Country Chicken Stew With Basil Dumplings

Total Time: 5 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 12 small onions
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast half
• 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dired basil leaves
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
• 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 cup dry wine
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temp
• 1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 11/2-inch lengths
• 1 cup buttermilk biscuit and baking mix
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

Recipe

• 1 using a sharp knife, make a small x in the root end of each onion. bring a saucepan of water to a boil. add the onions, lower the heat, and simer for 5 minutes. drain and rinse under runnning cold water. slip skins off onions.
• 2 rinse chicken and pat dry . qyarter the thighs and chickcen breast halves. stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.
• 3 put chicken pieces in a 3 1/2qt or larger crockery slow-cooker. top with onions, bell pepper, and garlic. pour in stock and wine. do not stir. cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-2 1/2 hours.
• 4 stir the stew. if cooking on low, change setting to high. in a small bowl, blend together the flour and butter. stir into slow cooker. cook, stirring, until sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. stir into asparagus.
• 5 in a medium bowl, combine dumpling ingredients until evenly moistened. drop by tablespoons onto hot stew in 6 small mounds. cover and cook for another 25-30 minutes, until dumplings are cooked through. serve immediately.