Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings

I made this again for dinner last night. It is super easy, fairly quick, and so versatile. It could even be made with beef instead which would also be yummy, I am sure.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Sure to please a variety of hungry mouths on a cold evening (or not so cold). Quick and easy. This recipe is suitable for the crock pot (size according to your crock pot).

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cans chicken broth

• 2 cans of premium chicken noodle soup

• 2 chicken breasts

• 2-3 TBSP sauce thickener

• biscuit dough

Notes:

• I used a can (each) of Progresso Classic Chicken Noodle and Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle soups because it was what I had on hand. Any chicken noodle soup with substance will work. I prefer the wider noodled soups. This has your “chicken and noodle” flavor and contains the vegetables such as carrots and celery already in it.

• I like to add additional chicken breasts cut up into small pieces because there isn’t much chicken in the soups themselves. Since my diet requires more protein, I add some to it. The kids are happier this way too.

• You can use the sauce thickener of your choice. I have used flour, corn starch, and white gravy mix with good results. The amount you need depends on the amount of fluid you have and the thickness you want in your sauce.

• Biscuits can be canned fridge biscuits or homemade biscuit dough. I have used Pillsbury and store brand fridge biscuits with good results, use the doughy kind not the flaky kind. I have used both Bisquik and Jiffy biscuit mix with good results, you do not want a stiff dough but you don’t want it super runny either.

• You can add other vegetables if you desire. I added 1 chopped up red potato, pealed. Just cut into small pieces.

Directions:

• Cut chicken breasts into small pieces.

• In the bottom of a 5 quart stove-top dutch oven, quickly saute chicken pieces. Don’t brown it, you’re just trying to seer it a big. White on the outside, it can still be pink on the inside as we’re going to simmer it for a while. If you do not have time to allow for long simmering, cook longer to cook chicken completely. If doing this in the crock pot all day, you don’t have to cook the chicken at all.

• To your pot, add chicken broth and soup. Mix well. You may add additional spices at this time if desired. I used Penzy’s Mural of Flavor. Just season to taste.

• Simmer as time allows.

• Mix up biscuit mix (single or double batch, if you have more liquid, use more biscuits) or quarter 1-2 cans (8 count) of biscuits.

• Bring soup mixture to boil.

• Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup mix. Drop quartered fridge biscuits in piece by piece. Let boil 5 minutes.

• Cover with a tight fitting lid (the looser the lid the longer the biscuits take to cook) and cook until biscuits on top are done (they will not brown). Increase time for crock pot cooking.

• Eat and enjoy!

Additional notes:

If substituting beef,

• use same amount of beef broth

• use same amount of beef based premium soup with meat and vegetables, if you have
beef stew on hand add additional beef broth

• you could use brown gravy mix as a thickener if you choose not to use the other options.

Like I said, super versatile.

This is a great recipe for food storage as all things can be made with shelf stable items – canned chicken or beef, biscuit mix, and powdered milk mixed up.