Creamy Chicken Casserole with Cornmeal Dumplings

I'm very excited, the advance copies of our latest book arrived today."Slow Food Fast - Quick to prepare Slow Cooker Recipes" is for all you bust people out there, and will hit the shops next month. The idea behind the recipes is that they're 'throw and go', you just put everything in your slow cooker at once, then away you go...

The ingredients list for this recipe may look long, but the effort required couldn’t be much more minimal. The majority just get put in your slow cooker in the morning, all at once, then that’s it. Add the dumplings about 30 minutes before you want to serve and that it. Comfort food in a bowl!

Because of its size, this creamy chicken casserole works best in a large slow cooker.

For 6–8 servings:

500g potatoes, scrubbed

1kg skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, diced

2 medium carrots, quartered and sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 x 420g can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbsp cornflour

salt and pepper to taste

Cornmeal Dumplings:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

25g butter, melted

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

Cut the potatoes into 1cm cubes, then place in a non–stick sprayed slow cooker bowl with the next eight ingredients. Stir to combine, then turn the slow cooker on to LOW and cook for 7–8 hours.

About an hour before you want to serve, turn the slow cooker to HIGH, mix the cornflour to a paste with a little water, stir it into the casserole and season to taste with salt and pepper.

About 30 minutes before serving, prepare the dumplings by combining the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, egg and milk. Pour this into the dry ingredients and stir just

enough to mix.

Drop dessertspoonfuls of dumpling mixture (you should get 8 large or 12 smaller blobs) over the surface of the casserole. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 25–30 minutes longer.

Serve in bowls with lightly cooked green vegetables on the side.