These holiday in-between times have always been stressful. Shortly after Thanksgiving, with its complicated meals and feelings, there are presents to secure, more things to plan and decorations to consider.

It was during this packed period when I hit a wall. My kindergartner had secretly devoured so much candy in her room she made herself sick in the middle of the night. That left me doing laundry well past midnight and, after not enough sleep, into the following day between Zoom meetings.

Then, said daughter's new school, where she was supposed to start within days, called to say the school board had made a mistake; there were no spaces after all. I absorbed the news while standing groggily in my sweatpants amidst a divided pile of just-washed and still-soiled stuffed animals.

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Beyond those piles were bags of more stuff needing to be moved into a storage facility we're renting while looking for a house in a crazy market. Then "ding!" Outlook announced yet another meeting.

It's all privileged stuff. Moving is exciting, even if it looks like two adults living in a temporary apartment with a wild kid and two hyper, sort of gross cats. Having an engaging job is a blessing.

But even non-catastrophes can be overwhelming, especially as we lurch into another holiday season with COVID making headlines. That's especially true when so many of us seem to have more to do every day. We're simply stressed. 

For that, we need comfort food. 

That means Japanese food for me, which frankly makes no sense. I didn't grow up eating spicy salmon sushi or ramen, both of which I crave on a day when everything goes sideways. 

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Turns out I'm not alone. Born and raised Southerner Jonathan Ammons, of the food and beverage radio show Dirty Spoon, also turns to ramen when he's feeling overwhelmed.

"My comfort foods are all stress-free and cheap, as spending money is what often causes my stress," he said.

That means that instead of hitting his local ramen shop, he dresses up store-bought ramen, that go-to of penny pinchers everywhere, with a creamy broth, mushrooms and green onion. 

Ammons' creamy broth has a secret: mayonnaise, typically Kewpie, though Duke's will do, he said.

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As he cooks his ramen noodles with vegetables, he cracks an egg into a serving bowl, adds a spoonful of mayo, the ramen spice packet, a dash of togarashi and some garlic powder. He whips it together and then slowly streams in a little of the water from the ramen noodles to temper the egg.

"You don't want to cook it, but you want it to mix in well," he said. "Once tempered, go ahead and pour in the noodles, their hot water and the cooked veggies, stir, top with green onion, and boom, you've got really rich and decadent ramen."

Soupy and/or starchy things seem nearly universally comforting. Of the answers I received when I asked friends and readers via social media what their favorite comfort items were, many named pasta dishes with or without broth. Others mentioned classic soups like the fortifying menudo or pozole, both traditional Mexican treasures.

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Producer Andrea Weigl, who worked on chef Vivian Howard's PBS show "A Chef's Life," said chicken and rice is her go-to when things feel tough. 

The recipe in its full glory can be found in Howard's award-winning cookbook, Deep Run Roots, as well as on PBS's website. But Weigl put it succinctly: "Cook whole chicken until falling off bone. Pull meat, add to broth and rice."

Sheri Castle, the food writer behind The Key Ingredient on PBS, sometimes dines on soup beans and cornbread. But she also loves her version of chicken and dumplings, the recipe for which she was kind enough to share. 

I hope it's good for you if you're feeling overwhelmed. If not, go ahead and open that bottle of wine. I'll join you once I finish all of this laundry.

Find more comforting recipes at www.southernkitchen.com.

The recipe and headnote come courtesy of Sheri Castle. Find out more about Castle's books and projects, including her new PBS show, at www.shericastle.com.

There are as many ways to make chicken dumplings across the South as there are ways to fry those birds. In some kitchens, dumplings are made from thin, delicate strips or squares of pastry that cook up slick and noodle-like in chicken broth. My signature fluffy biscuit-like dumplings could not be more different. They float like clouds atop a simple stew of large pieces of tender chicken studded with bright orange carrots and green flecks of herbs.

Take note of the broth. It’s homemade with store-bought shortcuts, brimming with robust flavor thanks to rotisserie birds that provide meat for the stew and trimmings for the stockpot. It simmers for a while, but that time is mostly unattended, and the results are worth every minute. Rich broth with plenty of body that actually tastes like chicken is the bedrock of this stew. Plus, your kitchen will smell ambitious.

1 large or 2 small plain rotisserie chickens

1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)

2 medium carrots, cut into thin rounds (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

4 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes and chilled

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or leaf lard, chilled

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

For the broth: Pull the white meat from the chickens and tear it into large bite-sized pieces; cover and refrigerate until needed.

Place the carcasses and skin in a large saucepan or small pot. Add the stock and cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently until the carcasses fall apart and the liquid reduces to about 8 cups and tastes like rich chicken soup, about 90 minutes.

Strain the broth through a wire-mesh sieve into a large saucepan; discard solids. Stir in the vinegar and keep the broth warm over very low heat.

For the stew: Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, thyme and a pinch of salt, and stir to coat. Cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring often. Add the broth and simmer 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved chicken and keep warm over low heat.

For the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper in a medium bowl.

Work in the butter and shortening with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly.

Add the half-and-half and stir only until combined to make soft, sticky dough.

Bring the chicken stew to a low boil over medium-high heat. Use a 1-ounce scoop or two spoons to drop golf-ball-size dumplings evenly over the surface of the stew. Cover and cook at a low boil for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dumplings are firm, fluffy and fairly dry on top.

Uncover and let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.

Mackensy Lunsford is the food and culture storyteller for USA TODAY Network's South Region and the editor of Southern Kitchen.

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Reach me: mlunsford@southernkitchen.com