Yum! When the air starts getting a chill to it and the days grow shorter, I start craving comfort food. (Actually, I crave it even when it is warm and the days are long. lol!) One of my favorites is Chicken and Dumplings.
This dish has always been one of my favorites. I remember coming home from school and when I would smell the chicken stewing, I would get excited. And if you are lucky enough to get leftovers, it tastes better the next day in my opinion.
For the sake of trying to eat healthier, though, I make this every once in a great while. I like to make it when it is a really nasty day out and you want something to stick to your ribs.
Enough gabbing. Here is how you make them...
Here are the list of ingredients: One whole chicken or chicken cut into pieces, self rising flour, shortening, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, ground red pepper, chicken bouillon granules, milk.
Cover chicken with water in dutch oven or stock pot. Bring to a boil and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and ground red pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Remove chicken, let cool. Skim fat off broth and add chicken bouillon granules. Bring to a simmer. Skin and bone chicken and coarsely chop. You can either return to the broth or cover and keep warm.
When the chicken is about 10-15 minutes from being done, combine flour and poultry seasoning in bowl. But in shortening with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Knead for about five minutes more or less.
Turn dough out on light floured surface. Roll out to about a 1/8 inch thickness and cut into strips.
Bring broth to a rolling boil and drop dumplings into broth stirring gently. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring often for about 30 minutes.
Serve the chicken and dumplings with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots or sides of your choice. Be prepared to experience bliss as you are dining and take time out for a nap afterward. ;-)
Since I make this dish from memory and measure the ingredients in handfuls and pinch of this, dash of that, I am sharing the recipe from the
Secrets from the Southern Living Test Kitchens cookbook:
Chicken and Dumplings
1 2 1/2 lb. whole chicken, cut up
2 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules (I personally add 2-3 tsp. If you are concerned about sodium, use the lesser amount)
3 cups self rising flour *
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/3 cup shortening (or as my mom taught me, "About the size of an egg.")
1 cup milk
Cover chicken with water, and bring to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add salt, pepper and next three ingredients; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven; cool chicken. Skim fat from broth; bring to simmer.
Skin, bone, and coarsely chop chicken. Add chicken and bouillon to broth. Return to simmer.
Combine flour and poultry seasoning in a bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Knead.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into strips.
Bring broth to boil. Drop dumplings, a few at a time, into boiling broth, stirring gently. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring often, 25 minutes to half an hour. Yield: 8 servings
*If you do not have self- rising flour, for every cup of all purpose flour add 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt.
One of these days, I'm going to figure out how to make my recipes printable. In the meantime, I hope you and your family enjoys this dish as much as I do. Bon appetit!
