🍂🌻 Chili Champions & Backyard Cooks 🌻🍂🍁 Chuckwagon Fall Recipe of the Day — Sunday, September 13, 2026

🍗🍎 Sunday Harvest Chicken & Apple Dumplings 🥕🥣

Good morning, folks! 🤠🍂

It's Sunday, and today we're making the kind of meal that reminds me of an old-fashioned supper at Grandma's house. ❤️

We're taking tender chicken, carrots, celery, onions, apples, and herbs and simmering them in a rich, creamy country broth. Then we're dropping fluffy cheddar-herb dumplings right on top.

The apple might sound unusual, but it adds just a little fall sweetness without turning our supper into dessert. This is warm, cozy comfort food in one big pot!

🍗 Harvest Chicken Filling

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cubed

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large sweet onion, diced

• 3 carrots, sliced

• 2 celery stalks, sliced

• 1 Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

• 5 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• ½ teaspoon rubbed sage

• ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• 1 cup frozen peas

• Chopped fresh parsley

🧀 Cheddar-Herb Dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon dried parsley

• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

• ¾–1 cup buttermilk

🔥 Let's Get Cooking!

1️⃣ Brown the chicken. Heat the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then cook until lightly browned. Remove it and set aside.

2️⃣ Start those vegetables. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the same pot and cook for about 5–6 minutes.

Add the apple and garlic and cook another 2 minutes.

3️⃣ Make the country gravy. Sprinkle the flour over everything and stir for about a minute.

Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring. Add the thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.

4️⃣ Bring the chicken home. Return the chicken to the pot. Cover and gently simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in the cream and peas.

🥣 Make Those Fluffy Dumplings!

5️⃣ Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and parsley.

Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Fold in the cheddar.

6️⃣ Slowly add enough buttermilk to make a soft, sticky dough. Don't overmix it!

7️⃣ Drop those dumplings! Spoon heaping tablespoons of dough over the gently simmering chicken mixture.

Cover the pot tightly and cook on LOW for about 15 minutes.

Don't lift that lid! 😄 The steam is what helps make those dumplings fluffy.

Check that the dumpling centers are cooked through and the chicken has reached 165°F.

Finish with fresh parsley.

⭐ MawMaw's Sunday Kitchen Secret

🥣 The secret to fluffy dumplings is leaving them alone!

Once they're dropped into the pot, cover them and resist the temptation to keep checking.

Every time you lift that lid, you're letting out the steam those dumplings need.

And be gentle when mixing your dough—overworked dumplings become tough dumplings!

🍽️ Make It a Sunday Supper

Serve it with:

🫘 Southern green beans with bacon🌽 Buttered skillet corn🍠 Brown-sugar sweet potatoes🥖 Warm homemade rolls🍎 Sweet tea or cold apple cider

🍂 And for dessert?

🍎🥧 Old-Fashioned Apple Butter Pie

A creamy, warmly spiced apple-butter filling baked in a flaky crust and topped with fresh whipped cream.

Now that's a Sunday fall supper! ❤️

💜 Sunday Chuckwagon Encouragement

There is something special about Sunday.

It's an opportunity to slow down, worship, rest, gather around the table, and remember where our blessings come from.

Life can get so busy that we begin rushing through the very moments we once prayed for.

So today, enjoy the ordinary things.

Enjoy the meal.

Enjoy the conversation.

Enjoy hearing the laughter from another room.

Enjoy sitting beside somebody you love.

And above all, thank God for another Sunday He's given you.

We aren't promised tomorrow, so let's be grateful for the blessings sitting around our tables today. ❤️

📖 Scripture for Today

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:"

— Psalm 103:2 (KJV)

🍂 Sunday Table Question

Which old-fashioned Sunday comfort food brings back the BEST memories for you?

🍗 Chicken & dumplings🥩 Pot roast & gravy🍗 Fried chicken🥣 Chicken & dressing🥔 Meatloaf & mashed potatoes🌽 Pinto beans & cornbread🍲 Homemade vegetable soup

👇 Tell us in the comments—and tell us WHO used to make it! ❤️

Those family recipes and the memories behind them are worth keeping and sharing.

🍁🤠 Happy Sunday, Friends!

May your home be peaceful, your table be full, and your heart be grateful for every blessing God has placed around you.

Faith ⭐ Family ⭐ Friends ⭐ Food ⭐ Memories ❤️🍂🌻