Chicken and Dumplings - Slow Cooker

My husband Brian had never had chicken and dumplings so I decided, being Southern, that it was my duty to introduce him. I did a recipe with the rosemary in the dumplings though to give it a little "wine country flair." I've made it many, many times for him, and also for my family when I visited them in Mississippi, and everyone has always loved it. Hopefully one day I get a picture!

It's great in a slow cooker for nights that I work!

1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs) cut into pieces (I just used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 Tbsp vegtable oil
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1 inch thick
2 stalks celery, slived 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Dumplings
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken pieces to mixture and coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 8-10 minutes or until brown on all sides.

2. Add carrots, celery, onion and rosemary to slow cooker. Place chicken pieces OVER vegetables. Pour 1/2 cup of the broth into skillet and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan. Pour pan juices into slow cooker with remaining stock or broth.

3. Cook and cover on high 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours until vegetables are tender and stew is bubbling. Add peas to combine.

4. Dumplings: Whish flour, baking powder, dried rosemary and salt in a bowl. Combine milk and egg in a measuring cup. Mix well and add to flour mixture. Stir with a fork to make a lumpy dough (do not overmix - lumps are fine). Drop dumpling mixture over chicken pieces. Cover and cook on High for 25 to 20 minutes or until tester inserted in center of dumpling comes out clean.