I have wanted to share this recipe with you FOR-EV-ER. Chicken and Dumplings is one of my favorite things to eat on a chilly night and I feel like it serves as a bit of a cure-all for a cold, a crummy day, or whatever else might ail you. The flavors are so home-y.

I’ve tried many versions of this dish but I found myself never being totally satisfied with the end result. Most recipes start with a roux and almost feel like you are eating a bowl full of gravy (ick). They are usually also loaded with tons of butter, oil, flour, heavy cream and the like which means that this dish always ended up in the “comfort food only” territory. Until now. I lightened up on the oil. I got rid of the butter and swapped out the heavy cream for a bit of half and half. I added extra stock to make it more of a soup. And I made the dumplings smaller so you get little bites in each spoonful, which is just the way we like it.

My great-grandma Stella was known for her homemade soups and this one reminds me of something I ate in her kitchen as a small child. She was a very hospitable lady and she always piled her tiny dining room table with every food you could ever think of when we ate at her house. When she was very ill with cancer and pre-planning her funeral, she even requested that her homemade chicken soup recipe be served at her funeral luncheon.

She is exactly the kind of woman I aspire to be. You can bet that when my hair is white I’m still going to be stirring a pot of this one on the stovetop and serving it to the people I love.

Our Favorite Chicken & Dumplings

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 small chicken breasts, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. dried Italian herbs
• 2 tsp. dried parsley
• 4-6 cups low sodium chicken stock
• ½ cup half and half
• Salt and cracked pepper to taste

Dumplings:

• 1 cup flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½  tsp. baking powder
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil and add the diced chicken. Cook through and add the onion, carrot and celery. Sauté until veggies are soft and then add the garlic, herbs and parsley. Stir for a few minutes more until the garlic is fragrant.

Add in the chicken stock (4 cups if you want it more like a stew, up to 6 cups if you like it soupier) and bring to a boil, then simmer for ten minutes or so. Stir in the half and half and then bring up to a boil again. While the soup is coming back up to a boil, make the dumplings.

Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and then the wet ingredients in a small one. Combine the two and stir to make a thick, sticky batter. Drop the dumplings into the boiling soup using a teaspoon. After the dumplings are all dropped in the soup, give it a stir and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to the mixture to taste. Serve!

Dumplings from Tyler Florence