I feel like chicken tonight....

Continue to feel bleurgh. There was only one thing for it last night... suet, and lots of it! Chicken and vegetable stew. This one can be tweaked to include whatever's in the fridge. I would normally make this on a Monday to use up the Sunday roast leftovers.

And here's how I did it.  Preheated oven to 180c. Boneless chicken thighs (about 900g) rolled in seasoned flour and browned off in schmaltz (cures all ills, trust me!) along with a large chopped onion.  Deglazed the pan with some chicken stock and added a herb combo of parley, sage, thyme and bay leaves.

I'd visited "Cheapo Corner" in Tesco's earlier, so I had a nice array of vegetables to include.  I chopped half a swede (15p bargain!), parsnips, chantenay carrots, potatoes and a few stray mushrooms. Like to aim for five-a-day and this is a great way of making sure Lou gets everything he needs, whether he knows it or not! Every little helps, eh *with an affectionate nod to my Catmag colleagues*.

Put everything into a large casserole dish along with 75g of pearl barley. Added around two pints of chicken stock (if I have to use a cube, I normally use the Telma range) but please keep an eye on the liquid as you may wish to adapt. I tend to find the barley really soaks up the stock so recommend checking at regular intervals, especially at the latter cooking stage.

Everything mixed and seasoned, popped into the oven for an hour and a half. And then off to suet-heaven.

I combined 75g reduced-fat suet, 150g self-raising flour, chopped flat-leaf parsley, pinch of salt and two teaspoons of Colman's mustard powder, then slowly added enough water to make a slightly sticky dough. Should make around 16 dumplings. Must be Lou's Polish heritage - it's a struggle to stop him eating just dumplings and no stew. Same for me, actually.

Buzzer gone, I checked the chicken was cooked, topped up with some extra stock, and added the dumplings. After approx 25 minutes, we had crusty dumplings, tender pearl barley and more vegetables than you could shake a stick at. The sauce should be fairly thick at this stage but if you find the sauce a little thin, I'd add a cornflour/water mix and reduce down.

A no-frills family favourite. A warming, nutritious stew which is perfect for these dark autumnal nights...

Happy Friday x