Chicken casserole - almost too mortified to ask...

[handlemecarefully]

I am actually quite a competent cook (by which I mean I can follow a recipe and produce something yummy), but I am completely uninspired and generally lost without a recipe book.

I have defrosted chicken ready to make a chicken casserole with lemon and thyme dumplings - from a recipe book ...but don't know where the recipe book has got to (perhaps the dog ate it!)

So I am now at a loss. The lemon and thyme dumplings are optional but I need to make some sort of chicken casserole. Help me out please - I've got a fair amount of fresh vegetables and a lot of standard store cupboard ingredients. Can you give me a quick and easy recipe?

um I bung it normally but a really simple one would be to

brown chicken .. put to one side

fry onion, carrots (add any other veg you fancy but not peppers IMO) .. add some garlic .. maybe some mixed herbs .. put chicken back in cover with chicken stock, cover and bake for 45 mins

you can thicken sauce with cornflour if you feel like it

or you could pop a hamster in it

chicken with lemon thyme dumplings from google search .. I didn't read recipe though

That would probably do the trick - thanks Twig. I've only got a short while before I have to pick up lo's (from school and pre-school) and I'd like to have it underway before they are home and clamouring for attention...

CHICKEN CASSEROLE WITH DUMPLINGS

INGRIEDIENTS
8 chicken thighs
12 cloves of garlic
6 carrots
1 onion - chopped
1 bunch of fresh thyme
2 packets of stock
100g/4oz of lardons or bacon
100g/4oz of self raising flour
50g/2oz of suet
zest of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon of oregano
salt and pepper
water - enough to bind into a dough
METHOD
Cook the chicken in some olive oil until they are lightly browned. Add the lardons to the casserole and brown them to add some taste. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, oregano, pepper and a pinch of salt. Pour the chicken stock over the ingredients. Put a lid on the casserole and boil for approximately 1 hour.

Lemon and Thyme Dumplings:
In a bowl, mix the flour, suet, thyme and salt well and then add the pepper, the lemon zest and water. Mix all ingredients to create a dough mixture. Shape the dough into little balls and then put them on top of the casserole and cook for a further 15 minutes.