A few months ago my friend Suzanne brought us chicken and dumplings for dinner. Our daughter was only a few weeks old, we were in the midst of diaper changes and around the clock “naps” in place of solid sleep. If ever there was a time we needed a hug, it was during those crazy days. Suzanne brought over a whole pot of hugs with her home made chicken and dumplings. Since then I have been obsessed with making this dish with gluten, dairy and egg-free dumplings.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure I could do it either 
I’ve bombed a couple of times in my experimentation but I think I’ve finally found a recipe that works (Hellllooooo chia seeds!). This is the perfect post-holiday recipe for those days you feel like a restful and nourishing meal. Enjoy!
Chicken and Dumplings (serves approximately 6 big bowls)
10 cups high quality chicken broth (I make my own nutrient-dense mineral broth and will post the recipe next week)
1-2 boneless chicken breasts (depends on how much meat you want)
3 large carrots, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
Dumplings
2 cups GF Bisquick
1/3 cup coconut oil, unrefined organic
1 cup milk alternative (I used coconut milk)
3 chia seed eggs (1 egg=1 tablespoon ground chia seeds plus 3 tablespoons water)
Directions:
In a large stock pot add a little coconut or grapeseed oil and saute garlic, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Add spices and one cup broth and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the broth and turn up heat to medium high.
While broth is warming, slice your chicken into 1 inch strips. Place raw chicken in the pot and set timer for 20 minutes. Bring broth to low boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover pot. After 20 minutes your chicken should be cooked. Take a slotted spoon and remove chicken to a clean plate. Shred the chicken using 2 forks. Add chicken back to pot. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes to let flavors saturate.
Make dumpling batter right before you plan to cook them (the batter shouldn’t sit around much). Mix the chia seed eggs in a small bowl first by stirring together 3 tablespoons of ground chia seeds and 9 tablespoons of water. Place Bisquick, milk, oil and chia seed eggs into bowl. Yes the chia seeds are very thick and you will wonder if you are doing the right thing. Don’t worry! Stir the mixture a few times to combine. Don’t over mix and yes it should be lumpy.
Scoop spoonfuls of the biscuit batter into the pot. You will make 8-10 dumplings depending on your spoon size. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes until dumplings are done.
** If Kula Baby is going through a picky eating phase we blend his soup up and add a few dumplings to his bowl. He loves this.
