Harris Family Chicken & Dumplings

prep time:: 30 min
total time:: 60 min

Serves 4-6

This is another of the grandparents and great grandparents recipes that got changed with the addition of each new wife to come into the family. In that tradition, I changed it up a bit myself by offering the use of a biscuit mix instead of making scratch biscuits and I added garlic because I love the combination of chicken stock and garlic. I also saute all the vegetables before adding to the stock.

ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
2 med carrots(peeled,diced or sliced)
1 med onion, medium dice
2 ribs of celery, medium dice
1 bay leaf (dried or fresh)
2 cloves of garlic, fine dice/press
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 quart chicken broth or stock*
1 sm box biscuit mix or homemade**
1/2 cu warm water
1 handful of flat leaf parsley,chop
1 cu frozen peas
Salt and Pepper
1-2 lbs chicken pieces

directions

1
Assemble all ingredients first.
2
Dice, chop, slice all vegetables and set aside.
3
Into a large stock pot, place chicken pieces. Thighs are just about the best in this dish. NO wings or backs and breast tends to get stringy.
4
Lightly saute carrots, celery, onion independently. Add garlic to the onions during the last 30 or so seconds of saute. Add all vegetables to the stock pot with chicken.
5
Add 1 quart of chicken stock/broth. Stock is the best and homemade stock is even better but canned or boxed stock/broth will do.
6
Add poultry seasoning and bay leaf. Salt and pepper to taste.
7
Cover the pot and cook on MED HIGH for 30-35 minutes until chicken falls off the bone.
8
Remove chicken from stock/broth and allow to cool. Taking off skin and pulling from bone into medium size pieces and set aside.
9
The remaining soup can be thickened with a roux or corn starch. Stirring soup,return to a boil until thickened.
10
Add chicken to pot and reduce heat to MED.
11
Prepare biscuit mix and add 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning and parsley.
12
Add frozen peas just before dropping dumplings into pot.
13
Drop tablespoons of biscuit dough into the simmering pot, spacing dumplings evenly.
14
Cover pot tightly, reduce heat to MED LOW and steam dumplings for 10-12 minutes.
15
Remove from heat and serve in bowls.

notes

I prefer to make my own biscuit mix and not use packaged, for that recipe please see Low Country Biscuits recipe and use that dough. Sauteing the vegetables adds another level of flavor to the soup and is well worth the effort.

Source: LESA