YOSEMITE CHICKEN STEW & DUMPLINGS

Skinless chicken is the basis of this delicious stew with cornmeal dumplings made with low-fat milk. 

For the stew:

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 C onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp salt

to taste black pepper

1 pinch ground cloves

1 bay leaf

3 C water

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp dried basil

1 package (10 oz) frozen peas

For the cornmeal dumplings:

1 C yellow cornmeal

3/4 C sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 C low-fat (1%) milk

1 Tbsp vegetable oil  

For the stew:

Place chicken, onion, carrot, celery, salt, pepper, cloves, bay leaf, and water in a large saucepan. Heat to boiling; cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 1/2 hour or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken and vegetables from broth. Strain broth.

Skim fat from broth; measure and, if necessary, add water to make 3 cups liquid.

Mix cornstarch with 1 cup cooled broth by shaking vigorously in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Pour into saucepan with remaining broth; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened.

Add basil, peas, and reserved vegetables to sauce; stir to combine.

Add chicken and heat slowly to boiling while preparing cornmeal dumplings.

For the dumplings:

Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Mix together milk and oil. Add milk mixture all at once to dry ingredients; stir just enough to moisten flour and evenly distribute liquid. Dough will be soft.

Drop by full tablespoons on top of braised meat or stew. Cover tightly; heat to boiling. Reduce heat (do not lift cover) to simmering and steam about 20 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings--Serving size: 1-1/4 cup stew with 2 dumplings

Each serving provides:

Calories: 307

Total fat: 5 g

Saturated fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 43 mg

Sodium: 471 mg

from NIh.gov