Chicken and Dumplings

This is such a classic dish in my mind.  I remember watching an old boyfriend’s grandmother make this and then asking her a ton of questions writing it all down so I could make it myself.

Here is how I make ours:

Boil a pound of chicken tenders/breasts for about 25 minutes (or until cooked through) in about 8 cups of water.

Remove the chicken when cooked and add 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1/4 cup each finely chopped onion, celery and carrots and boil approximately 10 minutes until veggies are soft.

In a saucepan brown 1/4 cup of flour stirring constantly (this was one of the tricks his grandmother did).  Remove from heat and place in a glass bowl with 1 TBSP cornstarch.  Mix well.  Add about 1 cup of the hot chicken stock and stir the mixture until smooth.  Add to the chicken/veggie stock and bring to a boil whisking until it starts to thicken (approx. 2-3 minutes).  Add the chopped chicken into the pot and 4 TBSP. heavy cream.

Make the dumplings using 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 TBSP baking powder and 1 TBSP cornmeal into a bowl and mixing well.  In a small bowl add 3/4 cup milk and 1 egg.  Mix well and combine with the flour mixture mixing just until combined.

Drop teaspoonful dumpling mixture into simmering chicken stock, cover and cook for 3 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and repeat until all dumplings are cooked.  Serve the gravy over the dumplings in a bowl!  Delicious!

Step by step here:

1 lb chicken breast or tenders

8 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped celery

¼ cup flour

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Dumplings:

1 ½ cups flour

1 Tbsp. cornmeal

1 Tbsp. baking powder

¾ cup milk

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the chicken in the water approximately 25 minutes (or until cooked through). Remove the cooked chicken and cube it.

Add the bouillon cubes and vegetables. Gently boil approximately 10 minutes until veggies are soft

Brown ¼ cup flour in a frying pan stirring constantly until browned

Place browned flour in a glass bowl and add 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and mix

Add 1 cup of hot chicken stock and stir until smooth

Add to chicken stock/veggie mixture and boil gently while whisking for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens slightly and no lumps of flour mixture

Add the chicken into the pot and keep at a slow simmer

Dumplings:

Mix the flour, cornmeal and baking powder

Mix the milk and egg in a separate bowl and add to the flour mixture

Stir just until moistened through.

Drop teaspoonful of dumpling mixture around the chicken pot approximately 5 at a time and cover. Let steam cook for 4 minutes and then remove and repeat until the dumpling mixture is gone.

Serve the dumplings in a bowl with the chicken sauce over the top.

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