Pre-heat the oven to 375.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook until softened.  You can do this while they are whole and cube afterwards, or cube and then cook.  If you cube them first, don’t overcook or they will be too soft. 

Saute the onion in an oven-safe stock pot in about 2 Tbsp. butter.  When translucent, add the garlic and cook for one minute.  Add the carrots, celery, and thyme.  Cook another five minutes.  Add the flour and make a roux by sprinkling the flour over the vegetables and stirring it well until the vegetables are coated – dispersing the flour.  Add chicken broth to the stock pot, add the salt and pepper.  Add the cubed, cooked chicken and softened potatoes. Add the cream right before putting the dumplings in the pot to bake.  

To make the dumplings:

Place the flour, baking powder, and cheese in a bowl and mix.  You can also add some herbs if you wish.  

Add the melted butter and three-quarters of the milk and stir together until you get a sticky dough – adding more milk if needed.

Turn off the heat on the pan with the chicken. Add large blobs of the dumpling mixture to the top of the casserole using two spoons. Place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes, until the dumplings are lightly browned.

Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving, topped with fresh parsley.