Chicken and dumplings, dairy free cream of chicken soup

I'm not sure what made me want to make this. It's not at all something I normally make or eat but I had a craving so I made it and it was soooo good, if I do say so myself. It was also super easy, which I love on a Saturday night. The base of the casserole is cream of chicken soup. There is not a commercial non-dairy cream of chicken soup that I have ever found. I'm pretty surprised because it's so versatile and really easy to make. Here's all you need:

2 Tbsp dairy free butter or margarine
1 cup unsweetened soy milk or other milk sub, plus 2-3 Tbsp
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp herbs (whatever goes best with what you're making)
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon (be careful most have dairy in them. I use the organic Better than bouillon)

Mix corn starch with 2-3 Tbsp milk alternative until dissolved. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan. Slowly add milk alternative and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture. Add onion and garlic powders, herbs, and bouillon. Stir constantly until thickened.

This makes a one to one substitution for a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. If you want cream of mushroom just omit the bouillon and add a small can of mushrooms.

So once that was made ( I used herbs de Provence just because I had them and it's an easy mixture for chicken, use what you've got) the rest was a total breeze.

8oz frozen mixed veggies
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk alternative

Mix the veggies and the chicken into the soup and heat until veggies are not frozen. Mix the Bisquick and the milk alternative until a soft dough forms. Pour soup mixture into a casserole and drop dough on to soup mixture by large spoonfuls. Cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until soup is bubbly and dumplings are golden on top.

Note: When I make a whole chicken I take whatever is leftover, bones and all, and throw it in a stock pot with ends and pieces of carrot, onions, and celery. Cover it with water and cook for a couple hours. Then I have about 8 cups of chicken stock and a bunch of chicken that I would normally have thrown away that falls right off the bone. What are you talking about ends and pieces of carrots you might be asking. Yeah, I'm crazy, I don't throw away the ends you cut off those veggies. I put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer for this or vegetable stock. Mushroom stems are another good thing to save.

This dinner was a big hit. The kids loved it. Charlie ate his whole plate and then came over and finished what Patrick hadn't. Hope your family enjoys it as much!

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