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I thought I had a great immune system. Up until this year I could count on one hand the number of colds I have had in my adult years. Despite the fact that I lived in a city inhabited by more than eight million people and rode the subway almost every day, I managed to remain relatively healthy.
Not so this year – this winter I have had one cold after another. I am pretty sure it has something to do with what seems like abnormally cold weather and also that I am coming into contact with a lot more children on a day to day basis now that I am a parent.
Like a lot of other people, my go-to remedy for the sniffles is a steaming hot bowl of chicken noodle soup. In fact chicken soup has always been known (and isn’t it scientifically proven?) to have curing effects on the common cold. Even if it is all in the head (kind of like my cold that keeps coming back), there really isn’t any other meal that offers comfort quite like a bowl of the good stuff. Chicken soup as comfort food has been passed down from caring grandmothers for generations, and has even been called “penicillin” in some cultures.
After the sixth or seventh day of chicken soup though, I felt like I was ready to change it up a bit. So instead of my standby remedy, I decided to try another good old fashioned grandmother favorite – chicken and dumplings – made in the slow cooker. This Southern dish has many different variations but is often based on the very same ingredients that go into chicken soup. In testament to its health restoring properties, various other cultures have their own versions of chicken and dumplings, from Jewish Matzoh Ball Soup to Chinese Wonton Soup to Hungarian Chicken Paprikash.
To make Southern style chicken and dumplings, a chicken soup base, containing vegetables such as carrots, onions, and celery is usually thickened with flour or heavy cream. Cooked chicken is added along with a dough mixture of varying consistency to form the dumplings. A common version and the one my own grandmom used to make involves Bisquick baking mix for the dumplings.
Chicken and dumplings is a natural for the slow cooker. For times when you are laid up with a bad cold and the last thing you want to do is run out to the store, the version below calls for ingredients you probably already have in your pantry or freezer. You can start the chicken cooking for several hours with the veggies. Once cooked and cooled the chicken can be removed from the bone and added back to the broth along with the thickener and the dumpling mixture. An easy shortcut is to use refrigerated biscuit dough in place of mixing the dough yourself. You can also add some additional veggies such as corn and peas at the same time you add the dumplings to the broth. Many southern cooks also add a chopped hardboiled egg to finish the dish.
So if your winter has been anything like mine, and you are in need of something that is good for your health and good for the soul, I suggest slow cooking a batch of chicken and dumplings. It’s the perfect thing to cure what seems like a never-ending cold. Here’s to your health!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/853-cold-remedy-chicken/
That's a Cold Comfort (Food)
I thought I had a great immune system. Up until this year I could count on one hand the number of colds I have had in my adult years. Despite the fact that I lived in a city inhabited by more than eight million people and rode the subway almost every day, I managed to remain relatively healthy.
Not so this year – this winter I have had one cold after another. I am pretty sure it has something to do with what seems like abnormally cold weather and also that I am coming into contact with a lot more children on a day to day basis now that I am a parent.
Like a lot of other people, my go-to remedy for the sniffles is a steaming hot bowl of chicken noodle soup. In fact chicken soup has always been known (and isn’t it scientifically proven?) to have curing effects on the common cold. Even if it is all in the head (kind of like my cold that keeps coming back), there really isn’t any other meal that offers comfort quite like a bowl of the good stuff. Chicken soup as comfort food has been passed down from caring grandmothers for generations, and has even been called “penicillin” in some cultures.
After the sixth or seventh day of chicken soup though, I felt like I was ready to change it up a bit. So instead of my standby remedy, I decided to try another good old fashioned grandmother favorite – chicken and dumplings – made in the slow cooker. This Southern dish has many different variations but is often based on the very same ingredients that go into chicken soup. In testament to its health restoring properties, various other cultures have their own versions of chicken and dumplings, from Jewish Matzoh Ball Soup to Chinese Wonton Soup to Hungarian Chicken Paprikash.
To make Southern style chicken and dumplings, a chicken soup base, containing vegetables such as carrots, onions, and celery is usually thickened with flour or heavy cream. Cooked chicken is added along with a dough mixture of varying consistency to form the dumplings. A common version and the one my own grandmom used to make involves Bisquick baking mix for the dumplings.
Chicken and dumplings is a natural for the slow cooker. For times when you are laid up with a bad cold and the last thing you want to do is run out to the store, the version below calls for ingredients you probably already have in your pantry or freezer. You can start the chicken cooking for several hours with the veggies. Once cooked and cooled the chicken can be removed from the bone and added back to the broth along with the thickener and the dumpling mixture. An easy shortcut is to use refrigerated biscuit dough in place of mixing the dough yourself. You can also add some additional veggies such as corn and peas at the same time you add the dumplings to the broth. Many southern cooks also add a chopped hardboiled egg to finish the dish.
So if your winter has been anything like mine, and you are in need of something that is good for your health and good for the soul, I suggest slow cooking a batch of chicken and dumplings. It’s the perfect thing to cure what seems like a never-ending cold. Here’s to your health!
Slow Cooked Chicken and Dumplings From Scratch
Made with chicken pieces, yellow onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, dried thyme, parsley, salt and pepper
Made with chicken pieces, yellow onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, dried thyme, parsley, salt and pepper
Serves/Makes: 4
***Chicken***
- 3 pounds chicken pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
***Dumplings***
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Place chicken in a crockpot with onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add enough cold water to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until tender, about 4-6 hours.
Remove chicken and bay leaf from broth, and let rest until cool enough to handle. Skin and bone chicken, leaving the meat in large chunks; set aside.
Skim the surface of the broth of fat.
About forty-five minutes before serving, heat broth, covered over high heat until bubbling.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, and beat until stiff.
Drop batter 1 tablespoon at a time into the broth. Cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
Add reserved chicken, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/853-cold-remedy-chicken/