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| Beautiful Nebraska in the Fall! |
Fall and Winter, It's In the Air!
My favorite time of the year is fall, the colors, crisp mornings that fill you with life when you go outside. Best of all, time for soup! There are so many things you can do with soup and they are healthy and of course, left overs galore! One thing I had never had before I married my husband was Chicken and Dumplings. I have mastered this through the years and it is truly a comfort food. I love to add a lot of vegetables to it and we double the amount of dumplings because they are just the best ever. Add a fall dessert like apple crisp and you have a meal. Here is my favorite recipe:
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients:
Soup
2 tbs. butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
2 small potatoes chopped
1 16 ounce frozen mixed vegetables
2 medium chicken breasts chopped (un-cooked)
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth ( chicken base works well, read directions for amount)
1 tsp. sea salt or regular table salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Dumplings
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 tbs. canola oil
3/4 cup milk
Directions: Soup
In large stock pot, sauté onion and celery in butter until vegetables are translucent in color. Add frozen vegetables and chicken breast, water and chicken broth. Cover pot, stir occasionally until vegetables tender and chicken is no longer pink. While the chicken and vegetable mixture is cooking, you can then put together the dumplings.
Dumplings:
Whisk milk and oil together in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and herbs together. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour the milk and oil mixture into the flour. It will be crumbly. Shape the dough into tablespoon sizes and place on top of the soup mixture ( you will want the soup mixture to be almost to boiling, small bubbles rising to the top). When all of the dumplings are placed on top, cover and simmer ( keep it at a gentle boil) for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not lift the lid. To check for doneness, place toothpick in center of dumpling and if it comes out clean, the dumplings are ready.
At this point, take a cooking sheet and place a cooling rack on the sheet. Carefully take the dumplings out and place on cookie sheet with a slotted spoon. Mix 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 cup milk until no lumps, bring the soup mixture to a light boil and add the flour and milk mixture, cook until desired thickness (If you like more of a soup consistency you may skip this part of the recipe). When the soup is thickened, serve up in bowls and add the dumplings on top.
**I always double the dumpling recipe as we like a lot of dumplings.
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| Sauté celery and onions |
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| Add Potato |
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| Cook to release the flavors of the vegetables |
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| Add frozen vegetables and chopped chicken breast |
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| Add water and chicken broth |
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| Flour, Parsley, Baking Powder, Salt and Oregeno |
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| Milk and Oil |
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| Flour Mixture Combined |
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| Well in middle of flour mixture and milk and oil poured into the well. |
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| Mix dumplings, will look crumbly |
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| Form into tablespoon, slotted spoon works well to put into broth |
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| After you place on top of broth, put lid on top and cook. |
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| Checking for doneness |
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| Dumplings are done. |
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| Place dumplings on cooling rack while you thicken soup |
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| Soup |
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| Chicken and Dumplings Ready to eat!
Soup is a great way to add lots of vegetables to your diet and just the right portion of protein. I enjoy using the vegetables that have been leftover and are waiting to be used before they get to old and I have to toss them out. If you are like me, the name of the game is nothing goes to waste! As I was thinking about soup, I found this great YouTube that brings all of this together. Happy fall and winter and try some soup!
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