Chicken & Dumplings

This is a copy-cat recipe of Cracker Barrel's chicken & dumplings, which are the best chicken & dumplings. I don't even remember the way I used to make them, because once I tasted these, no other recipe exists. There are some notes to make the cooking time shorter or longer, depending on how much time you want to devote to this meal. Enjoy!

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CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

• 2-3 lbs chicken - I used boneless, skinless breast. You can use a whole chicken. Or a bag of mixed chicken parts. Or whatever.
• 1½ tsp salt (to start, work up from there to taste)
• 1 smallish onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf (2 if you're using the smaller dried ones, and I am)
• 4-6 whole parsley leaves (or 1-2 tsp dried)
• ½ tsp black pepper (or more to taste - the recipe originally said 1 tsp and that was A LOT OF PEPPER. So I'm telling you, start with half that and work up if you need to)
• 1 tbs lemon juice
* 2-3 cans (7.5 oz each) canned biscuits

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. How much water? Eh, I don't know, just fill the pot a little over half full and go for it. You can always add more water later if you need it. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 2 hours (*) . Everything will smell real good.

Remove the chicken from the pot, and set it aside to cool. Remove and discard the bay leaf. This next part is up to you, and is a matter of taste. You can either strain all of the solids from the stock, leaving just the broth (this is how Cracker Barrel does it), or you can leave the solids in there. I compromised and strained about HALF of the solids out. I like visible veggies, but it did seem like a LOT of chunks in there. Whatever you decide to do is fine. You're awesome. That shirt looks great on you.

Bring your broth back to a simmer on the stove. Add pepper, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and lemon juice (this tripped me out. It seems weird to add lemon to chicken stock. But it's awesome). While still simmering, drop in the dumplings – crack open some cans of biscuit dough (**), and pinch pieces off each round. I got about 3-4 pieces off each biscuit, and that worked out pretty well. Stir things around as you add the dough – the dumplings will swell up some, then dissolve down to thicken the broth into a gravy. Let the dumplings simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every now and then from the bottom (so nothing sticks). Add water if things get too thick.

While that's happening, deal with your chicken. Remove any skin, bones, fat, etc (if you have that), and cut the meat into bite-size (or just slightly larger) pieces. Add the chicken to the pot, stir it up all good, and heat it through. Serve!
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(*) My God, woman. I don't have time for that!

Okay, so here's what you can do: Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces, and brown it up in a skillet with a little oil. Crack open a few cans of low-sodium chicken broth and heat it to boiling on the stove. Voila. You got your chicken, and your broth. Drop in some biscuit dough, and you're done. If you like the chunky-veggie version, you can sautee some onion, celery and garlic in a skillet until tender, and dump it in there. Season it however you want!
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(**) I am a rigid traditionalist / have nothing else to do today / want to break in this new rolling pin I bought / need bragging rights, yo.

Great! Make these and tell me how it goes. I may try it when Curt moves off to college.

HAND-MADE DUMPLINGS

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup milk, plus 2 tbs

Combine the flour, baking powder, 1¼ teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface, to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into ½ inch square dumplings.