Chicken and "Dumplings"

I received a special request to do a low carb version of chicken and dumplings and I'm hoping I hit the nail on the head for Dawn Roberts! I decided to make a large batch so that I can freeze some of it to pull out for quick easy meals! With the following ingredients you should be able to get 12 big bowls at 6 carbs each!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of bone broth
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 4 stalks of celery
• 1 16 oz bag of baby carrots
• 1 10 oz box of Birdseye chopped, frozen, spinach
• 1 large yellow onion
• 8 oz frozen cauliflower
• 1 rotisserie chicken dissected and chopped (or whatever cooked chicken you have on hand)
• 4 tbs (1/2 stick) of butter (I used salted)
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs parsley flakes
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

*Note because I made extra for freezing, I did not add cauliflower to it, I think to keep it from getting overcooked it would be easiest to add the cauliflower to the individual bowls when you defrost it. If you plan on scaling down the recipe for a one night dinner, be sure to add 1/2 cup of cooked cauliflower per serving, for 2 net carbs.

Directions:

Put butter in large stock pot and turn heat on low. Chop onions, celery and carrots, add to butter. Turn the heat up to medium, put lid on pan and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in the microwave or on the stove, steam your cauliflower until it is VERY tender. Keep in mind, we will be mashing it up!

This is how my veggies looked once I tossed them in.

This is the cauliflower after I cooked and strained it.

After the veggies have cooked for a good 10 minutes, add garlic, and chicken broth. Let it cook for another 10 minutes on medium-high. In the meantime, add the heavy cream to the cauliflower and mash. I actually used my new Nutri-bullet for this step. The goal is to use this as a thickening agent for the broth, so it really needs to be liquefied. After the veggies have cooked for 10 minutes, add the cream/cauliflower mixture to the soup. Add the spinach and chicken and cook for another 10 minutes on medium. Add the parsley, thyme and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. I kept my veggies a bit under-cooked so that when I pull it out to re-heat they don't turn to mush. If you're making this for just a single dinner, I would cook the veggies for an extra 5 minutes.

This is how mine looked (sans cauliflower to sub for dumplings)

And here is the small bowl I made for Aiden! (I tossed a few pieces of cauliflower in there) For a kid who hates veggies, he sure did kill it pretty fast. :)

And I may have ended up grabbing a bowl for myself! ;)

So there is my take on chicken and dumplings. Honestly, with all of those amazing veggies I didn't even miss the dumplings! I hope you guys enjoy!