A Return to My Roots and A Sick Husband

Five years ago you couldn't get me into the kitchen at all, much less to cook. However, I did make one or two feeble attempts after my mother bought me a cookbook for Christmas (my very first). It was a Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook and I remember I tried two recipes out of the book and then lost interest immediately. It wasn't that the meals weren't tasty or easy to make, I just had no interest. Fast forward 5 years and that cookbook is no more; however, my now obsessive interest in cooking (that I blame thank my husband for) has taken me a long way from my first two attempts at cooking. Truthfully, I do not remember the first meal I attempted from that book, but I do remember the second very clearly. It was a chicken and dumpling soup made in a cast iron skillet that turned out pretty well on my first attempt. That was over 5 years ago and I hadn't attempted that recipe since then.

That story now brings me to this morning. My husband and I are both on vacation from work for the Christmas holidays and we slept in (oh, how nice). Unfortunately, when we did finally decided to get our lazy selves out of bed this morning, my husband woke up with a bit of a head cold. We were both pretty hungry and I wanted to make something fast and comforting (to help his sore throat). I decided to attempt that chicken and dumpling soup from 5 years ago and return to my cooking 'roots'. I know it was probably nothing like the original recipe (that I had a conjure up from memory) but it still turned out well. It was fast, warm, and comforting... perfect for a hubby under the weather.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Adapted from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped to 1" pieces
1 carrot, peeled and chopped to 1" pieces
1 stalk of celery, chopped to 1" pieces
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cups dry, white wine (optional)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (homemade is best if you have it)
1/4 cups Bisquick
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper
heavy cream for serving (optional)

First, place the flour onto a plate or bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Chop the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and remove excess flour by lightly shaking off the flour. Set aside.

Chop all of the vegetables and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and is foamy, add the chicken pieces.You may have to do this in batches, as you want to avoid over-crowding the pan. Brown the chicken on all sides (this will take about 5 minutes total). You do not have to cook the pieces all the way through right now, they will finish cooking once you return them to the pan later. If you are cooking the chicken in batches, add a tablespoon of butter for each batch you brown (it took me two batches).

Once the chicken is browned, do not clean the pan and melt another tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add all of the vegetables.

Cook the vegetables, until they begin to soften (5 to 10 minutes). Then, deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up all of the yummy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. If you are skipping the wine, use 1/4 of the stock to deglaze the pan instead.

Cook the wine and veggies until the volume of wine has reduced by half. Next, add the chicken back to the pan and add the stock and chopped oregano. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes on medium-low heat.

While the soup is simmering, combine the bisquick, water and chopped chives in a small bowl. Stir to combine. The mixture will be a sticky dough. If the mixture is too watery, add a bit more bisquick, if it is too dry, add a bit more water.

Once the soup has simmered for 15 minutes (and the chicken pieces are cooked all the way through), adjust the soup seasoning by adding salt and pepper (if needed). Then, drop tablespoon-sized balls of the dough directly into the soup. Leave space between the balls of dough, as they will expand quite a bit during the cooking process. These do not have to be pretty or uniform in size. I like that they look rustic in the soup.

Cover the pan loosely with foil and let simmer on medium-low for 5 minutes. Once the five minutes has passed, remove the foil.

Yum! The dumplings have cooked and have become light and fluffy, while the soup has thickened and all of the flavors have melded together nicely.

Spoon the soup into bowls (don't forget some dumplings) and add a little bit of heavy cream into each bowl for a rich, creamy broth. Serve immediately.

This is perfect for a quick weeknight meal or when sleeping in gets the better of you. Enjoy!