Macki’s Famous Chicken & Dumplings
by Mar 29th, 2011 // Dinner, Easy Cheats
Macki’s Famous Chicken & Dumplings
Whenever my daughter and I make Chicken & Dumplings I’m transported back to a time when my mom ran the kitchen in my house and my sisters and I helped and there was lots of love of laughter. When it comes to Chicken & Dumplings I’m like the critic in the movie Ratatouille who takes an unexpected bite of the comfort food from his childhood and is transformed from a grumpy old man with nothing nice to say to a child filled with pure joy.
One of my favorite parts of cooking this dish was rolling out the biscuit dough, cutting them up and plopping them in the hot broth. Yes, it seemed dangerous when we were kids, but we were careful and there was nothing better than watching those dumpling grow.
I mentioned in one of my posts about my daughter’s love of Chicken & Dumplings (ok, borderline obsession) and I thought I would share my recipe with you all. This recipe is adapted from my mom’s and has evolved over the years. Back before I had kids and was working long hours I created a shortcut version.
Now that I am home more and my kids love to cook with me, I have gone back to the original. I will share both with you so you can make it any way that suits your schedule.
Macki’s Famous Slow Cooked Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
3 celery ribs cut into ½ inch pieces
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
1 32oz box organic chicken broth
Water
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 carrots cut into ½ inch pieces
biscuit (dumpling) dough – you can use a mix or the Whole Wheat Olive Oil Biscuits
flour for rolling out the dough
2 ears of corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh parsley coarsely chopped
Heat oil over medium heat in large pot. Add onions and celery and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Place the uncooked, cut up chicken in the pot, pour in the chicken broth and add enough water to completely cover the chicken. Sprinkle in the basil. Bring to a boil, the reduce heat to medium low and cook until chicken is done, approximately 40 minutes. Meanwhile make the biscuit dough, roll out onto floured surface and cut into 1 inch pieces. Remove the chicken and set on a plate to cool. Add carrots and bring the broth to a boil. Cut the corn off the ears and set aside. When the broth is boiling add the dumplings, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Debone the chicken. After 10 minutes, add the corn and deboned chicken and cook for five minutes, then add the frozen peas, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes. To thicken add flour. Serves 4 with plenty of leftovers.
Macki’s Famous Shortcut Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup pre-chopped onion
1 cup pre chopped celery
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 32oz boxes of chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ bag of baby carrots
1 precooked rotisserie chicken
premade biscuits in the tube
¼ cup flour
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen peas
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Heat oil over medium heat in large pot. Add onions and celery and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 boxes of chicken broth, carrots and basil. Boil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile open the tube of biscuits and tear each one into 3-4 pieces and drop into a bag with ¼ cup of flour. Be sure to cover each piece with flour. Add to the broth and boil for 10 minutes. Debone the chicken and add to the pot along with the frozen corn and peas. Cook for another 5 minutes, add parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4 with plenty of leftovers.

[...] daughter requests Chicken and Dumplings weekly, even in the heat of the summer. So far I’ve made it 4 times, thanks to June gloom [...]
[...] daughter requests Chicken and Dumplings weekly, even in the heat of the summer. So far I’ve made it 4 times thanks to June gloom, [...]