Chicken Dumpling Soup

This recipe is a combination of 2 recipes I found online plus my own substitutions. It was delicious and just hit the spot last night after a cold snowy day.

Ingredients

Soup:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk of celery sliced
• 1 chicken breast
• 4 to 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup pearl barley
• poultry seasoning or use dried sage, thyme, clove and marjoram
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Dumplings:

• 1 cup sour milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buckwheat flour or your choice of flour
• 3 eggs

Prepared the chicken breast by cooking it in the oil on medium low heat till done.  Remove from pan and cool. Saute the vegetables in the left over oil and juices with the coconut oil till soft.  While the vegetables are cooking shred the breast with a fork and save the breast bone to make chicken stock for another soup or dish. Add the chicken broth, meat and spices. Simmering on medium low heat for about 30 minutes.

Make dumplings by bringing the milk and butter to a boil, add salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat and immediately add flour stirring until dough leaves the sides of the pan. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, forming a sticky dough.

Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add spoon sized balls of dumpling dough and simmer until dumplings rise.

For a change add a cup of pearl barley when adding the stock.