I made Chicken and Dumplings, also known as Chicken and Pastry, for the first time ever back in January. My husband requested it on a cold winter day and it was a dinner request I wasn’t expecting. After doing some online research and calling a few family members for tips, I decided to go for the challenge. I was pleasantly surprised about how well it turned out!
We had a lot of leftovers because I used a large recipe. I took the leftovers and placed them in individual containers with about two servings in each for freezing. A month later, I defrosted one of the containers of chicken and dumplings and it was just as good! It froze and defrosted well.
Here is a link to the recipe I used as a guideline. I made a few modifications to it and took pictures as I went along. See below:
Ingredients:
3 – 4 lbs of Chicken (I used thighs and legs, but most people use a whole chicken)
2 Bay Leaves
Water
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 box of Frozen Dumpling Strips
1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup
(Optional Ingredients)
* 2 tbsp Cornstarch
* 1/4 cup Water
* 1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
1. Boil the chicken in a large pot with bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
Make sure the water covers the chicken
2. Remove the chicken from the pot after it is done and put it in a separate bowl.
3. After the chicken has cooled, pull the meat off the bones.
4. Skim the fat off the top of the water that is in the pot. Make sure you have 4 – 5 quarts of water in the pot.
Chicken Broth
5. Bring the water in the pot to a rolling boil. Pull out your frozen dumplings.
These were the dumplings that I used. I found them at the Commissary.
6. Separate the frozen dumplings and drop them one by one into the boiling water. Be sure that you stir the pot and let it return to a boil before adding each dumpling.
The dumplings were easy to pull apart.
7. After adding all of the dumplings, reduce the heat to medium and let it boil for a few minutes.
8. Reduce heat to low and add the chicken meat and cream of chicken soup. Stir until the cream of chicken soup is well mixed.
9. Season to taste with black pepper. If you find that it needs more of a kick, add a chicken bouillon cube.
The finished product!
10. Remove from heat and let it stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Extra Tip:
If the broth is not thick enough for your liking, here’s a solution:
1. In a bowl, add 2 tbsp of cornstarch and a 1/4 cup of water. Stir the ingredients together.
2. Add the cornstarch mixture to the chicken and dumplings. The broth should start to thicken almost immediately.
Do you have a favorite chicken and dumplings recipe? If so, tell me about it!
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Taking pictures of the beautiful sights we saw made our trip so much more memorable.
