Leghorn Stew...aka...Chicken and Dumplings

Since I was little this was the dish I asked for over and over again.  Of course Mom never made it often enough for my taste so guess what I learned to make on my own early in life?  Yep, chicken and dumplings.  This may just be my all time favorite food.  It's even how I met my husband!  I was in the Air Force and lived in the dorms.  One night I got to talking about chicken and dumplings with some friends and before I knew what happened we were cooking up my recipe on the backyard grill since there was no kitchen.  There must have been a dozen people eating it, my future husband among them.

Now, I have tasted only a couple of recipes that rival mine for flavor but it's not a dish often served outside the home either.  My recipe is based largely on the bisquick recipe.  Actually, it is the bisquick recipe with some minor changes.  Why mess up a good thing right?  Except I make my own bisquick mix and I make my own stock.  I also add more pepper.  Yesterday was the first time I made it with chicken we raised.  It happened to be a leghorn rooster out of the bunch mentioned a few posts back.  Since I'm such a nice person I will share my recipe with you.  It's really more of a method since I measure out very little.

Trisha's Chicken and Dumplings

Prepare your stock (I make a large amount since I feed seven. Usually a stock pot filled at least halfway)

Use a whole chicken (not necessary for smaller families).  My stock is then seasoned with plenty of pepper.  Be generous.

I use about 6 cups of the bisquick mix I make (6 cups flour, 3 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp salt and 1 cup shortening) and I don't measure the milk I add but you're looking for a consistency similar to pie crust or biscuits or somewhere in between.  Really sticky doughs tend to be gooey and that's just gross.

Heat your stock to boiling and reduce to a simmer.  Drop mix into stock by tablespoons full.  It's fun for my family to gather around the dough bowl and grab chunks and just break them off and put them in.  Usually there are two or three of us at least.  Be sure to throw a little dough at one of the kids as well.  Also, dump the remaining crumbs in the pot as this helps create a thick, gravy-like consistency.

Once all your dough is in the stock give it a good stir to ensure all the dough balls are covered and to create the thicker consistency.  Then cover and wait at least ten minutes.  Uncover, add pre-cooked chicken pieces, stir and wait another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Adding the chicken at the end  prevents it from sticking to the bottom. 

The only time I ever mess this recipe up is when i try to remember my homemade bisquick recipe instead of looking it up.  Also, bisquick is actually sweetened so using real bisquick does lead to a different flavor.