"I'm sorry sir, but it appears your wife has a case of the dumplings."

I'm not sure what came over me in the days leading up to the chicken and dumplings. Perhaps it was the cold and rainy weather, or perhaps I felt the need to revert back to a simpler time. Whatever it was, I had an unexplainable desire to tie back my hair in a perfectly tight bun, put on a frilly blue gingham apron, light a fire in the cast-iron oven and make me and the mister a nice supper of chicken and dumplings.

When I proposed the idea to Grant, he seemed less elated than I was, and rather confused. In fact, he asked, "And what are those?"

WHAT?!?! I was at a loss for words. It's like stew with chicken...veggies and...chicken and stew with carrots...onions..and, I mean, it's chicken and dumplings and needs no explanation!!!

So now they had to be made, and they had to be made immediately.

I adapted my recipe from here and here and of course a little help from the memories of my mama's recipe (unfortunately, there is not a hyperlink to my brain).

The stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
approx 1/3 cup flour plus 1 tablespoon of flour
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in chunks
3 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
1 large Russet potato, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
several sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

The dumplings (Can you make them from scratch? Sure. But God gave us Bisquick so why mess with this heavenly gift?)

Bisquick
milk

Cut chicken into large chunks and dredge in the 1/3 cup of flour that is seasoned with salt and pepper.

Over medium high heat, in a large stock pot melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the chicken about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent (about 1-2 minutes). Add the remaining chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, potato and parsnips), season with salt, pepper and about a tablespoon each of chopped thyme and rosemary. Cook about 5 minutes more, stirring frequently.

Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the veggies and stir until completely melted. Once melted, add an additional tablespoon of flour and stir until all the veggies are coated evenly. Slowly stir in the chicken broth. Add the chicken back into the stew and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, make the biscuits according to the box. However, make them fabulous by adding some freshly ground black pepper, the additional tablespoon of parsley, teaspoon of thyme and rosemary. (I never said you couldn't improve upon the work of God.)

Reduce the stew to a simmer. Evenly space spoonfuls of dough on top of the stew (about an inch apart). According to the directions on the box, simmer the stew with the dumplings uncovered for 10 minutes, cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes more. Personally, I would go just shy of 10 minutes each time, maybe 7-8 minutes but watch the dumplings and you will be able to tell when they are done.

Serve pipin' hot in a low soup bowl and, as much as you will want to, please resist eating them directly out of the stockpot.



Home-cookin' good!