When I was a teen, my stepmother made us some chicken and dumplings. Now, first I’ll tell you, my siblings and I were used to German style dishes…we never had anything like this, and being she was from the South, I figured this would be one of her specialties. Sadly, none of us cared for the dish she prepared. For many years I felt bad about this. I’d watch cooking shows and cooks would prepare chicken and dumplings and would be drooling over the pot. So, I decided I would try a recipe or two and see if my opinion about chicken and dumplings would change. After trying several different recipes, and making some small changes, I came up with this recipe. My husband LOVED this dish. A special thanks to The Novice Chef and Katie Lee for sharing your recipes on which this version is based upon.

Chicken & Dumplings

Recipe by Diane BeckerCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

servings

Ingredients

6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup finely diced onions
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced celery
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 Tablespoons flour
12 ounce can evaporated milk (or 1 ½ cups half and half)
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 2 Tablespoons fresh)
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
DUMPLINGS
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
Dash of nutmeg
¾ cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the flour, stir and cook for another minute.
Add the evaporated milk(or half & half) and chicken stock and stir to combine.
Bring to a boil and add the chicken, thyme, parsley, pepper, salt, nutmeg, paprika and bay leaf.
Turn down the heat and simmer, uncovered, while you make the dumplings.
To make the dumplings, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, thyme and nutmeg.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk and melted butter into the well.
10. Stir it just until the dough forms a ball (if the dough seems a little dry, add a Tablespoon more of milk).
11. Drop walnut sized spoonfuls of dough into the simmering pot, making sure the dumplings don’t touch each other.
12. Once all of the dumplings are in the pot, gently press them down to moisten.
13. Cover the pot & make sure the heat is set at a low simmer. Cook for 15 minutes
14. Pull out one dumpling and cut it in half to make sure it’s cooked through. If not done, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
15. Check another dumpling and if done, remove bay leaf, gently stir and serve!