Chicken and Cheddar Dumplings

Soup:
2 chicken breasts/cooked and shredded (or shred meat from small rotisserie chicken)
2 small onions/diced
2-3 cloves garlic/minced
2 medium carrots/diced
3-4 Tbs butter
2 bouillon cubes
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano or basil
water

Cheddar Dumplings:
1 C sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 C shredded cheddar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp italian seasonings of your choice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C cream (whole milk as alternative)
2 Tbsp melted butter

1. In large pot, heat butter, onions, and garlic over meduim heat until onions are transluscent.
2. Add shredded chicken, carrots and enough water to cover by an inch.
3. Bring to low boil and add bouiloon cubes and spices/seasonings. You can also add any other veggies or spices you'd like at this point to make it your own... corn, celery, and zucchini would all work well! :)
4. Stir soup occasionally and bring down to simmer after about 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix up the dry ingredients and cheese in a mixing bowl.
6. In small bowl, combine cream and melted butter. Once carrots are tender, combine the cream and butter with the dry dumpling ingredients until just combined... don;t over mix.
7. Taste soup for final seasonings (remember the dumplings will add a little saltiness to your soup once cooked) and season to taste. Add more water if needed to bring level back to an inch above soup ingredients and bring to low boil.
8. Once gently boiling, drop dumpling dough into pot by the spoonful (My dumplings were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter before dropping).
9. Put lid on and let cook for about 12 minutes.
10. Serve hot! :)


*** I doubled up on the dumplings to serve 4-6

courtesy the ovenless chef