Chicken and Dumpling Soup

I know, I know.  It's been a bit longer than a while since I posted a recipe.  I blame a case of bronchitis and an ear infection and finals week(s).

So let's start off with a bang.

I'm home for break which means access to more counter space and more people to eat my food.  It also means way pickier eaters.  WAY pickier.  As in, I'm gonna fight with you until you relent and decide to make something different.

Ahh.  Home.

So - Chicken and Dumpling Soup - the perfect soothing soup for a mother who is getting over a very odd bug that emptied her stomach yesterday.

I took most of the recipe from dinnerwithjulie.com, but made it my own.

First off, find some chicken.  Momma had three frozen chicken breasts in the freezer which I used, but I also picked up some chicken on the bone (ribs).  After cutting off the skin (and thawing the frozen breasts), sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Then put some olive oil in a big soup pot and brown the outsides to a nice golden.

Side note: I just asked my mom if you can actually sear chicken.  She doesn't know.  But that's basically what I did when I brown it.

Moving On.  Just brown the outsides of the chicken and then take it out and put it back on your cutting board.  Put a little more oil in the pan and throw in a chopped onion, some chopped carrots, and some sliced mushrooms. Saute those until the onions start to become a bit see through and then add a couple tablespoons of flour so that everything gets nice and coated.

Once that's done, add some chicken broth.  I started out with six cups and kept adding more until I got up to nine.  Nine cups of broth.

There are a lot of leftovers.

Once the broth is in, add the chicken back in, throw in a whole bunch of fresh thyme (stripped off the branches), bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and let it simmer for a good hour.

While that's simmering, you could start to work on your last ethics take home final.  Or find some music to listen to.  Or watch your little sister's old high school classmate lose the kick that would have tied his football team with the other one in the NAIA Division II Football Championship.

That last one was kind of sad.

OR.  You can make dumplings.

Mix in a bowl 2 cups of flour, some dried parsley, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, and a teaspoon of salt.  Then throw (or gently pour, if you aren't one who appreciates splashing) just a little over a cup of milk in a small pan along with 3 tablespoons of butter and bring that to simmer on the stove (I suggest stirring frequently).  Take it off the heat and add it straight away to the flour mixture, stirring until it is just mixed.  Use your hands and formed little 1-inch balls of dough.  I may have burned the palm of my hand slightly since I didn't wait for the dough to cool down.  Handle with care.

If you aren't going to use the dumplings right away, I'd suggest putting them in the fridge.

Once the soup is done simmering take out the chicken and set it aside on a cutting board.  Put in a can of peas and about a cup of half'n'half into the soup broth and stir continuous until it begins to boil again.  Then gently drop the dumplings in one at a time.  Once they are all in, give the pot a gentle stir.  It'll take 10-15 minutes for the dumplings to cook properly.

Shred and debone the chicken (it's delicious juicy) while the dumplings are getting all yummy in the broth. Once the dumplings are done, add the chicken back to the mix and gently stir.  I let the chicken heat up for about 2 minutes and then took the pot off the heat but you can just go for it if you can't wait another 2 minutes.

Then call the family to dinner and enjoy.

My sick momma said it was perfect.  So I'm declaring it a success.