing. We are getting weather alerts of increasing winds and it’s as dark as night before our work day is done. Time to break out the soup pot to create a one-pot meal that will pierce the cold and darkness with comfort and calm.

This Chicken and Dumpling Dinner hits every spot! This recipe is not an exercise in counting calories, as it features butter AND dumplings! But when you ladle this complete-with-vegetables steaming meal into the waiting bowls of your family, there is comfort in those calories.

Chicken & Dumpling Dinner – Tools You’ll Need:

• Soup Pot with Lid
• Large Wooden Spoon
• Tongs & Platter
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Sifter & Bowl
• Forks & Pastry Blender (optional)

Chicken & Dumpling Dinner Ingredients:

• 6 T butter-divided
• 8 chicken thighs or 3-4 chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1-2 onions, chopped
• 6 stalks celery, chopped
• 5-6 carrots, chopped
• 3T flour to coat vegetables
• 3 cloves garlic or 1.5 t minced
• 8 C chicken stock (2 full boxes) (Add more if you’d like)
• 2 bay leaves

Dumplings – Sift Together

• 2 C flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t salt

Cut In:

• 4 T butter, at room temperature

Add:

• 1 1/3 C whole milk + 1 ½ T white vinegar to sour
• 2 T parsley
• 1 T basil

Chicken & Dumpling Dinner Directions:

In your stockpot, melt 4 T butter. Sprinkle chicken breasts or thighs with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook 3-4 minutes medium-high on each side until golden. Transfer to a platter.

Using the stockpot, add 2 more tablespoons of butter to pan. Add vegetables seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown vegetables, around 3 minutes, stirring frequently, and scrape up bits on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 3 T flour on vegetables and stir until coated. Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, bay leaves, and browned chicken, with any juices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

While the chicken dinner is simmering, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter with either forks or pastry blender. Add soured milk, parsley and basil to mixture. Mix gently.

Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Return chicken to pot. Spoon dumplings onto top of stew. You can use cooking spray on spoons if needed. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until dumplings are double in size. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Serves 6-8 comforting bowls of love.

Chicken & Dumpling Dinner Cooking Notes:

• Chicken thighs are much more flavorful than chicken breasts. For today’s photo shoot I used chicken breasts, but prefer thighs.

• If you have a big crowd, you can add more chicken, chicken stock, a few more vegetables and add more dumplings. This recipe is easy to add and subtract from.

• The whole milk makes for more comfort-filled dumplings, but you can also use buttermilk.

• I love the smell of bay leaves cooking in a chicken broth. If you like bay like I do, you can add another leaf. Be sure to remove them before serving.

Be Blessed!