Down Home Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Remember how I told you how much I love Martha Stewart's Everyday Food?  Well, there is a reason.  I have actually liked every single thing I have made from this little magazine.  Everything.  That is pretty impressive.  Sure, some I like more than others, but I would be willing to eat every single one again. 

This soup is no different.  Here is the thing:  This soup was not like wow-so-amazing good, but it definitely ahhh-I-am-satisfied-with-life good.  I guess that's what the name suggests, right?  Down home soup.  When I think of being "down home" I think of peace, comfort, and warmth.  This soup fits right into that.  And I even got to steal some lemons from the neighbors to make it happen.  I have been waiting for a chance to steal the lemons.  They just look so good...  (And as you will notice, the lemons are hanging over the fence.  I figure if they are on my side, they are fair game.)

I didn't do what Martha suggested and make my own soup broth.  I just pulled some bullion out of the cupboard.  And as for the shredded chicken, I just grabbed some pre-cooked chicken pieces out of the refrigerator section at Trader Joe's -- Parmesan Caesar style.  I read a review that this soup was bland, but not the way I cooked it.  No sirree.  Besides, anything with lemon tastes better, right?

And then I made dumplings.  From scratch.  Not from the Bisquick box.  Yeah, yeah, I know... that may not be a big deal for you, but it was my first time.  I remember a little less than a year ago I made dumplings for the first time with the Bisquick and I felt amazing.  And now from scratch, well, I guess you can say I am moving on up in the world.

Little side note -- I didn't have buttermilk.  However, a Google search allowed me to figure out that if you take regular mix (1 cup) and let a teaspoon of vinegar sit in it for five minutes, you get a buttermilk substitute.  So not only can I now make dumplings, but I can make buttermilk-substitute, too.  I am a smarty-pants, I tell ya.

Recipe from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart, Jan/Feb 2012

Yield Serves 6

 

Ingredients

• 10 cups broth
• 4 cups shredded chicken
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 ounce baby spinach, roughly chopped (1 cup)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

 

Directions

1. In a large pot, bring broth to a simmer over medium-high. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. With a fork, stir in buttermilk and spinach to form a dough.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on top of simmering broth. Cover and cook until dumplings are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Gently stir in chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook until chicken is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Cost: $7.65                   Cost Per Serving (6): $1.28