Fast and Easy Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Even when the calendar and the weather don’t agree on winter, my head tells me that soups and stews are perfect winter month meals.  I had some frozen oven roasted chicken that needed to be used so I figured a hearty chicken noodle soup might be a good use for it.  I then stumbled onto this recipe for Fast and Easy Chicken Stew with Dumplings on the King Arthur website.  It sounded warm and heart; that’s what I was looking for so I gave it a try.

I must say, that when it comes to dumplings, I normally prefer slippery to fluffy, but I decided to keep an open mind and follow the recipe exactly for these fluffy dumplings.

I liked the way that the recipe was written because it presented the instructions in a way that the pacing for preparing the various components worked well – no wasted time.  The first step was to make the stew.

STEW

•  butter
• King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• chicken broth
• thyme
• bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• Worcestershire sauce
• diced cooked chicken
•  frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and/or cooked; or a mixture of cooked peas and carrots

You begin by making a roux, to which you then add the broth and seasoning.  This simmers for 15 minutes and then the bay leaf is removed and the chicken and vegetables are added.  The mixture then simmers while you mix the ingredients for the dumplings.

DUMPLINGS

• King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour
• chopped fresh chives or parsley or dried. optional
• buttermilk
• egg
•  butter

I don’t normally keep Self-rising Flour.  I purchased some specifically for this recipe.  (Watch for it as an ingredient in an upcoming post. :-))  You can make your own self-rising flour by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt for every cup of flour.

The dough for the dumplings comes together easily.  It neither too sticky or too dry.  Once mixed, it is dropped by 1/4 scoop on top of the simmering stew.  The pot of is then covered and placed into a  350 degree oven to bake for 25-30 minutes.

That’s it!  Serve the stew and dumplings hot for a warm and cozy winter meal!

• I did use a cup more broth in my stew than the recipe called for.
• For me, the thyme was a little overpowering.  Next time I will probably use poultry seasoning for a more varied flavor.  I might also use a bit more Worcestershire sauce.  With almost any recipe, we have to play with the seasonings to get them “just right.”  That is part of what makes cooking fun!
• The dumplings were delicious!  I don’t know if it is because they were baked or what, but these were the best fluffy dumplings I’ve had.  This dumpling recipe can be used with any of your favorite stew recipes, though you may have increase the liquid in your recipe a bit.

I will definitely make this recipe again.  It is good as it is, but tweaking the flavors just a bit will make it even better.  I’m always thrilled when I can find an easy and delicious one pot meal!

 

from Tracey G.

Vermont Cheddar Cheese Soup from King Arthur Flour

I’m going to be honest here, I love cheese soups – but usually they are restaurant fare because I can never seem to get the right flavor at home that I’m looking for. I’ve tried numerous times to make them at home, and the only one I’d liked up this point was the mix by Frontier Soups, sold by KAF for Broccoli Cheddar Soup. (Post for this can be found here). Well, this soup is a game changer for me – I can have my homemade cheese soup whenever I want, and I usually have everything on hand to make it!! This recipe surpassed my expectations, I am so glad I tried it!

Ingredients are simple, the only thing that is “special” for it is the KAF Vermont Cheese Powder – that is one thing this recipe would fall flat without! I will say, I discovered that this is another fabulous reason to have the King Arthur Flour Vermont Cheddar Cheese Powder on hand – I’d only originally bought the stuff for purely using on my popcorn! (I am confident though that you could use any cheddar cheese powder!)

Ingredients:

• butter
• celery, diced
• onion, diced
• carrots, diced
• garlic, minced
• dried thyme
• chicken or vegetable broth
• cornstarch dissolved in cool water
• cheddar cheese powder (optional, for extra cheese zip)
• extra-sharp or sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, grated
• cream or half & half
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• cayenne pepper, or hot pepper sauce, optional

I did veer from the recipe slightly:

• I didn’t have shredded/grated Vermont sharp cheddar, so I just used the regular shredded sharp cheddar I always have on hand.
• Because it sounded good, the other thing I did was add a can of drained, diced potatoes. But let me also say that broccoli (or cauliflower!) would be a fantastic addition as well!
• It called for heavy cream or half and half (I used half and half), but I think it would be ok with milk too, as, part of what thickens it a slurry of cornstarch and water. I will try it with milk, because I usually have that around, but not half and half.
• Lastly, I didn’t use thyme because Jeremy doesn’t care for the taste, I love it, but I wasn’t interested in eating all the soup by myself!

Anyway, the base it simple. It’s a vegetable combination of carrots, onions, celery and minced garlic, sautéed in butter. To that you add your chicken broth (or vegetable broth), and simmer until your carrots are tender. At that point you add the cornstarch/water mixture, half and half (or cream), Vermont Cheese Powder and shredded cheddar and thyme. At this point you can adjust your seasoning of salt and pepper, as that’s the last thing to do, or you can season in your own bowl if you prefer! I really like that control.

I am seriously excited to add this to my recipe book – I can say it’s one that I will be making when I get the craving for cheddar cheese soup, or cheesy potato soup or even broccoli cheddar soup – maybe all of the above! Do give it a try – it’s easy and delicious!