Food Blog: Chicken N' Dumplings
I have always seen the art in food. Not only am I fascinated with taste but presentation plays a big role. Growing up I was far from picky and to this day I still love to try new things in the culinary arts. I'm not much of a chef but I love to learn new things. Over the years I have acquired a taste for my moms home cooked meals. If you asked me to choose a favorite meal there is about one hundred things that pop into my mind. From pot roast to a clam bake. For the sake of this blog I'll go with one of my all time favorites, my mothers famous chicken n' dumplings.
I've watched my mom make this in the kitchen enough to know a little about how the ingredients combine into the finished project. For starters you will need a crock pot, the bigger the better, that way you can make more. Throw in 4-7 lbs of boneless chicken breast with 2 cans of chicken broth and 2 cups of water. Next mix separately-carrots, celery, onion, black olives, hot chili peppers, and any other veggies of your choice. Last time we added zucchini and mushrooms just because we had them in our fridge at the time so feel free to experiment. Dice up all the veggies, you can use a food processor or chop them by hand, just make sure you have a large bowl of veggies at the end. Add the vegetables in with the chicken and let it cook for 8 hours.
The next step is the trickiest and most important, the dumplings. Dumplings are made from a mixture of Bisquick and milk. Mix the two until the consistency allows you to form spoonfuls of the batter. You can either cook them in with everything or start them seperatly like my mom prefers. She brings a small pot of broth to a boil and adds the spoonfuls of batter one at a time and lets them cook 15 minutes uncovered and 15 minutes with a cover. The dumplings should be soft and doughy but still hold its shape.
Finally add the dumplings into the crock pot, let it cook together for another 15 minutes and then it is ready to serve. I would tell you to let it cool down for another 10 minutes but I never do and it will have already been 8 hours since you began so dig in and enjoy the most complete meal you can fit in a bowl.
