Creamy Chicken & Dumpling

Pot Pie and a delicious salad

Snowmageddon was in the forecast. The closer we got to the impending storm the more things began to cancel. My 8:30am appointment canceled and the trip to the motor vehicle office was out due to city offices shutting down. Are we stocked up enough to weather the storm? Really quite a silly question as we live literally across the street from the grocery store and have the ability to walk through snow.

Never the less a trip to the store was in order. But what would I want to cook if I was going to be inside for a few days watching the snow fall? Of course I’d need to make a soup. There’s just something comforting about a steaming hot bowl of soup on a snowy day. Something hearty and creamy. I’d make a creamy chicken & dumpling soup. I’ve already got the chicken and I may as well stick with the comfort food theme. A chicken pot pie seems would be delightful as well. It dawned on me later that the date was 3.14, it’s national Pi day!!

We did indeed wake up to a solid 10 inches of snow and the skies where promising to continue the trend for the rest of the day. I’ll take my time today, I thought. No need to hurry as no one is going anywhere. At some point half way through my second cup of coffee I had a FaceTime with my brother up in Canada . They where not in the middle of a snow storm but he pointed out that big storms where basically the equivalent to an adult time out. Like it or not we are forced to slow down and accept the fact that mother nature has other plans. There’s no point in fighting it and we may as well enjoy the down time. Relax, take care of ourselves and in my world this means spending some time in the kitchen creating things that nourish my mind, body and soul.

I’m a big fan of the whole pre-roasted chickens at the grocery store. I user the meat for a variety of dishes and it’s really easy to pick the meat off  while they are still warm. I also take the bones and throw them in a pot with a few cartons of store bought chicken broth, simmer for a half hour, eking out  all the extra flavor I can get from them.

I added bacon to this recipe because it’s delicious. You can certainly leave it out if you are trying to be healthier. Lol. But let’s be honest, today is about comfort food. For me healthy is all about moderation. You don’t have to eat it all in one day.

Creamy Chicken & Dumpling

4 slices of bacon, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled, large dice

4 stalks celery, large dice

2 medium yellow onions, diced

6-12 garlic cloves, chopped (add 12, don’t be afraid)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

2 quarts chicken broth

1 quart milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 cups chopped cooked chicken meat

4 tablespoons butter, melted. Mixed with 4T flour (roux)

2 cups frozen peas

Season with: salt, white pepper, nutmeg

For the dumplings:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

Start by cooking the bacon about 3/4 of the way, until the fat begins to render. Add the mirepoix. Once the onions start to become translucent, add the chopped garlic. Continue cooking for a few minutes. Add the fresh herbs. Cook a few more minutes and add the chicken broth. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the milk and cream. Bring back to a simmer

For the dumplings: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Whisk the melted butter into the milk. Mix the two together until all the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix

Drop tablespoon sized dollops of the dumpling batter into the simmering broth. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. I fished one out and cut it in half to make sure the flour was cooked all the way through. At this point I add the chicken, thicken with the roux, season and add the peas. Once it comes back up, simmer for a few minutes to make sure the roux is cooked.

*Notes

The dumplings where nice and fluffy when they finished cooking. I turned the heat off and left the soup on the stove in the pot when it was done. As it sat the dumplings became dense and lost their fluff. would recommend removing the dumplings as soon as they finish cooking. And setting aside for any leftovers. When reheating I would drop the dumplings in at the last minute just to get them hot. I think you’ll have a much lighter fluffy dumpling this way. I also like this soup a bit more on the brothy side. You can leave the roux out or add a little more stock or milk to get It to consistency you like.

Chicken Pot Pie

I’m not going to give you an entire recipe here. I made the pot pie filling at the same time I was making the soup.

I followed the same recipe, excluding the dumplings and used a fraction of the chicken broth and milk. You want just enough stock to cover the vegetables, simmering until they are tender. You want the filling to be thick enough and full of chicken and vegetables to work in the pie. I cooled it down completely before filling the pie crust and cooked it for about 45 minutes at 350. I then covered the edges with foil and finished it off for the last 15 minutes at 400 or until it is a perfect golden brown.

Eating all of this rich comfort food was very satisfying but in order to keep me from slipping into a full on food coma I added a beautiful salad to my meals. I tend to have a lot of ingredients in my refrigerator and this salad was amazing.

I tossed the greens lightly with a simple red wine vinaigrette. I make this myself as it drives me crazy that most store bought dressings are full of sugar. I topped off the salad with some blueberries, diced papaya, cooked golden beets, feta cheese and some toasted pistachios. I also tend to have lots of things in squeeze bottles in my refrigerator. I drizzled a little coconut cream over the top.

What did you cook during the snow storm or what has been your favorite dish you’ve made this winter? Share with me in the comments.