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I'm from Minnesota. Nowhere near the south, but I still love some good southern cookin'!
My mom used to make chicken and dumplings the "northern" way, with Bisquick®.
I like it that way, but it doesn't even compare to the way those Southern folk do it!
From here on out, I'm going to call the way my mom did it "dumplings", and I'll call southern style "dumplins' !"
Whenever my mom would make chicken and dumplings, she'd always sing this in the kitchen:
♫ "Chicken and dumplings sure taste fine, but I wouldn't want them all the time." ♫
So now every time I cook, or even eat a dumpling, I start singing the song. :o)
This is healthier than a lot of other chicken and dumplin'(g) recipes out there because it uses chicken breasts, and no canned soups.
(Dumpling recipe from the blog, Back to the Cutting Board, the broth part is my own)
What you need for 6 servings:
Chicken:
3 chicken breasts
2 stalks celery chopped
half of an onion chopped
2 bay leaves
lots of black pepper
12 cups chicken broth (I use chicken bouillon granules)
Dumplings:
3 cups bread flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (the recipe called for 3/4 tsp, but I found it too salty)
4 1/2 TBS shortening
1 cup milk
Bring chicken broth to boil in a large stockpot or dutch oven.
Add chicken, bay leaves, celery, onion, & 1 TBS of black pepper to boiling broth.
(The celery & onion are only to add flavor to chicken and broth, you'll remove them later)
Let simmer for about an hour until chicken is cooked thoroughly and tender.
While chicken is cooking, start on your dumplins'
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Add shortening.
Cut in shortening with fingertips until tiny balls form.
Add milk a 1/4 cup at a time. You might not need a full cup.
Stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, careful not to over-mix.
Roll dough out onto large floured cutting board. Roll about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut dough into whatever size you want. I did mine like this:
Let sit for 30 minutes to begin to dry. It won't be fully dry, but a little stiff.
(I forgot to do that when I was making it this time, so my dumplins' weren't as smooth looking as they should have been, but still tasted the same.)
While dumplins' are stiffening, remove your chicken from broth, let cool, and then shred.
Leave broth simmering with bay leaves in it.
Next, remove celery and onions from broth.
Now, add your dumplings one at a time.
Let cook 6-7 minutes, then add chicken.
Mine looked a bit funny at this point. Remember I forgot to let the dough stiffen?
Your broth will still look thin right now, but don't add anything to thicken it. The dumplins' will do it for you!
Cover and let broth thicken for 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Season generously with black pepper.
You can serve it anytime after that. If you let it sit longer, it'll thicken even more. I also think this dish tastes better the next day when all the flavors have had more of a chance to combine.
