Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is a dish that brings back wonderful memories for me.  My grandpa, Pap-Paw, owned a cafe here in Rush Springs and chicken and dumplings was one of his specialties.  Unfortunately, Pap-Paw didn't really have recipes, so we've had to come up with our own.  It's very, very close to what he served.  This is also a rare recipe where Mom and I each have our own version.  The variations are slight, but I'll point them out where they exist.

Ingredients (Mom's version):

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans biscuits
1 chicken bullion cube
salt and pepper to taste

I add:

1 can water
1 large carrot, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Pap-Paw's cafe, August 1946

Begin by cooking the chicken.  Mom boils hers in water.  I roast mine in the oven with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  You could also use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, skinned.  Once the chicken is cooked, set it aside to cool.  Once cooled, Mom cubes her chicken.  I shred mine.

If you're preparing Mom's version, you will then add the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and bullion cube to the cooking water.  Bring to a boil.  If you're preparing my version, you will saute the vegetables in some of the heated chicken broth and then add the remaining broth, cream of chicken soup, and bullion cube.

We both use canned biscuits to make our dumplings.  You want to use the cheapest, plainest biscuits you can find.  Don't use anything buttered or flaky or fancy.  Remove the biscuits from the cans and quarter each of the biscuits, dropping the quarters into the hot soup mixture.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from floating too much.

Add the chicken back to the soup mixture and allow it to reheat.  Serve while hot.