Christmas Notebook

Chicken soup is one of those recipes you can fudge to your heart’s content. Use what you have, substitute, leave this out, add that.

Yesterday I wanted to make chicken and dumpling soup. Instead of following the recipe I found online, I put together my own combo. Near as I can remember, the following is what I used.

Chicken Soup

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts [Whole chicken, chicken pieces, or turkey can be used.]
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 T. dry onion [May use fresh onion, diced, if you have it.]
• Enough water to cover the chicken when it has been placed in a large pot.
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dry basil
• 1/4 tsp. dry thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, minced [Fresh garlic is better than powdered garlic, but use that if it’s all you have on hand. If you use garlic SALT, reduce the amount of salt added.]
• 2/3 c. fresh celery  If you don’t have any on hand, use 2 tsp. celery seed.
• 2/3 c. carrots, sliced (or a can of carrots, not drained)
• Optional, an undrained can of whole or creamed corn. It adds a sweetness that is delicious.
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Additional water (or chicken broth) to add to the pot to make room for the dumplings to cook
• 1/2 c. chopped parsley, added at the end, after soup is removed from heat.
• Optional, but delicious: Add 1 c. cream to the pot after removed from heat. Stir well.

Dumplings

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. mik

If you don’t want to make dumplings, you can add noodles, fresh tortellini, or cooked rice to the soup.

Place the chicken in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the meat. Add the onion, bay leaves, basil, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the meat and let it stand in a bowl. While it cools, add the carrots, celery and salt to the liquid in the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Don’t add the chicken back until the dumplings have been cooked.

Mix the dumpling dough. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Mix well. Add the milk and stir until well combined. If too wet, add a dusting of flour and stir it in. Add the dumplings, one at a time, to the boiling liquid. I drop them by teaspoonfuls. They will expand a bit as they cook. I add a cup of water at a time to the pot until the dumplings have room to cook. The dumplings can be rolled thin and cut with a pizza cutter. Toss them in a bit of flour before adding them to the water so they don’t stick together.

Simmer the dumplings for ten minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionaly, then cover and simmer for 10 additional minutes.

While the dumplings are cooking, dice the chicken. Add to the soup pot when the dumplings are cooked. Stir and heat through. Remove bay leaves, add parsley and freshly ground pepper to taste.

2025 / Fifteen years later, and we are still making this soup on a regular basis. I edited the recipe a bit to reflect the few changes I have made. Sometimes we make it with fresh cheese tortellini instead of dumplings. Enjoy!

~~Rhonda  🙂