Chicken Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

I was searching through my cookbooks for a good soup/stew recipe, and I came across this one from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It reminds me a lot of chicken pot pie, but I think next time I'll leave out the pearl onions. My grocery store didn't have the frozen ones, so I used the ones in the jar. They are more sour, I think, and I picked them out while eating my stew. Overall, I think this is a good "comfort food" recipe for a cold day.

Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup water
2 tsp snipped fresh basil, oregano, or dill, or 1/2 tsp dried basil, oregano, or dill, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 recipe Cornmeal Dumplings

Directions:
In a large saucepan combine broth, frozen vegetables, onions, water, dried herb (if using), salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to boiling.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine milk and flour; stir into vegetable mixture. Stir in chicken. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in fresh herb, if using.
Drop dumpling dough from a tablespoon into 4 to 8 mounds on top of the bubbling stew. Simmer, covered (do not lift cover), over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.

Cornmeal Dumplings:
In a medium bowl stir together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 tsp baking powder, and a dash black pepper. In a small bowl combine 1 beaten egg, 2 TBSP milk, and 2 TBSP cooking oil; add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until combined.

Nutritional Info: Per serving (4 servings total): 510 calories; 21g fat (7g saturated); 135mg cholesterol; 1045mg sodium; 46g carbs; 5g fiber; 35g protein