My World

For some good old-fashioned chicken and dumplings but you want to keep it healthy. There is a long debate on whether drop dumplings came from the south or the north. I’ve never cared for the flat, rectangle, rolled, and cut dumplings. First off, that’s a lot of extra time involved to roll out and cut. Secondly, they just aren’t fluffy like I prefer.

I honestly don’t remember if I ever was served chicken and dumplings as a child at home here in the south. My mother was an avid canner and baker. My father, having been a cook in the army, tended to do most of the meal cooking. I took four years of home economics in high school, where I learned a lot about meal preparation. So, at some point in my young married life, I started making drop dumplings and chicken. I always used white enriched self rise flour, which we now know is not healthy.

I went searching for a baseline recipe for oat flour dumplings and found this one. It was later in the day, and I wanted something that was fairly quick to prepare. My differences are: 2/3 cup whole white wheat flour rather than all-purpose white flour, 1/2 cup oat flour rather than quick oats, onions rather than leeks, no green peas (I had none), chicken thighs rather than breasts because we prefer dark meat. I used almond milk and did not add butter to the dumpling mix. I also used dried thyme instead of fresh, added 3 small stalks diced celery, including the leaves. I added a good dose of garlic powder to the simmering ingredients below.

I don’t keep liquid chicken broth on hand, so I used a couple of cubes of low salt buillion in water for the broth.

My old way of making dumplings was to boil a whole chicken, skin and bones included, to create a pot of rich stock and tender flavorful chicken. I would remove the skin and bones once the meat fell away after a slow boil. Then drop tablespoons full of dough into the simmering stock. They would float to the top when they were done.

This recipe didn’t have a deep pot of broth and required dropping the spoonfuls of dough on top of the stew, covering with a lid, and simmering a few minutes until the dumplings were done. What I love is that it made just enough for a serving each for me and my husband. It was perfect.

Notice the fluffy biscuit texture on the inside of the dumpling. It was absolutely delicious, satisfying, and very filling. I know I’ve done well when my foodie husband leaves the table content. He can’t wait till I make this meal again.

Bon Appétit!