I made this last night for dinner and boy was it good! It is modified from Ree Drummond’s Chicken & Dumpling recipe (Pioneer Woman)… To make it a little more healthy without sacrificing the heartiness, I added a few more veggies, replaced heavy cream with organic cream of chicken soup, added some more fiber to the dumplings with wheat flour, and substituted non-fat buttermilk for the half & half. My super picky fiancé not only didn’t notice my sneaky substitutions, but he loved it!!! Scoreboard says:
Emilie – 1 point
Healthy Cardboard Flavored Food – 0 points 
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 5-6 Hours | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6
INGREDIENTS
STEW
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/4 tsp of turmeric
- 1/2 tsp of ground thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 container of organic cream of chicken soup (see picture below)
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
DUMPLINGS
- 1 cup white-whole wheat
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup of cornmeal (prevents gummy/slimy dumplings)
- 1 Tbs baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
Combine all stew ingredients in your slow cooker or crock pot, cover, set to low, and (this is the most important part) walk away… For about 3 hours I know it’s hard to resist lifting the lid, but if you can try not to, you will keep the steam in and keep the stew cooking at a steady temp. On that note, after the stew has cooked for about 3 hours, you are going to make your dumplings!
Sift together all of your dry ingredients, then stir in your buttermilk until combined and dough is slightly sticky, but not slimy (that’s the technical term). Once you’ve made your dough, set it aside.
Remove the now cooked chicken from your crock pot, and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to shred, then add chicken back to the pot.
Using a small spoon or Tablespoon, drop your dumplings around the stew. Put in as many as you like without crowding, then cover and walk away again for another 2 hours, or until dumplings are puffed, vegetables and chicken are cooked through Sprinkle with a little fresh parsley if ya got it and enjoy!
