This is a crockpot recipe for a creamy stew with chicken, yams and carrots, topped with moist and delicious cornmeal dumplings.

1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 yam
1 onion, diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp marjoram
1 cup chicken broth
1 can condensed mushroom soup
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water

Dumplings:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cold butter, cubed
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp parsley

Chop chicken, celery, carrots and yams into bite-sized chunks. Place in a crockpot and combine with onion, garlic, spices, broth and soup. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Discard bay leaves, skim off any fat. Move chicken and veggies to one side. In a bowl whisk together flour and water, then add to crockpot and stir gently.
Dumplings: In a bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until in coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and parsley. Stir until sticky dough forms. Drop 8 spoonfuls of batter onto stew. Cover and cook on high until dumplings are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Tony was impressed with this meal, he thought it was pretty tasty. I think he especially liked the dumplings. Cole ate some of it but it took some coaxing. This time it was Bennett who was really opposed to it. I thought maybe he just wasn’t in the mood, so I gave it to him for lunch the next day, but he still wouldn’t eat it then. I guess he really didn’t like it. I liked how easy it was to make. Just throw everything in the crockpot and cook. The dumplings don’t take long to prepare either, and it makes a complete meal in one pot.