Chicken and Dumplings

Yum! This is a perfect cool-weather meal.

2-4 chicken breasts
2-4 T oil
1 small onion
4-6 T flour
2 cans chicken broth
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped carrots
1 c corn (optional)
1 c green beans (optional)
1/2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons half-and-half

Heat oil and add chicken. Brown chicken on each side. Set aside (chicken will finish cooking later). Add diced onion, cook until transparent. Sprinkle flour over onion. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil until slightly thickened. Add veggies. Cut chicken into halves or quarters, add to broth. Add more broth if it is too thick. Flavor with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.

Make dumplings while chicken is cooking: Into a bowl sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and stir in dill. With a fork stir in half-and-half until dough is just blended.
With a large soup spoon scoop out 12 dumplings and arrange over chicken mixture. Simmer chicken and dumplings, covered, 9 minutes. Uncover and cook until dumplings are done, about 3 minutes more. (Dumplings are done when a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.) Discard bay leaf.