Chicken and Dumplings

When the weather starts to change, there is nothing like good old comfort food.  I will admit as a kid I hated chicken and dumplings.  I don't know if I had an undercooked dumpling first try and decided it wasn't for me, but I had to give it a go for myself.  It just looked delicious in the picture.  So it had to taste good, right?  They did not disappoint.  Scrumptious!

Be sure to double the batch.  You will be happy that you did.  Even now I am trying to figure out how to hide the leftover in the fridge so that I can have it all to myself.  What's great about this recipe is that with a few substitutions (pasta or rice), you can have a whole different soup!  

I didn't have parsley on hand, so I used the leafy top of the celery.  It worked and tasted great.  My boys gave it the two thumbs up and are ready for me to make it again.  

This recipe came from my Everyday Food Magazine (October 2012).  

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
• 1 small yellow onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, diced medium
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and green beans and season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Make dumplings: Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in milk. Drop heaping spoonfuls batter on top of chicken mixture. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve topped with additional chopped parsley.
   
   serves 6
   

Panzanella