Chicken and Dumplings

Old-fashioned home-cooking taste... Easier preparation.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3 cups shredded cooked chicken)
3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chicken base (Better than Bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Cook chicken any way you like (poach, bake, grill or sauté). Once it has cooled, pull apart into narrow shreds.

Pour canned chicken broth and 1 cup water into large pot. Add chicken base and black pepper. Add shredded chicken. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface (your countertop). Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness; sprinkle lightly with flour, and cut into 2 x 1 inch strips.

Drop strips, one at a time, into boiling broth/chicken mixture, stirring gently, until all strips are added. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

My tips:

1 - I poach the chicken in water or chicken broth, takes about 10 minutes.

2 - After cooking, I put the chicken in the fridge to cool, much faster than just waiting.

3 - I use the chicken base to bump up the flavor. It has more seasoning and some salt, it's better than just the canned chicken broth.

4 - Making the dumplings from scratch like this is much easier than you think.

5 - Use a pizza cutter to cut the dumpling dough into pieces.

6 - Get a helper when you start adding dumplings to the pot. It will seem like too many to fit, but it's not. A helper can stir and move the dumplings around in the pot so there's room for you to add more dumplings.