"... the chicken is WAY better." The Chicken and Dumplings Excursion

Project "Woo Brent with Chicken and Dumplings" was a SUCCESS!  If you read the post prior to this you'll see that he said if I could make chicken and dumplings as good as his mom and grandma's he'd have to marry me.  He said it was pretty darn close to what his mom and grandma made, but "the chicken is way better."  

I win! *happy dance*

for the soup

• 1 large chicken, cut up (I don't recommend doing this - I won't next time)
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 4 carrots, peeled, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
• water

• for the dumplings

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 4 tbsp oil

• for southern style dumplings (heavier and chewier)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 beaten eggs



just hangin' out in the sink, poor guy has no idea what's coming for him


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I never imagined it'd be so difficult to chop a damn chicken apart.. Frickin' bones.

Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, broth, parsley, bullion, salt and pepper into a large pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to cover chicken.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours, or until chicken is done.

In the meantime, eat a cake flavored rice krispie bar that you made the day earlier after you'd found the recipe on Pinterest.

Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.  I actually didn't even have to wait, it basically fell off the bone when I pulled it out of the soup

Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones.  Like I said, it practically fell off the bone.  Take care in searching for those pesky little bones that may be hiding in that big meaty pile.

Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.

Careful... There may be some sneaky, little bones hiding out in there.

Add more salt and pepper if desired.  Return soup to simmer.

In mixing bowl combine ingredients and mix well into stiff dough.  I mixed it with a hand mixer and once it was pretty well combined I finished mixing the smaller bits and left overs by hand, kneading it a little bit.

Drop by tablespoons into simmering soup, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  I took my tablespoon measuring spoon and rolled the dumplings into balls before I dropped them into the soup.

Yummm!  Big, poofy dumplings!!

Brent really liked it - I'm excited it turned out so well and I really didn't expect it to be so easy.  I'm definitely going to be making this during the fall/winter again...  Not on the hottest day of the year ;)

Chicken and Dumplings

YIELD

 4-6 servings

CATEGORIES

 dinner

• for the soup

  • 1 large chicken, cut up (I don't recommend cutting the chicken up, it leaves bits of bone in the mix)
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 4 carrots, peeled, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
  • water

• for the dumplings

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 4 tbsp oil

• for southern style dumplings (heavier and chewier)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 beaten eggs

• 1. Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, broth, parsley, bullion, salt and pepper into a large pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to cover chicken.
  2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours, or until chicken is done.
  3. Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.
  4. Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones.
  5. Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.
  6. Add more salt and pepper if desired.
  7. Return soup to simmer.
  8. In mixing bowl combine ingredients and mix well into stiff dough.
  9. Drop by tablespoons into simmering soup, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Recipe for "Cake Batter" Rice Krispie Bars

Make bars according to typical recipe, but while melting your butter and marshmallows together mix in 1/3 cup of yellow cake mix (dry) into the mixture.  Mix cereal and mixture together well, making sure everything is coated.  I then put some colorful sprinkles in them, stirring it well and then topping with more sprinkles after pressing into the pan.  :)