Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings

Don't ask me why we decided to make hot soup when it has been over 90 degrees here, but we did. And I am so glad that we did! Even though this recipe was delicious and well-worth it, I won't blame you all for waiting until fall to try this one. The only good thing about making this recipe in the summer is that we got to make use of the Slow-Cooker which doesn't seem to heat up the kitchen at all, and you get a bread without baking int he oven. It's a win, win.

This is one of those slow-cooker recipes that actually turned out as well as the recipe claimed it would. The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen book  "Slow-Cooker Revolution". If you have never tried an America's Test Kitchen recipe you should know that they sometimes take a little more time, but they test the recipes over and over again so that they come out consistently. This is one of those, consistent recipes. Also, for a slow-cooker recipe, this ones takes a little bit of prep, but what I have learned is that a little bit of prep at the beginning of a slow-cooker meal often means better flavor and texture. The veggies in the recipe were cooked to perfection with just a little bite left to them, (I am no fan of mushy veg!) and the chicken was a perfect shredding consistency, and the sauce tasted better than I think any other slow-cooker sauce I've ever tried.

One little note: Ethan and I tend to prefer soup to thick stews, so we will probably be adding another cup of water to thin this stew out next time. Just a warning depending on where you fall int he soup versus stew spectrum. 

STEW INGREDIENTS
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (we used mixed pieces)
Salt and Pepper
3 Tbsp, Olive oil
2 large onions, minced
3 celery ribs, diced 1/4 inch
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/3 cup flour
4 1/2 cups low-sodium Chicken Broth (I used 5-6 cups water and 7 bouillon cubes. Next time I think I might even add another cup of water to make it a little more soupy.)
4 carrots, pealed and sliced 1/4 thick
2 Bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas (I forgot these and it was fine without...)
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in skillet and brown chicken on both sides. 5-8 mins. If you are using bouillon cubes like I did, you will probably want to leave the chicken unsalted here because the bouillon cubes have enough salt. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Place the chick with all of it's juices in the Slow-cooker.

Heat remaining oil over medium-high heat in skillet. Add onions, celery, garlic and thyme and cook until veggies are softened and lightly browned. 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of stock (or one bouillon cube and one cup water). Slowly whisk and pick up browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Smooth out any lumps; transfer to slow-cooker.

Stir in remaining stock, carrots, and bay leaves into slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low until chicken is tender. 4-6 hours.

Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred into bite-size pieces. (I skipped dirtying a board and just shredded the chicken in the cooker.) Discard Bay leaves.

DUMPLINGS INGREDIENTS (half recipe for smaller crock pot)

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Note: Ethan and I have a large slow-cooker, but with all the dumplings the entire top was covered in dumplings. If you have a smaller pot, or don't love dumplings as much I would suggest that you halve the dumpling recipe. 

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Leave out milk and butter to room temperature, or microwave until warm. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Stir milk and butter mixture into dry ingredients until just incorporated and smooth.

Drop golf ball-size dumplings into stew about 1/4 inch between dumplings. Cover and cook until dumplings are doubled in size, 25-35 minutes. Serve.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen "Slow-Cooker Revolution". The recipes in here are amazing.