The weather is getting cooler, right? Maybe not in California exactly, but we can have wishful thoughts. Fortunately it is getting cooler in the evening, so at least dinner can still be all nice and warm and comforting and autumny.

Chicken and Dumplings

1 whole chicken, washed and cut into quarters
water
3 onions, cut into big bite pieces
2-3 carrots, cut into big bite pieces
3 stalks of celery, cut into big bite pieces
3 bay leaves
2 leeks, cut into half circles
8 oz mushrooms, rough cut

DUMPLINGS (gluten free option below)
2 cups flour
1 cup broth or milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 beaten eggs
Dried parsley
Salt

Put your chicken in a large stock pot and cover with water. You might need to split this into two large pots if you don’t have one really big one. Add in the onions, carrots, celery and bay leaves. Don’t forget the salt and pepper! Start it on the stove on high heat, but once it starts to look like a boil but isn’t quite a full boil, back the heat off to low and let it simmer for 1.5 hours.

Once the meat is cooked and tender, pull the chicken out of the pot and remove the bones. Discard with the skin. Shred the meat lightly and return to the pot with the broth and veggies. In a separate pan, heat some butter or cooking fat of your choice and saute the leeks and mushrooms. Add into the pot with the soupy stuffs. At this point, simmer for as long as you like to really infuse that broth with flavor. When you’re ready, start to prep the dumplings. If you would like a thicker sauce at this point, go ahead and use a cornstarch slurry.

In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a dough. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy the yum yum yummers.

In case you’re looking for Gluten Free Dumplings, swap your dumpling ingredients for these:

1 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, cubed, plus 1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Dried parsley

Combine your dry ingredients and cut in the butter like you would with pie dough. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly until a batter forms. Drop into the pot like normal, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.