It’s been grey and drizzly here all day, Christmas decor is starting to get packed away, and it’s been a challenging week in the world, what with the pandemic all around us, and what’s been going on in DC. We needed a little respite, in the form of warmth and comfort food, and we found it in a big pot of homemade chicken and dumplings.
I modified this recipe from Taste of Home, but added my own touches, and it was pretty perfect.
Some hints to make life easier for you, if you venture into chicken and dumplings:
The Chicken: instead of using a whole broiler/fryer, I just used some boneless breasts and boneless thigh pieces I had in the freezer. I threw them all in a bit of flour, then sauteéd them for about five minutes each, then just threw them back in after the carrots/onions/celery had sauteeéd a bit. Easy peasy – and no bones to deal with.
The Broth: Feel free to use store-bought broth if you don’t have your own homemade stock/broth. Again, easy as pie.
The Wine: I like it better without the wine, so just didn’t put any wine/cider in it, and it was perfectly acceptable!
The Spices: I omitted the bay leaves and the whole peppercorns, and basically just used salt, pepper, parsley, and a bit of onion powder, to taste.
The Milk in the Dumplings: I used whole milk, because that was all I had! No difference to the texture or flavor at all.
The Final Soup: I didn’t have whipping cream, so I just left it out. The broth still had a creaminess to it from the flour in the dumplings and from the dredged chicken parts. It added a bit of thickness to the broth without a heavy ‘cream’ consistency.
Lastly, the recipe for chicken and dumplings can be interpreted any way you want – it really is a matter of preference, and what you have on hand in your pantry. However you go about making your chicken and dumpling supper, I am certain it will be absolutely dee-lish!