You know how every time it’s been more than a few days since I’ve posted, I always apologize profusely and go on about how busy I’ve been?
Yeah, trying to get out of that habit. But I HAVE been busy, and I AM sorry that the first thing to get trimmed when I’m short on time is blog upkeep. If my life goes the way I am expecting it to, given recent events, I will probably only get busier and busier. I might have to actually learn effective time management. God forbid!
When I get busy and stressed, it only leads to one thing: constant, insatiable cravings for comfort food. And since I’ve been on such a great real-meal-making kick recently, I decided to get a little ambitious.
Growing up, I was actually the exact opposite of a fan of chicken and dumplings — or, more specifically, the chicken aspect thereof. I was known to order them at Cracker Barrel and then eat the dumplings out, much in the same way I would slurp the noodles out of chicken noodle soup or eat the tortilla off of a beef soft taco.
I have never really outgrown this.
As an unreasonably finicky eater, I find that one of my favorite things about cooking for myself is exercising complete control over everything that goes into my meals. No more eating around onion bits or tomato chunks, no more prying pickles and scraping mayonnaise off of sandwiches, and best of all, no more spitting out gross, gristly pieces of chicken.
These dumplings are pure and undefiled by any semblance of chicken-ness. They’re also a lot healthier than other recipes that call for butter, heavy cream, and cans of condensed soup. So go grab some of your favorite vegetables and let’s get cooking. These are YOUR dumplings — why should you have to pick around anything?
ingredients
for the roux
2 c your choice of fresh or frozen vegetables (I used peas & carrots)
2 c vegetable broth
1 c water
1/2 c flour
salt and pepper to taste
for the dumplings
1 c flour
2 tbsp cold margarine or vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c soy or almond milk
directions
1. Pour veggie broth into a medium pot and bring to a boil. While waiting for the broth to heat up, make your dumplings! Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in margarine or shortening until crumbly. Add soy or almond milk and stir to form a thick dough. You may need to take it out and work it with your hands.
2. Transfer dough to a nonstick surface and press flat, about 1/4″ thick. Cut into squares and gently drop dumplings into the broth. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add your vegetables, cover, and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked.
4. Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to gently spoon dumplings and vegetables into a large, heat-proof bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together water and remaining flour and add to leftover broth. Return to heat and bring to a boil to form a thick roux, stirring constantly to avoid clumps.
5. Remove from heat and add vegetables and dumplings, gently stirring to coat. Add salt, pepper, or any additional seasoning to taste.
Ask Akamo
/ August 9, 2012mayun, that looks so good!
Catlyn Lawson (@ZombieCupcake90)
/ August 15, 2012I just discovered your lovely blog!
This recipe looks amazing, I hope to try it out this weekend!
Tracey Crooker Young
/ August 15, 2012yummy looking! and no icky chicky
molly alice
/ August 15, 2012Thanks! “Icky chicky” — can I start using that phrase? haha
Nicole
/ August 16, 2012This looks sooooo good! Do you think it would freeze well? I want to cook some dishes for my friend who just had a baby and her Pinterest board of recipes has so many chicken dishes on it, I actually felt nauseous. This seems like something she would like – but with no dead birds in it!
molly alice
/ August 16, 2012Hmm, I usually don’t make batches big enough to freeze, so I’m not an authority on what freezes well. You can certainly give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
Mia
/ September 15, 2012I think you should clarify the shortening, to veg.shortening, some shortening have animal fat or lard..yuks
molly alice
/ September 15, 2012I’ll definitely do that. Thanks!
lemontwist301
/ September 18, 2012Can this be made in a crockpot? Would love to get it started in the morning and come home to it for dinner.
molly alice
/ September 18, 2012Hmm. I’ve never really used a crockpot, but I don’t see why not. If anything, it would probably make the dumplings bigger & fluffier. Try it and let me know how it works!
Julia Smola
/ October 6, 2012How many servings does this make?
molly alice
/ October 6, 2012This makes about 4-6 servings, depending on your serving size.
vege girl
/ November 30, 2012I’m pretty good at following recipes. I had this saved for awhile and tried to make it tonight, epic fail. The dumplings were not coming together and formed goey messes at the bottom of the pot. It looked so good too!
molly alice
/ December 1, 2012Hmm, I wonder what went wrong… Was the dumpling dough holding together before boiling? It should be dense and fairly dry, like biscuit dough. Maybe variation among brands in margarine/shortening or even moisture content in the air affected it somehow. I’m sorry it didn’t work out! :/
jzycaramel
/ December 30, 2012OMG I just made this!! It was great! I added a can of chick peas to my recipe to give it more sustenance and an extra cup of vegetable broth since mine turned out extra thick. Overall it was great and I will be adding this to my fall/ winter meal rotation! Kudos!