Chicken, Vegetables and Dumplings

9 days into dry January  and i feel like the very hungry caterpillar. “on day one of sobriety she ate through one slice of cake, on day two she eat through two large pizza pies, on day three she ate through three double cheeseburgers” so on and so fourth. At this rate I’m not sure which was the healthier choice.

To drink or not to drink, that is the only question.

But since I’m almost halfway through the month (that’s what I keep telling myself) I am going to stick this one out. Also, any excuse to have ice cream/chocolate every single evening is an excuse that is worth keeping. Can i get an amen? Allow me:

praise the lard!

For seriously though. I think this is great. I am not one to stick to a “resolution” nor do I consider this one, since it is a month long…. but I am totally into creating healthier habits for myself, especially when I don’t exactly have much of a strict guideline when it comes to my lifestyle (my guidelines are such: be kind to people, everything in moderation, honesty that translates into being an asshole, over eating/drinking when appropriate (weekends, mondays, sometimes wednesdays, occasional thursdays, etc).

So challenge accepted.

And in return, comfort meals are my new jam (okay fine, they’ve pretty much always been my jam, but I needed a transition for the recipe portion of this post). So i hereby present to you:

Chicken, Vegetables, and Dumplings.

(oh my).

Lots of chicken, crapload of vegetables, and a decent amount of dumplings. It’s the perfect balance in one meal. You’re healthy WHILE also enjoying life (i’m sorry, no one can tell me they thoroughly enjoy salads for dinner without the bread on the side. like c’mon. or maybe you can tell me this and for this very reason, we aren’t friends).

Also another bonus to the recipe, the vegetables can be anything in your fridge that is about to go bad. That is sort of what happened to this recipe, which is how I ended up with more vegetables in chicken n dumplings than just your peas and couple slices of carrots/celery. And if you have more vegetables that you want to add to the ingredient list below, pick up another thing of chicken broth (and make sure you season the soup accordingly).

Lastly. The “dumplings” are simple. Pick your favorite biscuit recipe and you’re good to go (or use the super simple one I provide). This meal isn’t fussy. Homemade is simple. Pretty much every single recipe on this website is easy enough for weeknight cooking. I promise you.

Okay that is all.

Chicken, Vegetables and Dumplings

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  1 hour 5 mins

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Ingredients

Soup:

• 1 bunch celery - or about 2 cups chopped celery
• 3-4 carrots or about 1 cup
• 1 bunch of elephant kale, chopped or about 4 cups
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2.5 lbs chicken, cubed ( i used a combination of breast and thighs)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ⅓ cup flour + ½ cup broth to create a paste
• 3 bay leaves
• ¼ cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 1⅓ cup buttermilk
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Instructions

1. First in a large pot add 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat.
2. Next add garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Add all of your chopped vegetables (celery, kale, carrots, pepper, onion) to the pot and cook until onions are translucent (about 12 minutes).
4. Next add your white wine and cook for an additional 6 minutes.
5. Add your low sodium chicken broth and fresh thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer.
6. Next add your chicken and cook for 15 minutes. (during this time prepare your dumplings)
7. Just before you add the dumplings, combine ⅓ cup of flour and ½ cup of the simmering broth to create a paste.
8. Add paste to pot and continuously stir until dissolved. Add ¼ milk to soup, salt (a lot of salt will be needed) and pepper to taste.
9. Next drop in your dumplings, about one medium sized spoonful at a time into the soup until all dough is used (honestly, it's okay if they squish, you can break them apart once they finish cooking).
10. Place lid on top of pot and cook for about 20 minutes or until dumplings are thoroughly cooked (when toothpick comes out clean).
11. Serve!

Dumplings:

1. In a bowl combine your flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and chives.
2. Next start to fold in buttermilk until just mixed together (don't overmix).
3. Set aside until ready to use.

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