Chicken & Dumplings!

Much like every other person on my campus, I am sick. I called my Mom, and of course, she suggested a Snuggie and some chicken noodle soup. So, I scoured my pitiful pantry and found no chicken noodle soup. Pathetic, no? Thankfully, I have about a months worth of frozen chicken in my freezer. I searched the internet for about an hour to no avail, but then I stumbled upon this fabulous little chicken & dumplings recipe. If you haven't been to MommieCooks, you need to go there right now! Make sure to come back though, okay?

Stuffy and runny nose in tow, I embarked on my journey to sooth my aches.

I got together some old carrots and celery from the bottom of my crisper. I forgot how long they have been in there... is that bad? Either way, I needed to get rid of them.

Choppity chop chop. On a side note, I absolutely LOVE my Paula Deen knife set! I found them on sale at walmart for about &17 dollars. It can with a large chef's knife, a smaller knife, and a parring knife. Amazing!

After chopping my carrots and celery, I cut up a small vidalia onion and a clove of garlic (for good measure).

Then, I made my dumplings. It was the first time I made any type of dough, and even though I used almost all of my flour as it was so sticky, it turned out really well! Then, I used a water bottle as a make-shift rolling pin, and rolled it out. I cut it into (mostly) squares with a pizze cutter sprayed with Pam.

Yes, I am new at this. I got so excited that things were going so well, I forgot to take pictures! Note to self: work on that.

After adding everything to the pot, I realized that... well... I need a bigger pot. But that is beside the point.

It was absolutely DELICIOUS! It was super simple to make, even for a college student on a college student budget. I think foods for the soul, a la chicken noodle soup and the like, don't need to be made with a bajillion ingredients and spices. It's old school. I shared this with my boyfriend, plus I had enough leftover for lunch today AND lunch tomorrow!

I highly suggest you try this recipe out, especially if you have the sniffles.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour (or more as needed to make the dough less sticky)

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

3/4 Cup Ice Water

4 Cups Chicken Stock

3 Carrots, Chopped

2 Stalks Celery, Chopped

1/2 tsp Celery Salt

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Oregano

2 Large Chicken Breasts, thawed and cubed

1/2 Cup Half & Half

Directions:

It's dough time! Mix together your flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly start to add in your ice water while you are kneading the dough. Add enough water (I used the full amount) to form a nice ball. Knead it for about 5 more minutes, and then set it aside.

In a large pot, add your chicken stock, chicken, carrots, garlic, celery, basil, oregano, and celery salt. Put it on medium heat. Stir to incorporate, and let the chicken cook thoroughly. When the chicken is cooked, remove it and set it aside.

Back to the dough! Grab a rolling pin (or a water bottle/any round cylindrical thing you have handy) and dust it with flour. Roll it out about 1/4" thick. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cute them into to squares. Drop them into the broth and let them cook. You'll know when they are done, because the will float to the top!

You can either shred up your chicken or leave it chunks, and add it back into the broth. Lastly, grad your half & half and add it in, stirring.

Donzo!

p.s. Does anyone have any tips on food photography or editing? My kitchen is super small with minimal natural light, and I'm not sure what to do. Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated!

-Alaina

Recipe printed with permission by MommieCooks.