Chicken Casserole with Herb and Cheese Dumplings

Well this is the end product of yesterdays tidy up in my sewing room.

All my fabrics are sorted into colors and corralled in their new baskets.

Once I started this job yesterday I found stashes of fabric everywhere that I had left because of lack of interest in trying to fit them into this cupboard.

So not only have I cleared my desk for ease of sewing and cutting but I have also cleared another table on which I can now store all my completed quilt tops awaiting completion.

The desk I use is not a spindly flat pack desk, but a very large robust desk that would have been made decades ago. It requires 4 men to lift it, if you are going to carry it any distance. It measures 1 metre deep and 1.7 metres wide. so it is quite a substantial desk for sewing.

Now to the chicken casserole, I gave Mr CLI an option to think what he would like for tea last night, he pondered this and suggested something I could just put in the oven and leave. What about a chicken casserole I counter suggested, yes that would be good was his reply, but can you add dumplings. Yes I could. So this is how this recipe come about.

Chicken Casserole with Herb and Cheese Dumplings

2 large chicken fillets, cut into 3 cm cubes, 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced into rounds, 1 stick of celery cut into slices, 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm pieces, 1 cup frozen peas, 2 tbsps tomato paste, 2 tsps dijon mustard, 4 cups chicken stock, 2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley, 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce. salt and pepper

Thickening if required = 2 tbsps soft butter  & 2 tbsps plain flour. Mixed together with a fork.

Preheat oven to 200.c.

In a large casserole dish mix together chicken, celery, carrots, potatoes and parsley. In a jug or a bowl mix together tomato paste, stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Pour over ingredients. Cover and bake in the oven for 1 hour.

After on hour check to see if potatoes are nearly cooked, if so add the peas and stir together. Cover and return to the oven while you make the dumplings

Dumplings

2 cups S.R. flour, 1 tbsp butter melted, 1/2 tsp  English Mustard powder, 1/4 tsps each freshly ground salt & pepper 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk. 1 tbsps chopped fresh parsley. 2 tbsps grated tasty cheese

In a large bowl using a butter knife mix together the flour, mustard salt, pepper and parsley. Add the butter and 1/4 cup milk. Mix just enough to see if it is going to come together, if not add a little bit more milk. It should form a slightly sticky dough that can be rolled into balls. Don't overwork the mixture or you will get tough dumplings.

Remove the casserole from the oven. If the liquid is quite runny stir in the thickening. Then roll the dough into golf ball size balls and place on top of the casserole.

Top each one with a little cheese. Cover and return to the oven

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, by this time the dumplings should have plumped up and the cheese should have melted. Remove lid and bake for a further 8 - 10 minutes till the cheese has browned.

Remove eat and enjoy.