Chicken and Dumplings

Alright, time for slacker Ken to start throwing some more recipes up here. We've been trying a lot of new dishes and the world needs to know dangit. But first things first. The tourney is here!!! Yayyyy. This is my favorite weekend of the tournament. The first two rounds. This is when all the cool stuff happens. A couple of big shots get knocked off early. I'm looking at you (and laughing) Ohio State and Duke. And a couple of no-name teams score some big upsets. As of now, Dayton is putting up a good fight against Syracuse. Hope springs eternal for a team to come out of nowhere and win it all! But they never do :( Just think about those two years when Butler went to the final game, only to lose to Duke (blah) and UConn (barf). Boring!!! Maybe I'm just bitter since my favorite team (Gonzaga) has never been to a Final Four. Part of me really wants to see a Gonzaga or a Wichita State or a Butler win the whole thing just to stick it to those rent-a-teams full of NBA-bound freshmen (Kentucky). But another part of me wishes they'd change the tourney altogether. Make it like one of those European soccer tournaments where lots of teams enter, but the better they are, the later they enter. So let's have like 120 teams enter, but the better your team is seeded, the more bye rounds you get. I completely understand this would make Cinderella stories all but impossible, but I think it would be more interesting and would place more value in the regular season.

Okay that's enough of that. I can feel Steph yawning. A couple days ago, we found this gem in the better homes and gardens book. It looked like a legitimate recipe to try and I've never made dumplings before so why not? The recipe calls for "meaty chicken pieces." We used mostly thighs but threw in a cut up breast half too. The dumplings were fairly simple to make and they turned out amazing. My favorite part of the meal. We had to buy shortening for the dumplings, since we never use it. I don't understand shortening. Is it good for you? Is it bad for you? And why don't I need to refrigerate it? That seems weird. I was tickled when I read on the side of the can: "Not to be used as a spread." Um...ew.

Connor says: "Like Dad, I love the dumplings. Buzz Lightyear likes them too. We're less enthusiastic about the chicken but we'll eat that too, only if you let me sprint around the house after every bite."

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)

3 cups water

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried sage or marjoram, crushed

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)

1 cup thinly sliced carrots (2 medium)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 recipe Dumplings

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Skin chicken. In a 4-quart Dutch oven combine chicken, the 3 cups water, the onion, salt, sage, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Return mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 10 minutes more or until vegetables are tender and chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F for breasts, 180 degrees F for thighs and drumsticks). Discard bay leaf. Using tongs, rearrange the chicken pieces so they rest on top of the vegetables.
2. Meanwhile, prepare Dumplings. Spoon dumpling batter into six mounds on top of the chicken. (Do not spoon batter into the liquid.) Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean. Do not lift cover while simmering. With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, dumplings, and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm.
3. For gravy, pour 2 cups cooking liquid into a large measuring cup. Skim fat from liquid; discard fat. Pour liquid into the Dutch oven. Stir the 1/2 cup cold water into the flour; stir into the liquid in Dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve gravy over chicken, vegetables, and dumplings.

Dumplings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup buttermilk

 

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moistened.