Chicken and Dumplings

This week over at Life As Mom, Jessica has the theme of flour for her Ultimate Recipe Swap. Normally, when I think of flour, I think of sweets and desserts, but the reality is that it is used in so many savory recipes as well.

One of my favorite dishes is Chicken and Dumplings. There is just something so comforting about this dish. It is filling and warm and tasty and so much more.

Chicken and Dumplings
6 c Prepared Stock
Cooked Chicken from 3-4 # chicken, cut up
Dumplings

Stock/Chicken:
To make stock and cook my chicken, I generally fill a stock pot with 3 quarts of water and add 1 small onion sliced, 2 stalks of celery chopped, 1 clove of garlic, quartered, 1 bay leaf, parsley and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add the chicken. Simmer and cook uncovered for 2 hours. Strain the stock and put 6 cups back in the pot with 1 tsp coarsely ground pepper, 1/2 tsp salt and a splash of lemon juice. Remove the chicken from the bone and chop up into bite sized pieces. Heat stock to a simmer over medium heat.

Dumplings:
2 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1c + 2 Tbsp milk

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth. Let dough rest 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to 1/2" thickness. Cut into 1/2" squares and drop into simmering stock.

Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Drop the cut up chicken into the pot. Continue to simmer an additional 5-10 minutes.

If you are looking to save some time, you can always use purchased stock to make the dish. If you are using purchased stock, you can use cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast as well.

I have a lot of favorite recipes that use flour, you can also check out these previously shared recipes:

Apple Crisp
Pumpkin Butterscotch Treats
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Pumpkin Streusel Muffins (okay, not my recipe, but I made them and really enjoyed them, so I figured I would share the link)
Fruit Cobbler
Leftover Pot Pie (if you make your own crust)

For more dishes using flour, check out the Recipes that Use Flour Ultimate Recipe Swap.