Chicken & Dumplings --- Instant Pot

It's the time of year for comfort food one of the first ones that comes to mind for me is Chicken and Dumplings. A few weeks back I used my Instant Pot to make the filling for Chicken Pot Pie and I instantly realized how easy it would be to make it into Chicken and Dumplings instead. So I tried it last night, and we ate every last bite. Not only was it super tasty but it was super easy. I typically use frozen chicken so the timing on mine is longer but if you use fresh (or thawed) chicken you can have this done in less than 20 minutes. Here's the recipe:

Chicken and Dumplings
5 cloves of garlic, crushed (we like lots of garlic)
1 large bay leaf
2 tsp salt
2 cups bone broth/chicken stock
2 cups water
1 lb chicken
Carrots, chopped
Celery, chopped
1 cup peas

Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp salted butter*
3/4 cup milk
*if you don't use salted butter add 1/2 tsp salt
Mix the flour, baking powder, & baking soda.
Cut in butter, once it's crumbly add milk and mix until dough forms.


In Instant Pot add chicken, broth, water, garlic, bay leaf, & salt. Cover and cook on "soup" for 30 minutes (if you're not using frozen chicken you can change the time to 15 minutes.) When done, allow to naturally release pressure. Open add carrots, celery, peas and dumplings to the top. Close and set for "soup" for 5 more minutes. When done allow to naturally release and serve.

Mangia!

Beef Stew with Parmesan Dumplings

With the crisp evenings upon us nothing sounded better last night than a comfort food and I remembered I had found a beef stew recipe with parmesan dumplings and I was more than excited to try them.  This turned out to be the best beef stew I've ever had in my life, and everyone in the family couldn't get enough. What was wonderful was the texture of the dumplings, they added a great saltiness every time I got a little bite with my stew.

Beef Stew with Parmesan Dumplings
1 lb stew meat
1 onion, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 sm can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup red wine
2 tins beef stock (use can from chopped tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used cremini)
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Parmesan grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Drench stew meat in flour, salt and pepper.
Sear in pot until browned on both sides
Remove from pot and set aside
In the same pot, fry the onion, celery, carrots until soft and fragrant
Add garlic and fry for another 30 seconds
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, wine and soy sauce and allow to come up to a simmer
Add the beef back into the pot and pour in the beef stock, add the bay leaf and thyme
Turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer until the beef is soft
Add the mushrooms and allow to cook for 10 minutes uncovered
To make dumplings:
Place the butter, flour, baking powder, salt and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs
With the motor running, pour in the milk slowly until the mixture comes together in a ball.
Remove and form dumplings, just slightly smaller than golf balls
Place the dumplings on top of the stew and cover with the lid. Allow to steam for 10 minutes (make sure the stew is simmering or they will fall apart)
When the dumplings are cooked through, remove the lid and serve immediately.