Quick chili with Cheese Dumplings

So good. Unbelievably good. Filling, full of protein, and just plain addicting. Adding dumplings thickens the soup, making it creamy and satisfying.

Recipe:
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T oil
1 can seasoned chili beans
2 cans veggie stock
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powdered
1 tsp cumin

Dumplings:
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk (I've used 2 T plain yogurt with a bit of water before with good results)
2 T vegetable oil
1/8 tsp paprika
1-2 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

In a large pot combine carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and oil and cook on medium-low for 5 minutes or until soft-ish. Add tomato sauce and beans. Stir and heat until warm. Add cumin and chili powder. Add veggie stock and turn heat up to medium high. Let it come up close to boiling.

While waiting for soup/stew to boil make dumplings by stirring all ingredients together. Form into small (1 inch) balls. I typically get 9 or 10 of them in a batch.

When soup is boiling drop dumplings in and cover immediately. Keep the cover on for 10-11 minutes without lifting it up. Continue to boil the soup/stew. After 10-11 minutes remove the lid and reduce heat. The dumplings should have swelled up and absorbed a lot of the liquid from the soup making it fairly thick and creamy.

Remove from heat and serve. It may continue to thicken as it rests. Add water or stock until you get the consistency you want.

*I have made this without the cheese and it is just as good. I honestly couldn't tell that it didn't have cheese in it.