Mmm. Cold weather. But not yet. Because Louisiana.

It is, however, prime-sick time. One of my good friends got sick (that whole graduate school + wife + toddler + 11 year old thing with no sleep and the flu shot), got pretty sick this past week. She does a lot for me and is one of the people who has helped keep me sane over the last several years, so I figured the least I could do is cook her something filling, warm, and easy to reheat. I decided on one of my favorites, chicken and dumplings! 🙂

Ingredients

• Large pot (3 qt or larger)
• Boned Chicken (I usually do at least 4 chicken thighs – boned)
•  4 cups of water
• 4 cups of chicken broth (1 box or use bouillon)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2-4 tbs butter

Directions

1. Take out the large pot (at least 3 qt). Add water, chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp thyme, onion, and chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 hours, or until chicken is very tender and cooked through. Note: If the liquid level decreases, add more water as needed
2. Remove and debone the chicken. Add the deboned chicken back to the pot and bring back to a boil. Stir in 1 c. buttermilk and butter. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix until resembles a coarse meal. Stir in 3/4 c. buttermilk until the dough just clumps together. At this point you can do one of two things: I do not like to knead and roll the dough out and cut into strips, so I do not. I drop the dough in small clumps.
4. Drop the dough, a few at a time, into the boiling chicken broth. Reduce heat to med-low and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
5. Let it cool down (and let the liquid thicken).

Bon Appetit!