Yosemite Chicken Stew With Cornmeal Dumplings (Low Fat)

From: one_of_thr3

On Apr 23, 2009

We enjoyed this. Made a few changes. I sauteed the onions with some garlic, used chicken stock instead of water and didn't add any cloves as I'm not fond of them in savory dishes. Per the comments about not enough sauce I used a total of 8 cups of broth, since I doubled the recipe. Regarding doubling, that made too many dumplings and I couldn't fit them all into my pot. Next time I'll double everything except the dumplings. I'll also stick to just 1 tsp of basil as I found doubling that was a bit overpowering. Doubled, the recipe was enough to feed 5 or 6 adults. Lastly, I simplified the recipe by cooking everything, except the dumplings for about 20 minutes after boiling, then just added the dumplings and cooked for another 20 minutes. I didn't find a need to thicken, perhaps because the flour from the dumplings got mixed in the broth. Everything was cooked nicely and was less complicated not having to follow steps 2 through 7! The flavour of the stew was very good and I enjoyed the cornmeal dumpling texture. I look forward to making this again!

From: LARavenscroft

On Oct 20, 2008

Made for Healthy Choices 2008 ABC (May). We thought this would be better with several changes. There wasn't nearly enough stew to feed six people - next time I would double the stew ingredients and I would also make a thicker sauce and increase the amount. There just wasn't enough sauce with the veggies - it was kind of dry. The dumpling recipe was adequate and they were good - not sure if they were right or not because I"ve never made dumplings before. I would make this again with some of the above changes. Thanks, Annacia for giving me a place to start.

From: justcallmetoni

On Sep 8, 2007

I really liked this one and believe that with a few small changes, it would be outstanding. As promised, it was both healthy and easy to prepare. My preparation included low sodium chicken boullion, as mentioned in the description and agree it improved the results. Would also have to agree with the previous reviewer that this was more like 4 servings than 6. My favorite part of this dish were the dumplings which were dense and filling - they are like a cross between a traditional dumpling and the top of a tamale pie. I think this dish has greater potential than my rating suggests and will make this again with a few changes. The proportions on the vegetables were a little off to me, too many peas and not quite enough of the others. I would consider adding 2 celery stalks and 2 carrots and cutting the peas in half. My other reaction was there was not enough liquid in the stew, particularly after the poaching in the first step. I would probably start with three cups and after removing the ingredients in step 2 would suggest adding 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fat free chicken broth and adjusting the amount of cornstarch accordingly. While I loved the dumplings, they are dense and others may not find them as appealing. Planning to try them with 3/4 cup of cornmeal for a slightly lighter result. I hope this is helpful and would encourage others want healthy comfort food to try this. Thanks A!

From: yogiclarebear

On Jul 7, 2008

I liked this one, but changed some things per other reviews and personal tastes. I did balance the veggies out more with more carrots and celery. I also used fresh cut green beans in place of the peas. Instead of water I used fat-free chicken broth and added a few cups more of it to stretch. I really upped the seasonings as well, more than doubled the basil, and added fresh garlic and some dried thyme. Boiling the chicken made it very tender and yummy. Made the dumplings a little less dense as well with a bit less cornmeal.