Ted Kennedy Watson

It was bitter cold last week-end. The thought of something really comforting to warm us up and fill our bellies was high on my list. A quick perusal of recipes on the internet brought me to the fab Spoon Fork Bacon site for a pretty darn quick & easy chicken and dumplings recipe. I would use it for my base, and tweak it ever so slightly. I bumped up the amount of thyme in the dumplings, doubling what it called for, as I really wanted the herby-ness to stand out among the richness of soup, and did not add the chives. I also added half of a package of frozen peas to the mix, as I thought they would add another layer of flavor and color to the dish. Super happy I did. The dumplings turned out larger than I wanted, so I would prepare them smaller next time, as they plump up considerably when cooking. I felt rushed forming them as the soup cooked away. Next time I will form the balls before I start the soup and put them in the fridge and pull them out when needed and see how that goes. What I liked most about this time saving option, is you can use a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. By all means cook one fresh if you are motivated to do that, but it is not necessary. The rotisserie chicken was just perfect. We are hearty eaters, so the below recipe fed the two of us, with just a bit leftover. Easily double it to serve 4 to 6. I did not make a salad, but as we were eating, we both felt like a mixed green salad would be lovely with this. Happy Wine & Dine Wednesday. Enjoy!