Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Well.

Winter is here.

It's cold. I now officially always wear long johns under my pants or leggings when leaving the house. My only shoes that are getting worn outside are boots. I'm even occasionally donning a hat and gloves (and boy oh boy I hate wearing gloves almost as much as I hate wearing socks-speaking of...) AND SOCKS! Ugh I'm wearing socks. Not all the time, mind you, but more than I would like. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some perks of winter.

Christmas. Gotta love that.

And comforting, happy, delicious food, that warms you from the inside out.

Like this slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe. 

It is pretty darn simple, and at the end you have a big bowl of warmness. It's quite lovely. Michael and I both absolutely adored this (although it does make a lot so be prepared for a lot of leftovers, or maybe make sure you serve more than 2 people). Michael was especially fond of the dumplings. I adored it but felt it was missing something. So, I whipped up my simple biscuit recipe-but I added cheese, some herbs, even a little chicken bouillon granules in there for flavor, made them drop biscuits, and it was exactly what I feel it needed! The bite of the cheesy biscuits was just sooo good slathered in the rest of it. Mmmmm hmmm. Yes. Either way, you should totally take my word for it and make the most out of winter by making yourself some!

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

From How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 56 oz. chicken broth/stock
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup half and half

Dumplings

• 1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. cold butter, cut up into small pieces
• 1/2 cup cold milk

Preparation:

• In the bottom of the slow cooker layer onions, carrots, and garlic.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper and lay on top of the veggies.
• Heat a saucepan with butter over medium heat and melt the butter. Once sizzling whisk in the flour and cook 2-3 minutes until golden, to make a roux. Add 2 cups chicken broth and mix well. Bring to a boil. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour over the chicken and veggies.
• Add the rest of the broth to the crock-pot, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
• After the 6 hours, shred the chicken breasts (this should be easy). Stir in the half & half. Turn to high and cover.
• In a bowl combine the dry dumpling ingredients. Crumble in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk until the dough is sticky.
• Measure out each dumpling using a tablespoon and drop them into the slow cooker, start at the outside. 
• Cook 1-1 1/2 hours, until the dumplings are cooked and now raw, but soft.
• Taste and season more if desired.
• Cheesy biscuits are also delicious with this (I just mixed some cheese and herbs into my basic biscuit recipe).
• Eat up and be warmed!