Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. table salt (or 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup frozen peas

For the Dumplings:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 T. vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

1. Place the chicken broth, water, and chicken breasts in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring the liquid to a boil, and boil until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and shred it with two forks. Set the chicken aside and keep the broth warm on the stove.
2. While the chicken is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, and onion, and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Once the chicken has been removed from the broth, add the cooked vegetables to the broth, along with the salt, thyme, and black pepper. Stir to combine, and bring the broth to a simmer.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the cold water and the flour. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the hot broth and vegetables, whisking constantly until well combined.
5. Add the peas and the reserved chicken to the pot, and stir for 1 minute.
6. To make the dumplings, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and thyme in a medium bowl. In another bowl, stir together the sour cream, milk, and vegetable oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. (It’s okay if there are a few dry spots of flour remaining.)
7. Heat the soup to boiling and drop teaspoons of the dumpling dough on top of the soup in a single layer. (The dumplings will expand quite a bit as they cook.) Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let the dumplings cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. (Do not lift the lid during the cooking time.)
8. When they are done, stir the soup gently to break up the dumplings.

Serve hot.

Makes 4 large servings or 6 moderate servings.