450 calorie chicken casserole and dumpling

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With Easter treats just around the corner, we thought we would eat something with fewer calories in today and save ourselves for the chocolate feast.  The chicken casserole with the dumpling comes to around 450 calories.

A pack of chicken drumsticks and thighs are all you need.  Mine are currently in the slow cooker - with the skin on.  I like to extract as much flavour as possible, and this comes from the skin, which will form the basis of my chicken stock.  I'll cook this for an hour or two in the slow cooker, then strain the liquid.  I usually use a fat separating jug - a nifty way to remove the fat.  Then I discard the skin and bones before putting the rest of the chicken back into the pot.  At this point I'll add the flavourings - I use my garden herbs; thyme, bay leaf, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper.  I'll put in whatever vegetables I fancy - carrots, onion, celery etc.  The liquid will thicken as a result of the slow cooking using the skin/bones.  I may also add some pearl parley as this releases a lot of starch during the cooking process, and thickens the casserole naturally.  I like to let this cool down, and when reheating in a saucepan, I then add some potatoes/dumplings etc.