O.K. my house smells like heaven tonight. Several chicken breasts, chicken broth, 1 can of cream of mushroom, 1 pk. of Lipton's soup mix, 2 LG. pkgs. of mixed veggies, then 2 hours before serving, cut up a tin of biscuits + immerse in broth. It is a cheap shot but it works + it's damned good! A touch of black pepper is all the spice you need.

That is to funny. My wife sent me to the store tonight for a can of cream of mushroom soup and a couple cans of flaky biscuits.She cooked up some chicken and veggies and made up a thick creamy chicken stew put the biscuits on top ,put the cast iron lid on baked it until tops were golden.Little sprinkle of black pepper and cayenne pepper on top. My daughter and her husband and another daughter in law and 2 grandsons were here to enjoy it too.It was damn good.must be the season.
Scott

I can smell it from here!
I have a complex recipe from the old Cook's Illustrated that yields a fabulous version of chicken and dumplings and takes all afternoon.
I think I'll try yours very soon, Randy.

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A touch of black pepper is all the spice you need.

Eww! No garlic? You savage.

I'm sorry Ann, I use garlic in all of my cooking but since I was using the Lipton's soup mix I didn't feel the need to add additional garlic. My mistake I suppose but I generally get comments from others about how I smell like garlic; I take it as a compliment.

Your comment brought back some memories from 50 years ago. I always spiced everything but one day a buddy told me, "Damn it, Randy, even your cheeseburgers taste like a pizza!"

Randy, garlic must be in about everything I cook. I grow two types as well.

I still have a beaucoup of garlic plants here around the area where I used to have a commercial greenhouse. I planted the bulbs along the base of that 70' structure + when it rained it inundated the garlic. Even though the greenhouse is gone the garlic still flourishes. I use it (among other things) along with my tomatoes, peppers, + cilantro to make + can my salsa.

Hard to beat homemade salsa, especially if you are growing your ingredients.

Dang it, Randy, now I am even hungrier. Going to try the chicken and dumplings tonight. We have cloudy weather with a chance of rain ahead. This ought to lift my spirits, I hope.

Okay. Here's where I am at. I bought a 1.7-pound pack of breasts and cut them each in four or so pieces, rolled in flour with salt, pepper and paprika, and browned them lightly in butter and olive oil. Added one can of chicken broth, a can of cream of mushroom, a packet of Lipton onion soup, about a cup of chopped fresh mushrooms, a tablespoon of dried and crushed peppers from my garden (Sandias and anchos) and let them simmer an hour. Then I added a package of stir fry veggies, having negative memories of frozen peas and carrots cooked to liquifaction.
Let this all simmer for an hour or so, then plopped some biscuits from a roll on top. Waiting to eat here when I just can't stand it much longer. Not sure if I have deviated from the one true path, Randy, but thanks for the inspiration.

Damn, you are all making me sooooooo hungry!

There are many paths, Bill. Another one I uses to use when my boys were young (+ before chicken cuts; you just bought a whole chicken + cooked it down) would start it in the crockpot w/ separate base. Then go back to work + about 6 hours later come home + remove all the bones from the chicken in the pot, add my vegetables + then let it continue to cook for the rest of the afternoon. About 45 minutes before suppertime I would take the removable crockpot from the base + cover the top of the soup with biscuits, then pop it in the oven. The biscuits will soak up the broth from below, make a seal upon rising/swelling + leave you with a golden crust on top. Another YUM!

Ann, for years I entered into the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce contest + used all of my own fresh grown + organic vegetables. I thought it was pretty good + so did most folks but after not winning for 5 years to some Canadian who used canned goods I just gave up. I always felt they should have a separate category for the ones that do it from scratch w/ base homegrown ingredients.

Always used Bisquick for dumping......10 min uncovered ......10 minutes uncovered......dont over mix.......now I’m in Pennsylvania there are Slippery Noodles......dumplings like fat noodles mixed in

I used to be a garlic fan, now I don't care for it so much. Mostly because most people abuse it and make the meal taste like I am buried in a garlic farms storage bin.

It is hell on my acid reflux as well.

The only thing I have found to cut an overly garlic meal is a 6 pack of dark beer and a gallon of lemonade.

Onions, truffles, mushrooms are not as bad, but they can also be abused.

There seems to be a trend in cooking these days to add dried mushroom powder to food, I don't get it.

Here's my chicken and dumplings recipe:

1 Whole fresh chicken...the bigger the better cut up into pieces...doesn't matter how you do this or if its pretty. You'll see why.

