From Lori of Finding Radiance, who is on a journey to lose 115 pounds.  She’s doing it the right way: eating healthy, exercising, and loving life.  Lori picked up a copy of Dollars to Donuts and was excited to see so many healthy recipes for “good real food.”  She made my recipe for chicken and dumplings and gushed, “Dinner was on the table in 30 minutes and oh so yummy!”   Lori, thanks for making me part of your path to healthy eating.

Chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1⁄2 pound baby carrots
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
1 bay leaf
About 2 cups bite-size pieces roasted chicken

Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
1–2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1⁄2 cup whole or low-fat milk
1⁄4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Simmer the vegetables. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook until soft and just starting to brown, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the chicken broth, add the bay leaf, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until
the carrots are nearly tender, about 10 minutes.

Make the dumplings. While the vegetables cook, make the dumplings. Whisk the flour, baking powder (1 teaspoon
if you like firm dumplings, 2 teaspoons if you like them fluffy), and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk
the egg, milk, and chicken broth together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Slowly pour the liquid into the
flour mixture, stirring with a large spoon to combine, until no dry spots remain and the dough forms a ball.

Cook the chicken and dumplings. Stir the chicken into the vegetables. Spoon about twelve 2″ mounds of the dumpling mixture on top of the chicken and bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the dumplings are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.