Menu Monday: Chicken and Dumplings

Welcome back to Menu Monday. Last week, I made one of my favorite fall/winter/cold weather soups. I'm from the South, so chicken and dumplings is something I've been eating forever. It's hearty, it's warm and it reminds me of being a kid and just eating the dumplings (I still do that). I always make homemade cornbread to go with it (maybe I'll share that recipe sometime).

The best part about chicken and dumplings? It's easy! My recipe is one I made up (I started by using a recipe and over the years have changed it to what I like/enjoy). My recipe isn't a straight and forward one, so feel free to sprinkle more/less than I have below.

Soup:

• Package of chicken breast (You can use a whole chicken or chicken thighs, etc. but I only like white meat)
• Bay leaf
• Seasoned salt/pepper (to your desired tasting)
• Garlic powder (about a tablespoon)
• Celery salt (about a teaspoon)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 celery stalks
• 2 carrots (optional)
• cream of celery soup
• a splash of red wine (optional)
• 2 cups of milk (I like at least 2%)

Dumplings:

• Bisquick OR
• Sifter full of self-rising flour (about 5 cups)
• 1/2 cup of Crisco
• approximately 1/2 cup of buttermilk

Using thawed chicken breast, I put it into the water (a full stock pot, not boiling yet). I bring the chicken and all of the ingredients (except for cream of celery soup, red wine and milk) to a boil. I boil for approximately 45-1 hour until the chicken basically falls apart. Your broth should be reduced about halfway down. If it is not, continue to let it boil a little more until it reduces.

Pull the chicken out of the pot and shred. Return the shredded chicken back to the pot and reduce the heat. Stir in the cream of celery soup until it is dissolved.

Pour in the milk and splash of red wine and let it slowly heat up.

Your soup is done...wait to make the dumplings until right before serving!

To make the dumplings either follow the directions on the Bisquick box OR

Sift your flour and create a hole in the middle of the flour. Fill the hole with your 1/2 cup of Crisco and 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Mix the ingredients in the hole (not all of the flour yet) together. Mix until the warmth from your hands breaks down the Crisco (basically you are making biscuit dough).

Slowly bring in flour to make the mixture not sticky. The more flour you add, the more you will have to knead the dough as in bread making. When you finally get the dough to be pretty solid, you can pinch pieces of your dough into your soup (bring your soup to a rolling boil and let the dough "cook" for approximately 5-10 minutes).

Your dough doesn't have to be pretty, it's going in soup and no one will know what it looked like. You will probably not use all of your flour either...don't worry about that!

If that sounds too difficult, use Bisquick...it promises to taste just as good (and takes a lot of the leg work out of this dinner).

Fix some cornbread or rolls...a salad if you want...and dinner is served!

Xo,