Sometimes, a little chicken soup will soothe the soul…
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 6 c reduced-sodium chicken broth*
- 3 bay leaves*
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs*
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled*
- 1 c chopped carrots
- 1 c chopped celery
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 c frozen peas
- 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded**
- 1/4 c heavy whipping cream
Dumpling ingredients
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 c buttermilk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
- In a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, saute carrots, and celery in oil and butter until tender. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in flour until blended, then gradually add prepared broth. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently.
- Add peas; return to a boil. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Stir in chicken and cream; heat through.
- For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and eggs; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
- Drop dumpling mix onto simmering chicken mixture. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean.
*If time is an issue, you can use 48 oz low-sodium chicken stock in place of these ingredients
**3-4 baked, shredded chicken breasts can be substituted for the rotisserie chicken
This past weekend, MM and I headed to his hometown to celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday. We wanted to take her out to a really good dinner on Friday night, and then MM’s mom, P, was going to take us all to a nice lunch on G’s actual birthday.
Unfortunately, those plans were cancelled, because P, who had just returned from Florida about a week ago, came down with a horrible, horrible cold. Sinus pressure, aches and pains, just overall feeling nasty. Kinda think she actually had a flu bug.
Her husband was also down with something sinus related, and no one wanted G going over there to take care of the two of them, getting exposed to the illness.
So, I figured, it’s time for comfort food that MM and her husband could heat up easily.
I got this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine and tried it exactly as written. As a result, my issues with spicy things came into play. The next couple times I remove first the crushed red pepper flakes and the cayenne, until I found the way MM and I like it best.
It was a little weird making the recipe in a kitchen I’m not familiar with, with tools I’m not used to, but it worked out well enough, and now they have something that they can eat when they don’t feel like moving much at all.
And because that went so well, I’m making it again for dinner tonight!
Enjoy!
