It’s this time of year that I long for spring the most. The holidays are long over, darkness still comes way too early, bitter cold winds blow furiously, and all I want to see is green grass, pop the windows open, and feel a warm breeze gently blow through the house. So now is the time when comfort food makes us all feel a whole lot better! Snuggle up on the couch under your favorite, soft warm blanket, and wrap your hands around a piping hot bowl of this Creamy Chicken Stew with Dumpling Noodles! Turn on a classic black and white movie, and forget all about Old Man Winter. About six more weeks, and we’ll be sprucing up the grill and getting ready for summer!

But for now, deal with winter we must. And what better way to not only nourish our bodies, warm us up from heart to toes, but also ward off colds and flu with a big ol’ pot of homemade goodness. Am I right?

This is by far not “diet food”, but right now, we need a wee bit of an extra layer on us to help keep us warm and healthy. I’m a little bit too thin right now, and this stew was just the ticket!! Chock FULL of wonderful veggies loaded with vitamins, hearty chunks of chicken providing protein, and damn good noodles supplying the energy we need from those carbs that make it all so much more fun to drive the cold winter away with each and every spoonful!

I mean, just look at that! Doesn’t it look delicious? Thick. Rich. And AMAZINGLY delicious! And don’t freak out over the cream for cryin’ out loud. The cream is full of minerals and vitamins, especially vitamin D, that we are missing while the days are still short and we aren’t getting any sun!

Seriously.

Don’t you just want to reach in and sneak that noodle?

Yea. That one. Right in the middle. It’s just begging to be plucked!!

Go ahead! I won’t tell!!

Our Grandma’s were right when they gave us hearty dishes like this. They really do help when we need it, keep us healthy, and heal us faster when nasty colds this time of year add insult to injury!

So get out the big pot, stay in your pj’s and fluffy slippers, pull your hair up into a pony tail and enjoy making this down home-style, just like Grandma’s, heartwarming Creamy Chicken Stew with Dumpling Noodles on a day that’s just too cold to leave the house. Plan on, and set aside a day, when you have some time to just make everything all better. Chicken stew always has a way of fixing everything. Doesn’t it?

Whip up a batch of my Mile High No-Fail Biscuits to sop up every last drop!

Yield: about 1 gallon

Creamy Chicken Stew with Dumpling Noodles

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Ingredients

For Stew:

• 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or about 3 1/2 lbs.
• 7 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 giant bay leaf or 2 regular ones
• 1/3 cup Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
• 1 (12 oz.) bag sweet baby carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. dried parsley, or 1 Tbl. fresh, minced, adding just before serving
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. herbes de provence (with lavender), McCormick's Gourmet line makes it
• 1/2 tsp. thyme, crush between fingers when adding
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 3 Tbl. butter
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

To Thicken:

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbl. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold milk

For Noodles:

• 1 (24 oz.) bag frozen Reams Homestyle Egg Noodles
• 1/2 Tbl. kosher salt
• (boiling water)

Instructions

In 6 quart pot, add water, bouillon, chicken, and bay leaf, cover, and bring to a simmer. Simmer one hour & 25 minutes. (*Yes. That long, or it won't be tender. Trust me on this). Remove chicken breasts to a plate, and cover to cool down until easily handled. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Add veggies, seasonings, and butter to pot. Bring back to a simmer, covered, and cook until tender. About 20 minutes or how you like them. Tear up chicken into large bite-sized pieces and stir into pot.

Stir in cream and bring back to a low simmer.

In coffee mug or small bowl, stir together cornstarch and cold milk, stir into pot and thicken, simmering while gently stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. (*At this point, you can cover with lid tilted while you cook the noodles. It will stay hot).

Fold in hot cooked noodles.

Serve hot with my homemade biscuits and butter for sopping, or good old-fashioned saltine crackers, crusty bread, or just enjoy all by itself!

For Noodles:

In separate pot while veggies are cooking, bring pot of water to a boil adding 1/2 Tbl. kosher salt. Add noodles, bring back to a full boil, and boil for 20 minutes. Dump into colander to drain, do not rinse, and add hot noodles to fully-done stew, folding in gently.

Serve piping hot with bread and butter for swiping every last drop! Enjoy!