Chicken and Dumplings

Mmmm… brains!

After successfully making chicken stock I was pretty proud of myself! My next task was to use it on a good recipe. I choose to make chicken and dumplings. It’s one of my favorites, since it minds me of Girl Scout camp. The first time I had it I was sitting around a campfire, while the counselors taught us how to cook outside. The recipe I make now I adapted from a Williams Sonoma recipe (found here). In the past, I bought a good chicken stock from a health food store. The homemade is SO much better but using store bought does make the recipe go pretty quick. To be realistic, I’m guessing in the future I’ll probably only make chicken stock about half the time due to time. The Boyfriend LOVES this recipe & it’s great comfort food for fall. Plus, the dumplings look a little like brains, so it’s perfect for halloween!

Ingredients

3 Tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 stalks celery
2 carrots (or ~ 1.5 handfuls of baby carrots)
8 cups chicken stock
4 cups shredded, cooked chicken (we BBQ ours with Creole seasoning, paprika & granulated garlic)
Salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp fresh sage, minced
2/3 cup half-and-half

Details

In a soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add onion, celery & carrots, cover and cook (stirring occasionally) until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.
The veggies will cook more as we build up the soup, so don’t let them get too soft in the beginning.
If chicken stock has formed film, strain before using (gross!)
Ick! This is what the chicken stock looked like after a night in the fridge. I just used a large spoon to skim the top.
Add chicken stock to pot, bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Add Chicken.
Season with salt and pepper. The soup should be simmering.
Now for the dumplings! In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and sage.
Fresh sage from the garden! It really made the dumplings fantastic.
Add half-and-half and stir (I use my hands) to make a soft dough. Don’t work it too much, since we want light and fluffy dumplings.
Mix just enough for all ingredients to combine, don’t over-work the dough.
Using a soup spoon, scoop portions of dough and drop (softly!) onto the surface of the simmering soup.
Cover and cook until the dumplings are firm, about 15 minutes.