Chicken Stew with Basil Dumplings

I got this recipe almost a year ago from a sweet online friend (Thanks, Ella!). My family was on a chicken and dumplings kick, and I was trying to find a way to make it healthier and use my fresh whole wheat flour to make a good dumpling. I found exactly what I was looking for in this recipe. Not only could I use my healthy flour, it also has added veggies. It's the epitome of comfort food, and yet it's so nourishing. I'm so glad Fall is here so we can have this again (and again, and again)!

I generally like to cook a whole chicken in my crock pot overnight, then in the morning, I have chicken for my stew, and twice the broth needed for this recipe. After the chicken is cooked, this meal is super simple to throw together. Here's the recipe:

Dumplings:

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (white wheat is best)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 T butter, melted
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 t dried basil

Stew:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 carrots, sliced very thin
  
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 bag frozen peas
  
• 4 cups cooked chicken

In dutch oven, saute onion & carrots in butter until almost tender. Add garlic and saute a couple more minutes. ***If you like celery, add it to your saute. We don't like it so I didn't include it in the recipe.

Add flour, salt, basil, pepper and broth. Stir w/ wire whisk until thick.

Add peas and chicken and cook five minutes. Drop dumpling by large spoonful onto stew. Bake at 350 uncovered for 30 min and 10 min covered.

Serve with a big salad.

This recipe could "handle" a wide variety of veggies in the stew. I almost used zucchini tonight, in fact. In the end, I didn't feel like chopping an extra vegetable. Sad, I know!

You may also use a 9x13 casserole to cook this in, but it's likely to boil over a bit, and then you'll have to clean your oven. I like the dutch oven option because I can cook it from start to finish in one dish. Call me crazy.

Here's a picture of what it looks like just out of the oven. Sorry I didn't take the time to try and make it pretty! Not big on the extra steps tonight - can you tell?


Enjoy!
Em