Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken And Dumplings

I haven't made chicken and dumplings in forever. I had to look for a recipe that sounded good but, was easy. I ended up adapting a longer version into a shorter one that would still be really comforting and full of flavor. If you don't like the softer, steamed dumplings, you could always put in the oven at 350 until golden brown on the top for a little firmness in the dumplings.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breast or a shredded whole cooked(rotisserie or leftover chicken).

Sauce 

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tsps of a good poultry seasoning, herbs de provence, or 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sage, 1 tsp Rosemary 1/4 to 1/2 of a medium onion, diced finely
Juice from half a lemon
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish

Dumplings 

 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk -if you want you could even put a little chive in these

Preparation 

In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic,herbs, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock(and lemon juice), 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.