Chicken and Dumplings the Way God Intended!

Lizzymommy's Note:

What is with the proliferation of square dumplin's, hmm? :) These are a nice drop biscuit into a delicious milky Supreme Chicken Sauce with tons of chicken and veggies. It's good for what ails ya, and will soothe any savage beast (my Southern-boy husband attests to this). Preparation time assumes that you have stock and cooked chicken already on hand.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

Dumplings

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ¾-1 cup buttermilk (or milk thickened with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar)

Supreme Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup carrot , chopped
• 1 cup celery , chopped
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ cup flour , plus
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• ¼ cup half-and-half or ¼ cup heavy cream
• 3 -4 lbs chicken , cooked and shredded (I make my own stock for this recipe and just use the chicken from that, but you can use any cooked a)
• black pepper , to taste
• chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Sift dry dumplings ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together.
3. Pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like. Set aside.
4. In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste.
6. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.
7. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
8. Fold the shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer.
9. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded.
10. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy.
11. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley if desired before serving.