Recipe Review: Chicken Soup & Dumplings

Al of us have been hit with winter colds lately. Even Sarah, who is normally the healthiest of us, is miserable. No fever, just a drippy nose & the sore throat that comes with it, and really tired.

My first line of defense is always food. I go through tons of ginger, honey & citrus in tea. I put enough garlic in chicken broth to make our whole house repel vampires. And I've lately become a big fan of elderberry syrup.

Yesterday, we saw an episode of Mad Hungry that had Lucinda making chicken & dumplings. I'm really enjoying that show--she doesn't cook über healthy stuff, but it isn't over the top unhealthy, and it's generally aimed at families.

Sarah said it looked good and asked if I could make some, so I got the last of the chicken broth out of the freezer. I only made half the recipe, because there were only 4 cups of broth. I only used garlic, onions and carrots in the broth, and I didn't add any herbs to the dumplings.

Here's how they look while cooking:

And in the bowl.:

I remember making drop dumplings with soup from Bisquick when I was a teen--they seemed fluffier than this. Maybe my baking powder is getting old? At any rate, they weren't as fluffy as I remember, which was a little disappointing. Sarah liked them, Lauren didn't. I thought they were ok. I might give them another go, but it's not high on my list right now.

I'd like to try my hand at matzo balls next. I've never made those, but my grandmother did. I think I'll get some matzo and keep them in the cupboard. I don't have any more chicken stock in the freezer, but I make it on such a regular basis that it's not a big deal.