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Since fall officially starts TODAY, it’s time to roll out some comfort food on the blog! It’s the time of year we’ve all been waiting for. Even though it feels completely different this year, at least we can still make all of the tasty foods from the comfort of our own homes. Now that the grocery stores have calmed down a bit (remember the great food and toilet paper shortage of April 2020? That was fun -_- ) I’ve resumed my several-trips-to-the-grocery-store every week. And you know what? I missed that. Going for weeks on end without anything green in my refrigerator was stressful and not good for my pants. I’m not going back there again.

I went hiking by myself again this past weekend and it was THE BEST. When I hike solo, there are never any arguments about the itinerary or start time. I can go where I want, when I want, pick any route I want, etc. You get the picture. I was feeling adventurous, so Thursday I decided to tackle the infamous Flume Slide Trail. This trail is on the Terrifying 25 list, but I never found it to be all that terrifying. Tiring, yes. It was straight up for the last mile entirely, and it seemed like it was just never going to end. I was very well prepared for it, however, and completed that hike without issue. On Friday I opted for a somewhat longer hike, Zealand, West Bond, and Bond starting at Zealand Trailhead. Zealand was a snoozer, but I continued on to the Bondcliff Trail and after about 45 minutes of pretty miserable trail, I was so happy I made the decision to continue on. The Bondcliff Trail is incredible, to say the least. I would have loved to have made it to the summit of Bondcliff on Friday as well, but I was pretty torched after Flume Slide, and I was planning another hike on Saturday, so I decided to turn around after Bond. I got back to my car just before 5:00 pm. This was a pretty long and hard 17+ mile day hike, but it was worth it all. Finally, Saturday I woke up early yet again and tackled Garfield. Yes, I really did drag my sore butt up and down to the very same ridge line three days in a row. And drag on Saturday I did. Garfield isn’t a tough hike by any means, but it sure seems like it after hiking two out of two of the days prior. Woof. I finished the Garfield hike by noon on Saturday. Since it was plenty early enough, I decided to head home! I’m so glad I did, because Mike was home waiting for me with a spotless apartment, chili, fresh baked bread, and homemade jalapeno apple jam. I think I fell in love with him all over again that day.

On Sunday I wanted to do one activity and one activity only. I wanted to eat apple cider donuts (weird, since I hate apple cider) and drink hot chocolate. Mike said he knew just the place, so we took a trip to Rice Fruit Farm in Wilbraham, MA. The food was awesome and it was a nice way to relax and recharge before heading back into work on Monday after my fun weekend away.

ANYWAY. Mike ate this soup for lunch every day last week and every day right around 12:19 pm I would get a text from him telling me how delicious this soup is. As if I didn’t know. You see those two bowls in the photographs? I housed both of those bowls within minutes after photographing them. I’m not proud to admit it, but that’s how good this soup is. If you make one recipe to ring in fall, make it this one!

thehungryhungryhiker

Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings are a cold weather comfort food favorite. Skip the packaged foods and make this hearty soup from scratch for a nutritious, healing soup the whole family will enjoy.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

For the soup:
  • 2 quarts chicken broth or stock
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 bag frozen cauliflower, 16 ounces
  • 1 + ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk from a can
  • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables of choice, 16 ounces
  • dried parsley for garnish
For the dumplings:
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ⅓ cup coconut flour
  • ⅔ cup tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch sea salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted and then slightly cooled
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup full fat coconut milk from a can

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven
  • Immersion blender

Method
 

  1. Add the chicken broth and water to a large Dutch oven (I used 6 quart) over medium high heat and bring to a soft boil. When boiling, add the cauliflower and chicken thighs and reduce to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 25 minutes, until chicken thighs are cooked through and cauliflower is fork tender.
  2. When the soup has 10 minutes left on the timer, make the dumplings. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and sea salt to a medium bowl and stir with a spoon. Stir in the eggs, butter, honey, and coconut milk. Batter will be thick. Set aside.
  3. When the timer sounds, remove the chicken thighs from the soup and place on a large plate. Use two forks to shred.
  4. Remove the Dutch oven from the stove top and place on a trivet. Using an immersion blender, CAREFULLY blend the soup until the cauliflower is blended and mixed into the soup completely. If you aren't comfortable using an immersion blender in your Dutch oven (or don't have one), you can blend in batches in a high speed blender until combined.
  5. Return the Dutch oven to the stove top over medium low heat. Add the shredded chicken back along with the coconut milk, black pepper, nutritional yeast, and mixed vegetables. Mix to combine.
  6. Use your hands to create 1" diameter balls from the dumpling dough and drop them into the soup. Cover the Dutch oven and simmer on medium low. Check the soup after 20 minutes to see if the dumplings are done. They will have floated to the top and appear firm and dry on the tops, and a toothpick inserted will come out clean.
  7. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with a dumpling or two. Garnish with dried parsley, serve hot, and enjoy!