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 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
to taste black pepper
1 pinch ground cloves
1 bay leaf
3 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 package (10 oz) frozen peas
For the cornmeal dumplings:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat (1%) milk
1 tablespoon 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:
Mix 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
Calories 307 Fat 5 g Fiber 3 g.