Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients Stew:

1 lb skinless boneless chicken meat cut into 1” cubes

1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 med carrot thinly sliced

1/2 cup celery chopped

1/4 ts salt

Black pepper, to taste

1 pinch ground cloves

1 bay leaf

3 cup chicken broth

2 tsp cornstarch

3 Tbsp cold water

1 tsp dried basil

10 oz frozen peas

Dumplings:

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup low-fat milk

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
Place chicken, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, salt, pepper, cloves, bay leaf, and chicken broth 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 broth to make 3 cups liquid.

Mix cornstarch, cold water, stirring to remove any lumps. 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.

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 Tbsp 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.