My husband has asked me to make chicken and dumplings numerous times throughout the years. I didn't grow up eating this so really have no idea what a good chicken and dumplings is. Sad, right?
Every time I've attempted it, I hear, "It doesn't taste like Mawmaw's". Mawmaw made so much delicious food but never really had a recipe for any of it. (a pinch here, a half a handful there.) So trying to make chicken and dumplings is like cooking with one arm behind my back.
Yesterday he asked if I'd make it. I said I would try and then send a text to his cousin (there's a rumor going around that his cousin, Wes, makes some good chicken and dumplings). When I asked Wes how to make the dumplings his reply was "go to the store and buy them from the frozen foods sections because they are a pain to make". Well, I went to the store with every intention of buying them and not telling Bradley that they were store bought but just letting him think I'm an amazing cook that finally figured out how to make dumplings. That's not wrong is it?
Got home from the store and realized I forgot the dang dumplings! UGH! That's like when you go to Wal-Mart for toothpaste and you leave with $100 worth of stuff and no toothpaste. Oh well, Guess I was making them from scratch after all.
Onto the recipe!
1 whole chicken ( or you can use chicken quarters)
1/2 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced.
I took a whole chicken and boiled it in water with salt, pepper, tonys, and garlic powder.
I also add a bit of chicken base or bouillon to the water to give it a little more chicken flavor since I was going to use the broth also.
Once the chicken was cooked through I let everything cool then I shredded the chicken and set it aside. (Don't forget to save the broth)
Dice the veggies and sauté these in a little Extra virgin olive oil.
While you are waiting for the veggies to soften you can go ahead and start your dumplings.
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. cold butter, cubed
1 cup chicken broth or milk
Mix together flour and baking powder and salt.
Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the butter.
Add in broth or milk (I used broth because I thought it would give the dumplings more flavor).
Mix together until combined. (At this point I covered the bowl and let the dough rest about 30 minutes but I assume it would be ok to roll out right away)
Put flour on your work table and your rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/4 in thick. The dough shouldn't be sticky. If it is, add more flour. If its too dry, add a little more liquid.
I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares. You can do them as big as you want.
Once the veggies are soft, add the chicken stock to the pot. I'm sorry I don't have measurements on the chicken stock....I can tell you that my stock pot was about half full. Let it come to a boil.
Add the Chicken to the pot and let cook about 10 more minutes. Then when the broth mixture is at a rolling boil, gently add the dumplings in.
Allow to cook about 20 minutes or so. The broth should start to thicken up some and its ok for your dumplings to sink to the bottom.
Add in any additional seasoning. I added more salt and more Tony's.
The flavor was good but I do need to work on this recipe to get the broth thicker.
If any of you make this recipe for yourself, share pictures and any think you changed!
