Easy Southern Chicken & Dumplins

        Now I always enjoy a good bowl of " Chicken & Noodle Soup " ( which I think everyone does & my wife and I both make a great one ) ..... " BUT " ..... if you've never had a bowl of southern style " Chicken & Dumplin's " you are truly missing out on a great meal !
And it's a meal I like in the " Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter ! "
        I have a good recipe for the " long version " of this recipe ..... however ..... I had to come up with a " quick and easy version " that doesn't take so much time being over the stove !
And below is the " Quick and Easy Recipe Version ! "

Now to make this easy version I used two special ingredients:
1 )  A pre-cooked " Rotisserie Style Chicken " from the local grocery store ..... and
2 )  " Drop Style Dumplins " or " Slippery Style Dumplins " :

         If you like " Drop Style Dumplins " :

" TRY "  ~  Pillsbury Biscuits ..... that's right ..... a can of " 5 count Pillsbury™ Southern Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuits " from your local grocery store.
( see photo below & instructions in the below directions )
" They work very well and taste great ! "
" OR "
If you like " Slippery Style Dumplins " :  ( Which are Our Favorite type of dumpling )
" TRY "  Anne's Old Fashion Frozen Flat Dumplings ..... Anne's is our absolute favorite ..... However if you can't find them use any frozen flat dumplings that should be available in your Grocery Store.
( see photo below & and follow instructions on the box )
( My wife once told me she only liked " Drop Style Dumplins " and not " Slippery Style Dumplins " )
( but now that she's had Anne's Old Fashion Frozen Flat Dumplins she is now a " Slippery Style Dumplins " girl ! )

" And now ..... to the recipe we go ..... "

Ingredients:

  1  -  Small pre-cooked Rotisserie Style Chicken  -  ( " Appx. 3 to 4 lbs. " )
  1  -  6 oz. can of Pillsbury™ Southern Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuits ( 5 count biscuits )
          ( Do not use the " Butter Tastin " variety - also one can makes " 40 Dumplins " )
" OR "
  1  -  package of Anne's Old Fashion Frozen Flat Dumplins
  2  -  32 oz. containers of Chicken Stock or Broth  -  ( " see Tip # 1 " )
  2  -  10 1/2 oz. cans of Campbell's " Cream of Chicken with Herbs " ~ or ~ plain " Cream of Chicken Soup "  -  ( " undiluted " )
  1  -  Tablespoon of Canola Oil
  1  -  medium onion finely diced
  3  -  celery stalks chopped
          ( 2 teaspoon of celery seeds can also be used instead ~ however I like it better with real celery )
  1  -  15 oz. can of sliced carrots  -  ( " see Tip # 2 " )
          ( We actually use " Le Sueur Baby Carrots " and I cut them up into smaller pieces ( they just taste better than reqular sliced carrots )
  1  -  15 oz. can of sweet young peas  -  ( " optional ~ see Tip # 2 " )
          ( Some folks like peas in their " Chicken & Dumplins " however most of the time I eat them without them ... but enjoy them either way )
  2  -  teaspoons of Poultry Seasoning  -  ( " optional ~ but better with " )
  Salt & Pepper - ( to taste )

Directions:

  Cut up your Rotisserie Style Chicken, removing the skin, into bite size pieces or shred it ( your choice ) then set it aside.
  Add the Canola Oil to a soup pot and heat on medium high.
  Then add the onion and celery and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  Cook on medium high until the onion and celery get somewhat tender and soft, about 5 - 6 minutes.
  Then add both containers of Chicken Stock ( or broth ) to the pot and heat just until it starts to boil.
  { However you don't want it to boil ..... }
  Once the stock is just about boiling then add both " Cream of Chicken Soups " and stir to combine.
  Then add the cut-up chicken & sliced carrots and stir to combine.
  Then add the cut-up chicken and stir to combine.
  Once again heat up the stock just until it's about boiling.

  While the soup is heating up lets start the dumplins .....
      If you are using " Drop Style Dumplins "

    Separate the 5 biscuits and place on a cutting board .....
    Lightly flour the surface then hand pat or roll each biscuit flat until it's about 1/8" thick.  ( see photo )
    Then cut each biscuit into about 1/2" strips.
    Then cut each strip into three pieces.  ( not shown in photo )

      If you are using " Slippery Style Dumplins "

    Break each piece into spoon size portions .....

  With your soup still " almost boiling " add your dumplins to the pot and stir to insure your dumplins stay separate.
  Continue to cook for about 30 minutes ... stirring about every 5 minutes to keep the dumplins separated from each other.
  Since cooking temps can be different on each stove , after 30 minutes, taste one of your dumplins to insure it cooked ... if not then cook a little longer until the dumplins are done.
  Then you are ready to serve your southern style " Chicken & Dumplin's " .....

        A lot of folks don't know what the difference is between " Chicken Stock " and " Chicken Broth " ..... basically " Chicken Broth " is made by cooking the a chicken alone for flavoring and " Chicken Stock " is made with a chicken and also other vegetables, like carrots, celery, onion, etc., which adds more flavor and vitamins .....
         Also ... since the time that I've found the " Orrington Farm's Chicken Base & Seasoning " ( see photos below ) I've used one pre-made container of " Chicken Stock " in this recipe and then I make up 32 ozs. ( which is actually 2 cups ) using the " Orrington Farm's Chicken Base & Seasoning " and add it instead of the second container of " Chicken Stock ".   The flavor of the " Chicken & Dumplins " seems to taste a little better to me that way .....
         If you can't find " Orrington Farm's Products " at your local grocery store I've also been able to find them at " Wal-Mart's. "

         We actually use " Le Sueur Baby Carrots ".   For this recipe I drain them and then cut them up into smaller pieces.   We use them because we have found that they just taste better and seem a little fresher than reqular sliced canned carrots.
         We also use them on a day to day bases when we just want carrots as a side dish.   In that case I simply add them to a small sauce pan ... add about 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar ... and then add about 3 Tablespoons of butter for flavoring.   Then we simply turn the pan on low and let them heat up slowly to absorb the brown sugar and butter.   And they taste really good that way .....
         We also use and recommend their peas as well and it's the only canned, or frozen, peas we eat now.   Put the peas in a small sauce pan ..... add a couple tablespoons of butter ..... and they are really good !

Are they more expensive than others ?
Yepper ..... but remember you only get what you pay for !


or at
( russpickde@comcast.net )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~