Quick & Easy Chicken & Dumplings

 

I had a quantity of leftover cooked chicken breast meat that I wanted to use up today. I had flagged this Chicken & Dumpling recipe in a cookbook I own called, Scrumptious by Christine Denney, The Girl Who Ate Everything.

It looked really delicious and was quite different than any other chicken and dumpling recipe I have ever made.  Most of the recipes I have made the chicken mixture was more like a stew. In this one it is  more like a soup!

 

 

The dumplings are rolled out and flat, not dropped and puffed up. The recipe also looked very simple and easy to make. I am all for simple and easy in my every day life!

Any recipe that can get me in and out of the chicken quickly and easily is top of my list of things I want to cook.  It also used leftover cooked chicken, so that was a bonus. Any recipe that helps me to use up my leftovers is also top of my list!!

 

Another thing I really liked about this recipe was the fact that the dumplings were homemade.  A lot of recipes out there use canned biscuits.  While they are delicious to be sure, I thought homemade had to be infinitely better!

Flat, not puffed up, these dumplings are what is known as rolled, or "flat" dumplings.  Dense and almost chewy, they have the consistency of a lovely thick noodle!

 

Simple to make, they absorb all the flavors of that delicious chicken stock while they cook. That's always a plus in my books!  

Anything that invites in flavors from the outside through to the core makes for some pretty delicious eating. 

This is a hearty comfort food supper that is a real family pleaser. The ease of prep  and quick cook time makes for a great midweek supper!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Simple ordinary store cupboard ingredients, and a quantity of leftover cooked chicken. The original recipe made 8 servings. I cut that in half to make only 4.

You will need:

• 1 TBS butter
• 1/3 cup (45g) diced peeled carrot
• 1/3 cup (25g) sliced celery
• 1/4 cup (45g) diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups (210g) shredded or cubed cooked chicken
• 4 cups (946ml) good quality low sodium chicken stock/broth
• 1/4 tsp each dried thyme, dried parsley and summer savory
• salt and black pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TBS cold butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk

I had some chicken breast meat leftover from a rotisserie chicken. It worked beautifully in this. If you don't have any leftover chicken, you could always poach some.  I did a tutorial on how to do that here.   It is very simple to do and doesn't take a lot of time.

For chicken broth I used Better Than Bullion. I always have a jar of the chicken one in the refrigerator. If I was in the UK, I would use the Knorr chicken stock pot gels.  I sure miss those here in Canada!  They were such a handy ingredient to have in the cupboard, and their flavor was really good.

 

Summer savory is an herb that is grown and available here in the Maritime Provinces. You could use marjoram in its place.  The herbs were my own addition.  

Other than that all of the ingredients are pretty easy to sort out, and there's not much I can tell you about them that you don't already know.

 

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

This was really simple and quick to make. I love no muss, no fuss recipes such as this one.

Melt the butter in a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. (about 6 minutes.)

Add the chicken, herbs, and the broth. Bring to a simmer. Do not boil.

To make the dumplings, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Drop in the butter. Cut the into the flour using two round bladed knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Stir in the milk to make a soft dough. Mine was a bit sticky.

Turn out onto a well floured board and knead a few times, then roll out into a square or a rectangle which is 1/4 inch in thickness. Trim the edges square and then cut into 1 inch squares using a pizza cutter or sharp knife.

Toss the squares in additional flour to help keep them from sticking together.

Add the squares, about 4 at a time, to the simmering broth, stirring gently to make sure they don't stick together. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the dumplings have cooked.

Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Ladle into heated bowls to serve.

 

My sister was telling me about her first husband's Grandmother Mimi and how she used to make them Chicken and Slickers.  It sounded very similar except that she used chicken stock in the dough to make the "slickers."

The dough was cut into strips and stretched as she dropped them into the chicken broth/soup mixture. My sister said they were really delicious!  I have no doubt that they were!  Grandmother's know best!

In any case this was a really delicious soup. I loved how simply and easily it went together and the flavors and texture of everything was quite simply perfect.  I was wishing I had some grandsons around to help me eat it up!

Guess I'll have to do that my myself eh?  Not a problem!

 

Just in case you were interested in my other chicken and dumpling recipes, I thought I would leave you the links right here. I can promise you that they are all delicious in their own right! 

CHICKEN & CHEESY DUMPLINGS - This was a recipe I created to meet the challenge of feeding a family of four for less than a fiver.  I dare say it would cost you a bit more than that now, but it would still be pretty economical.  Stewed chicken with peas, carrots and onions in a thick gravy, with some fluffy cheesy dumplings dropped on top and steamed to perfection.

CHICKEN WITH CRUSTY DUMPLINGS - Chunks of tender chicken, salty bacon, onions and browned mushrooms in a tasty sauce, topped with flavour filled chive suet dumplings and baked in the oven until the casserole is all hot and bubbly and the dumplings are crusty and lightly browned. Quite simply delicious.  I like to serve this with either mashed or boiled potatoes on the side.

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Quick & Easy Chicken & Dumplings

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

This is a deliciously comforting dish that is super quick and easy to make. It makes a perfect mid-week supper that everyone is sure to love!

Ingredients

You will need:

• 1 TBS butter
• 1/3 cup (45g) diced peeled carrot
• 1/3 cup (25g) sliced celery
• 1/4 cup (45g) diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups (210g) shredded or cubed cooked chicken
• 4 cups (946ml) good quality low sodium chicken stock/broth
• 1/4 tsp each dried thyme, dried parsley and summer savory
• salt and black pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TBS cold butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. (about 6 minutes.)
2. Add the chicken, herbs, and the broth. Bring to a simmer. Do not boil.
3. To make the dumplings, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Drop in the butter. Cut the into the flour using two round bladed knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
4. Stir in the milk to make a soft dough. Mine was a bit sticky.
5. Turn out onto a well floured board and knead a few times, then roll out into a square or a rectangle which is 1/4 inch in thickness. Trim the edges square and then cut into 1 inch squares using a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
6. Toss the squares in additional flour to help keep them from sticking together.
7. Add the squares, about 4 at a time, to the simmering broth, stirring gently to make sure they don't stick together. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the dumplings have cooked.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Ladle into heated bowls to serve.

Did you make this recipe?

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