Chicken and Dumplings

I realized I have been completely converted over to the "from scratch" and "no preservatives" cooking.  A bit of a food snob if you will.  I didn't realize how bad it had gotten till I was perusing recipes for dinners and stumbled on an easy, fairly healthy chicken and dumpling recipe (from pinterest) but I debated for way too long over whether I should make it because it called for a can of cream of mushroom soup and Bisquick.  I decided to make it anyways.  Then I went to the store and struggled again.  I stood there and looked at the mushroom soup can and considered making it from scratch.  Did the same thing in front of the Bisquick.  I gave in and bought the ingredients.  Recipe turned out quite well after a little tinkering...even if everything wasn't homemade :P

If you can get the fresh dill, use it! It gives such a lovely background flavour that the dried stuff just doesn't do.  But I've used both.

Yields 4 servings.


Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
3-4 cloves garlic, grated/minced
1/4 c apple juice (or sherry or white wine if you have that in your house)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
good pinch of dill and thyme
1-2 cans of chicken broth (I used one condensed can of broth and then 1 1/2 cups of stock in a box- worked fine)
1 can condensed mushroom soup (gulp)
4 chicken thighs (or some version of this)
1  cup peas
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c bisquick (oh dear)
1/3 c milk
1/4-1/2 c parsley

Directions:

-saute chopped onion and carrots for 5-7 minutes in a big soup pot or a dutch oven
-grate garlic over pot and saute for another minute or so
-deglaze with 1/4 cup of apple juice or sherry
-add salt, pepper, thyme and dill
-add chicken broth + 1 cup of water
-add 1 can of mushroom soup
-bring to boil and then add your chicken thighs and simmer for 30 minutes
-take chicken out and shred or chop up into bite sized pieces, return to pot
-add 1/4 cup of water with 3 tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in it
-stir well
-bring to gentle boil again
-mix bisquick and milk and add 1/4 cup parsley (finely chopped)...some extra fresh dill or chives or even scallions is a nice addition as well
-drop biscuit mixtures into liquid (makes 12 smallish dumplings or they won't cook through properly)
-simmer for 20 minutes then put lid on and simmer for another 10 (to let steam cook the dumplings all the way through)
-make sure to stir every so often throughout so bottom doesn't burn
-taste and decide if it's too concentrated or if it needs to reduce more to get a richer flavour or if you need more seasoning
-if you add more water, let it reduce a bit so you still get a nice thick consistency (sort of like gravy)

It doesn't photograph well but trust me....
it's what you want to be eating on a cold, rainy day!