Nanas Southern Chicken Dumplings Recipes

SOUTHERN CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Place the chicken breasts into the pot, skin-side-down. Pour in the chicken broth, and enough water to just cover the breasts. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken begins to fall off the bone, about 1 hour. Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts from the pot. Remove and discard the skin and bone; allow the meat to cool, then tear apart into bite sized chunks.
• While the chicken breast are simmering, prepare the dumpling dough by whisking the flour, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt together in a mixing bowl. Work the vegetable shortening in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk. Stir together until a stiff dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth. Form the dough into 12 pieces, and set aside.
• After you've shredded the chicken, stir the cream of chicken soup, 2 cups water, salt, pepper, and shredded chicken back into the pot. Return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Drop the dumplings into the simmering broth one at a time to keep them from sticking together. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the dumplings have puffed and are no longer doughy in the center, 10 to 20 minutes.

NANA'S SOUTHERN CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Boil 2-3 split chicken breasts in low-sodium chicken broth & water.
• While the chicken is boiling, lay out a large area of wax paper.
• Sift 3 cups of self-rising flour into a mixing bowl.
• Slowly pour 1 - 1/2 cups ice water into flour - roll into a dough ball. (If you have excess flour, use to coat wax paper.).
• Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to desired consistency. (I prefer thin dumplings, but you may create your dumplings in any consistency you like.).
• Cut rolled out dough with a knife or pizza cutter into small or medium squares.
• Check on your boiling chicken. Once the chicken breast separates, take the meat off the bone.
• Make sure broth is boiling and slowly place dumplings in with the chicken and broth. (Do not drop all dumplings in at once or they will stick together.).
• Season dumplings with salt and pepper to your liking. (I do not use salt since chicken broth is high in sodium, but lots of pepper really makes the dumplings taste good!).
• While the dumplings are finishing, prepare long-grain white rice using low-sodium chicken broth instead of water.

NANA'S CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces in a large nonstick* pot and cover with 2 qts of water.
• Add bay, seasoning salt, boullion, pepper and poultry seasoning.
• Bring to a boil then reduce heat and continue boiling, skimming off the chicken fat as it rises to the surface.
• When chicken is fork tender, remove all pieces from the stock to cool.
• Bring the stock to a rolling boil.
• While chicken is cooling, flour a surface for rolling out biscuits.
• Roll each biscuit out until it doubles in size.
• Cut each biscuit into 4 strips with a sharp knife.
• Drop one at a time into the boiling stock.
• Repeat until all biscuits are added, stirring after each biscuit is added.
• Remove and discard all skin and bones from cooled chicken and tear meat into bite sized pieces.
• Return deboned chicken to the pot with the dumplings and lower heat.
• Simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.
• *Monitor heat and stirring closely as the stew can burn on the bottom. A nonstick pot works very well but a regular pot requires closer supervision.