It finally feels like fall here in Jersey. What better way to warm up on a chilly Sunday afternoon, watching football and snuggling with the ones you love while a fire crackles in the background. Ahhh…It’s a vision of lovliness in this Mother’s eyes! So what’s on the menu? Chicken and Dumplings. Only my luscious dumplings are made with my herbed spatzle recipe, becaause I have tried every dumpling recipe and this is the only thing that really comes close to a true southern dumpling. It’s billowy and savory and isn’t a hard peice of dough in your mouth. Not to mention the creamy soup is heaven!
Give this one a try. Even if you just make the spatzle in place of your regular dumpling recipe it is a real game changer!
Sinfully,
Susan xoxo
Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings
A true Southern classic, that's comfort in every spoonful!
Credit: CrazySexySavor.com
Ingredients
- Whole fryer chicken cut into peices.
- 3 large carrots sliced
- 3 stalks of celery sliced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 few saffron threads (optional) but I love the way it looks and tates
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar balances the acidity and brings out the flavor
- 1 tbsp. of fresh thyme
- 1 tsp. of dried dill
- 5 cups of chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tsp. of flour sprinkled over veg mixture
- heavy cream or half and half
- Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
For the Dumplings
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 tbsp. of fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp. of dried dill
- Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
In a large bowl, add flour, make a well like you would for pasta, in the center add the eggs, salt and pepper, mix the eggs with a fork incoroporating the flour, add milk, fresh and dried herbs and mix well. Add more flour if sticky but don’t add too much. Dough will be a little wetter than a regular dumpling dough. Set aside for later use.
Directions
- Pat dry chicken peices and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. Add in a bit of EVOO and a two tablespoons of butter. Brown chicken about 5 minutes, then turn and brown another 3-4 min. You will cook chicken through so don’t worry about it not being cooked at this point. Set aside on plate for the time being. Add the veg mix, and saute lightly for about three minutes. Dust with a little flour, scraping up all the browned bits.
- Add in chicken broth, seasonings, and vinegar. Mix well, and simmer covered for about 35 minutes or more.
- Remove chicken peices to cutting board, discard skin, and shred chicken, add back to pot, turn up heat to medium and begin to spoon in dumplings, dropping into the liquid, I make them rustic instead of using a scoop, like the rustic look to be honest, but you do it whatever way makes you smile! Turn up heat to medium and cook until all dumplings are floating on top of soup. Add in heavy cream, stir and remove from heat.
- Serve immediately. Devour!
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