Chicken and Dumplings For The Win

Lucas and his snowball.

We’ve lived in South Carolina seven years now and even though it’s cliché to say how fast the time has gone by, time has flown by!  I was reading in Genesis today and it's noted that Jacob worked for Laban seven years and to him (Jacob) it seemed like only days. The older I get, the more that rings true in my life.  (Genesis 29:20)  However, no matter how long we have lived here, I am still surprised by the South’s reaction to snow. 

During our drive home from Michigan we encountered more snow than usual.  We were still able to make forward progress, even if it was a little slow.  That is until we hit Asheville, NC.  The Smokey Mountains are called that because they have pockets of fog which entwine the landscape. It's really very lovely, however, this particular evening it had become treacherous freezing fog. A highway interchange that on its best days is known for its congestion, turned into an utter log jam when it became glazed with the freezing fog. Black ice had caused numerous cars to slide off the road way which didn’t instill the greatest confidence when fellow travelers watched it happen.

I witnessed a car just come to a complete stop in the middle of the road in the opposite lane.  The truck beside it went ahead and stopped too, which led to a mile of backups, all because they weren’t sure how to drive in slick conditions.  I understand that ice is the great equalizer and that even the heaviest vehicle with awesome tires is no match for the slick stuff when you're driving too fast; but, to stop in the middle of the road without pulling out of the lane of traffic is ridiculous.

 My husband navigated through the nightmare with great skill.  I won’t elaborate as to his methods because I don’t need my insurance rates to rise anymore.   Short story long, we made it home a little more than thirteen hours after we set off. For comparison, the ride up only took eleven hours.

The snow and cold seemed to follow us back and later that week we were gifted the treat of a Southern Snow Day.  These are the times everything shuts down because of the mere possibility of snow. The snow that was predicted to fall overnight was a little late, it did eventually began snowing around 10am the next morning. 

The kids were ecstatic and it didn’t take long for a few inches to accumulate.  The rest of the day was spent refilling hot chocolates and making sure the wet clothes were cycled repeatedly through the dryer. 

Cold days like that call for comfort food.  Well, to be fair, most of my days call for comfort food.  I am a culinary artist and butter is my medium. Quite often flour goes into the butter and becomes something glorious.  That day it was Chicken and Dumplings and Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies. 

The Chocolate Chip cookies were your basic recipe.  I had to improvise a little by using mini chocolate chips over a regular size chip.  The result was more chocolate per bite since the little bits allowed them to more evenly distribute in the dough.

I hadn’t made Chicken and Dumplings in ages and my family was happy to see it again. The pot was emptied in record time; and the snow actually lasted longer than the cookies!

Hopefully you’ll get a chance to try this out on a day you need some extra love.   

A hug in a bowl.

Annie’s Chicken and Dumplings

3# bone in and skin on chicken thighs

1 medium onion diced (1 cup)

2 large carrots sliced thin (3/4 cup)

2 Large stalks celery—with tops (3/4 cup)

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp butter

4-6 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp poultry seasoning

½ tsp ground thyme

½ tsp allspice

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 2/3 cups all-purpose baking mix

2/3 cup milk

1 tbsp melted butter, cooled

Preheat oven to 350

On a large baking sheet arrange chicken thighs. Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Baked Chicken Thighs 

In a small dish combine 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper in addition to the garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning, thyme and allspice. Evenly sprinkle over the top of the chicken and bake 45 min-1hr until chicken is cooked and the skin is crispy.  Let it cool and shred the chicken off the bone. Feel free to snack on the chicken skin like a pork rind.

In a large pot melt the butter.

Add the veggies and garlic and cook until they start to get tender. 

Add flour and stir. Let it cook for a few minutes. 

Add the chicken broth. Stir, stir, stir.

Add the shredded chicken and let it simmer.  You want it thicker than soup but not as thick as chili. Like a stew.

In a medium bowl, combine the baking mix, milk and melted butter. Drop rounded spoonfuls on top of the gravy and put the lid on. Let it simmer for 10 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through. 

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