Shortcut Chicken and Dumplings

I had a request from a friend to work on a "bachelor proof" chicken and dumplings recipe.  I love a good challenge and couldn't wait to get cooking.  But this brings a confession from me:  I have never made my own Chicken and Dumplings.  My mom and sister make them, wonderfully might I add, so I've never needed to make my own.  I know what good dumplings taste like, but have never attempted it myself.  So yesterday I searched the web for various ways others make chicken and dumplings.  I took what I liked out of a couple of different recipes to make my own version. 

My version of chicken and dumplings is so simple!  You don't have to boil icky chicken parts or make your own dough, which is where most people go wrong making them.  This is fool proof.  However, it tastes like you slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon, I promise!  

"Bachelor Proof" Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 large rotisserie chicken, (remove skin and shred breast meat)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4-5 ribs of celery, trimmed, rinsed and sliced

4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon (to taste) kosher salt, table salt if you don't have kosher salt is fine

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon or more (to taste) poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1 (32oz) reduced sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth

1 can reduced fat condensed cream of chicken soup

1 (8 biscuits inside) can Grands Home style Buttermilk Biscuits

Start by skinning and pulling apart the chicken breasts.  You can add the dark thigh meat if you like dark meat also.  To remove the chicken breast, use a knife to run along the side of the back bone, separating as you go.  Next, use the knife to cut under the breast meat, just above the leg.  This way you can nearly remove the entire breast at one time.  Do the same thing for the other side.

Once you get the chicken breast removed, pull off and discard the skin.  Use your hand or two forks to shred chicken meat to bite sized pieces. 

I challenge you to do this part and not nibble on it.  Impossible.

I got about 3 cups of shredded chicken of mine.  Set chicken aside.

Chop or slice the celery, onions, and carrots.

Heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a dutch oven or large heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat.

Add in the veggies and saute until softened.  About 5-10 minutes.

While veggies saute, add in poultry seasoning, salt/pepper, and sage.

Pour in chicken broth and can of chicken soup.  Also add in two soup cans full of hot water.

Cover and bring mixture to a boil.

Once broth is up to a boil add shredded chicken to pot. 

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer, bubbling slightly for 10-15 minutes.

Taste the broth to make sure it doesn't need extra seasonings. 

 Add more of anything as you see it.

While pot is simmering you can cut the biscuits to make the "dumplings". 

(I only used 7 of the 8 inside.  Feel free to use all if you can fit them in the pan.) 

Use a knife to cut each biscuit into 8 equal pieces. 

Like a pie.

Carefully drop biscuit pieces into simmering pot one or two at a time. 

Stirring as needed if pot gets crowded. 

Essentially you only want as many dumplings as will fit on the surface of the broth. 

If you crowd them in the pot they will stick together and not cook evenly. 

Keep in mind the dumplings will puff up quite a bit while cooking.

Cover and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes to let dumplings cook.  Stirring occasionally.

You can see below, the dumplings swell up while cooking.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

How easy is that?  Others will think you slaved in the kitchen all day loonnngg.

These might even be better than Mama's :-) Shhhh, don't tell I said so.