Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup

Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup
(melskitchencafe.com)

The ultimate in comfort food, this soup was our solace for being trapped in the house far too long with subzero temperatures raging outside (oh, spring, wherefore art thou??). My Aunt Marilyn sent me the recipe and I was hooked on trying it when I knew she had been making it and loving it for years and also has used it as a wonderful take-in meal with great results.
The soup is a delicious and unique twist on traditional chicken noodle soup and the overall flavor of this soup is out of this world (not to mention the way my house smelled while cooking it – crazy good). Slightly creamy and chock full of vegetables and tender chunks of chicken, this soup is elevated to a whole new level by the addition of steamed morsels of dumplings. Soft and delicate, the dumplings complimented every bite of this tummy-warming soup.
Talk about a hit with my kids. Fighting over dumplings ensued big time, which led to the realization that this soup will definitely be made again and again at my house. A little more work (and the use of one or two more bowls) than a quick fix dinner, this soup is worth it, I promise.

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Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling SoupPrintable VersionPrintable Version with Picture
*Serves 6
Chicken and Broth:4 cups chicken broth4 cups water2-3 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Vegetables:1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil2 stalks celery, chopped2 large carrots (6-7 baby carrots), chopped1 onion, chopped1 ½ teaspoons salt1 teaspoon dried thyme1/4 teaspoon pepper1/2 cup frozen peas
Dumplings:1 cup flour2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or sage1/2 cup sour cream1/2 cup milk1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
In a large pot, boil the chicken broth, water and chicken breasts until the chicken is cooked through and tender (about 15 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pot, reserving the broth in the pot, and shred the chicken with two forks. Set the chicken aside and keep the broth warm on the stove.
While the chicken is boiling, in a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the celery, carrots and onions. Saute for about 6-7 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the vegetables to the hot broth in the pot after the chicken has been removed. Add salt, thyme and pepper to the vegetable/broth mixture and stir to combine. Heat the soup to a simmer.
In a small bowl, blend ½ cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour with a wire whisk until smooth. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the flour mixture into the hot vegetables and broth and whisk until well combined. Add ½ cup frozen peas and the reserved chicken and cook, stirring gently for one minute.
For the dumplings, in a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, milk and oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined (don’t overmix, it is ok if there are a few dry spots of flour here and there).
Heat the soup to boiling and drop teaspoonful amounts (the dumplings should be fairly small, they’ll expand while cooking) of dumpling dough into the boiling soup, covering the entire surface of the soup (don’t make more than one layer of dumplings). Reduce the heat to simmering, cover and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid of the pot while the dumplings cook.
When the dumplings have cooked fully, remove the lid and gently stir the dumplings to break them apart. Serve.