Chicken Soup with Chive Dumplings

When looking around for recipes, I always keep my eyes peeled for hearty, homestyle-type meals. So I was pleasantly surprised when Shape Magazine recently printed a series of comfort food recipes. I've already posted about the Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Scallion Mashed Potatoes, and yesterday, on a very rainy day, I tried the Chicken Soup with Chive Dumplings. What better way to spend a rainy day than fixing a batch of soup with dumplings?

Chicken Soup with Chive Dumplings (serves 4 at 7 points a piece)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup baby carrots, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Dumplings

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced fat butter or margarine
1/2 cup nonfat milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stock pot (with a tight-fitting lid) over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Add bay leaves, thyme, pepper, and sage and stir. Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Work in butter or margarine with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Add milk and stir with a fork until mixture comes together. Fold in chives.

Add peas to simmering liquid in pot and return to a simmer.

Using a large spoon, drop 8 ball-shaped dumplings (slightly bigger than golf balls) into liquid. Cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes (without lifting lid), until dumplings are tender and cooked through (they'll be firm to the touch).

Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Ladle soup and dumplings into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley. A serving is 1 cup of soup and 2 dumplings.

I'm so glad I got to make this dish on such a cold and rainy day. While the soup was simmering on the stove, it made the house smell wonderful. So good in fact that I couldn't wait to try it. The first bite just warmed me up!

The dumplings had a nice fluffy texture to them and the chives were a nice addition. I personally liked the peas in the soup, but the husband would disagree (he's not much of a pea fan). But with the exception of the peas, the husband liked the soup and the dumplings a lot too.

Another thing I loved about this soup was how little time it actually took to make. A chicken stew with dumplings in about 30 minutes! I can remember my mom making chicken and dumplings and it taking a lot longer than that. This dish is an excellent take on a warm and hearty classic :)