MY BOGGY BLOG: find your way through the murk

I Heart Dumplings

I recently discovered chicken and dumplings. I'd never really had them-- mom made chicken noodle soup, but dumplings were just something I read about in books. I'm not sure what came over me, but on Sunday I remembered that I had a recipe for chicken soup with dumplings in my Chinaberry cookbook (a very good cookbook made from recipes that people sent in, and then were tested by the staff to ensure they really were great recipes-- check it out at www.chinaberry.com) and decided to make it. I was looking for something cozy and comfy (since it was so bone-chilling outside) and different.

The soup part was easy, a basic chicken soup I made with a 2 lb back of boneless chicken breasts, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery and chicken broth. When it was all cooked up, I added the spoonfuls of dumpling mixture (a basic Better Homes & Garden recipe of flour, milk, eggs, baking powder and oil) and cooked it for about 15 minutes. Pretty easy!

It was a heavenly dinner-- wonderfully chickeny and filling with those firm dumplings. Very comforting! I took the leftovers and added more broth and made more dumplings for dinner last night.

The only thing I need to work on is the way some of the dumplings seem to decompose into the broth, which does make a nice thick broth, but I'd rather have more of the dumplings hold together. Perhaps the trick is to remove them once they are cooked to keep them whole, and add them to the serving bowls.

If you haven't had dumplings, I heartily recommend them. It was a nice breakout from the cooking rut I've been in.

Posted by sapphire at January 18, 2005 11:21 AM