Chicken & Dumplings (With Vegetarian/Vegan Options!)
First – don’t disregard this if you’re vegan or vegetarian – it’s super easy to adjust!
This creamy flavorful stew is so quick to throw together, and topped off with delicious drop dumplings, it makes a great all-in-one weekday family dinner, or a hearty way to warm up after playing outside in the snow.
For the stew
4 Tbsp Butter (use oil for vegan)
1 ea Medium Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 ea Large Carrots, diced
2 ea Celery Stalks, diced
1-2 C Any other veggies you want, diced – bell peppers, kale or spinach, turnip or squash… (If you use a lot, you may need to add a little more stock before dropping in the dumplings.)
¼ C Flour
4 C Chicken Stock (substitute with vegetable stock for vegetarian)
1 C Milk (optional, if you like it really creamy – use almond or soy milk for vegan!)
4 C Shredded Chicken (or fresh chicken, see below – optional, of course!)
Herbs, salt & pepper to taste. (Thyme and oregano are both good options, or a handful of fresh parsley.)
For the Dumplings
2 C Flour
4 teasp Baking Powder
1 teasp Salt
1 C Milk (or water/almond milk for vegan)
Procedure:
If you are using raw chicken, cut it into bite-sized chunks then brown it in a pot with a little oil and set aside. (It does not have to be cooked through.)
In a large pot, melt the butter and saute onions until translucent.
Add garlic and saute for a minute or two to soften, but don’t brown.
Add carrots, celery and other vegetables and saute, stirring, for a few minutes.
Add flour and stir to coat, cooking for another 3-4 minutes.
SLOWLY pour in the stock, stirring constantly to make sure the roux (flour & butter) is mixed well and not clumpy.
Allow to simmer and thicken for a few minutes.
Add chicken and herbs/spices and stir in well, and cook for 10-15 minutes.
In a bowl, mix dumpling ingredients (you can add herbs to this as well or instead of adding to the stew.)
Using a spoon or cookie scoop, glop the dough onto the top of the stew, trying not to touch the dumplings to one another.
Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
To check that the dumplings are cooked, scoop one out and cut into it.
Serve steaming hot with a salad!
