Day Ninety-Six - Cajun Chicken and Dumplings (5.9.14)

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons salt-free cajun seasoning
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 oz kielbasa (from 14 oz package), sliced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups biscuit baking mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place onion in bottom of slow cooker. Season chicken with Cajun seasoning, garlic and salt; distribute evenly over onion. Add kielbasa and tomatoes. Combine broth and flour; pour over tomatoes. Scatter bell pepper and celery over top. 
3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours or LOW for 7 hours. 
4. Add beans. Combine biscuit mix and milk; dollop heaping tablespoonfuls over top and cover again. Cook 1 hour more (on either HIGH or LOW).
5. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.

Opinions

Katie: Mmm. This dish turned out amazing. I liked every bit of it! First time making homemade dumplings, but Potter did them just fine and they turned out great for the dish. Great flavor and texture. :)

Potter: This was great. Not gonna lie, I was super nervous going into this for a multitude of reasons including: using our Cajun seasoning because of the Jumbalaya fiasco and the fact that it wasn't salt free, not to mention the fact I didn't trust I could just plop milk and biscuit mix in the middle of this and have it turn out ok. Turns out I didn't need to worry about any of that, it came out perfect. Though I will probably play with the dumpling recipe, just for fun.