Take a good size stock pot and put the following things in the pot... Celery stalks and ends/ piece...break em in half if you want. Carrot ends and pieces...and various parts. No need to peel. Take a large yellow onion and quarter it and throw it in the pot skin and all. Cover this mess a good bit with water until its all under water and then some. If you have some fresh parsley cut the stems off and throw them in the pot. The only thing we are interested at this point is making a great broth and eventually the meat from the chicken. Put the cut up chicken in the pot and use everything with the chicken...skin, neck, liver etc etc...throw it all in the pot.

Bring to a boil and turn to medium low and continue to skim until it quits foaming. Put a lid on it and let it simmer--not boil for an hour and a half or so and grab a piece of chicken and see if the meat will strip off the bone yet. When it will remove all the chicken to a plate and let it cool enough so you can strip the meat from the bones. Set the meat aside and throw the bones back in the pot. Continue to simmer on medium low until all the connective tissue on the bones dissolves--so like the rubbery joint tissue etc...it will all eventually melt into the broth. This is gelatin and its important. When its done strain the broth into a clean container and set aside for the night...or continue on.... If you put the broth in the fridge overnight and you did your job well you will be rewarded with a thick jelly! That's the sign of a great broth!!! Oh...throw all the rest of the stuff away....its done its job and has no value any more. Its why you save the trimmings from the celery and carrots etc. Nobody's gonna eat them...they are pure flavor. You do not want to leave the meat in the pot the entire cooking time here...it will turn to mush. SO be sure to pull it out when its ready and throw the bones back in like I told you. Good.

Now here's where you can get into variations. Get your big stock pot back out. I take an onion or two and basically cut it into eighths. A bunch of peeled baby carrots, SOme nice celery cut into little logs about 2 inches long...get the pan hot. Put a little oil in the pan and quickly get the veggies a light cooking...onion barely starting to go transparant. Add your stock back to the pan...you may not need it all. I add a can of Cream of Chicken soup...maybe two if Im making a big batch. Let this warm up. I like peas in mine...frozen is fine...just dump em in. I also like fresh mushroom. I buy big ones and cut them into quarters and saute them in a fry pan with some butter and olive oil until I get a little color on them and then dump em into the pot. Add back your chicken Now its time to begin seasoning. SOme Poultry seasoning, fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt. Add a bay leaf or two. Maybe a pinch of Cayanne pepper. Let it stew 15 minutes...taste it. What's it need? Adjust.

I use Bisquick for Dumplings. Basically take a few cups and add enough milk to make a wet sticky dough. WHen its right I just drop them into the pot with a large spoon and cover the lid and let em steam for about 10-12 minutes. The bisquick will also thicken the broth. No need to add anything else.

Add some fresh chopped parsley and you are done!

Enjoy!

People tell me my chicken and dumplings taste awesome--almost sweet! The key is the broth....its the base of the dish. Don't take a shortcut there and don't be afraid to use trimmings from your veggies...all the professional kitchens do it this way!

Nimrod your recipe sounds very good.

KY, this one looks good. Liking your broth work-up.
The one thing that I miss in cooking these kinds of chicken soup dishes is being able to buy stewing hens, which have so much more flavor than fryers. They are probably out there from boutique butcher shops, but I don't see them in the poultry section like I did 50 years ago.
Wow. I am old!

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Wow. I am old!

Join the club!

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Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:

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Wow. I am old!

Join the club!

I refuse to get old!

Turned 71 one day before landing in Sweden.

I plan a walk through the forest so I can visit friends, and take my camera and drone along.

Minimum distance I covered past week was 26 kilometers a day!

Took a rest today as the wind was blowing, sat by the boat house and read a book about sailing around the world solo.

I stopped getting older, mentally, since I was 13!

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Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
KY, this one looks good. Liking your broth work-up.
The one thing that I miss in cooking these kinds of chicken soup dishes is being able to buy stewing hens, which have so much more flavor than fryers. They are probably out there from boutique butcher shops, but I don't see them in the poultry section like I did 50 years ago.
Wow. I am old!

There are several suitable old girls in my barn. One is at least 12 years old.

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I stopped getting older, mentally, since I was 13!

Ok, Mr. Nice Guy! You can certainly believe that you're still 13 years old, but your body has a totally different perspective! You're part of the 70's club whether you want to admit it or not. And, just one year ahead of me! Damn, Saeed, you are FUNNY!

You know, even to this day, I don't want to eat chicken the same day I killed them. The smell of the boiling water on the feathers kills my appetite. In reality, in the past when I was REALLY hungry I had no such qualms.

I should NOT be reading this thread at dinnertime when I'm this hungry!
Thanks for sharing!
Zeke

Hey, troops, cold weather will be here soon + with it the need for "Jewish Penicillin" but with the addition of dumplings. From scratch is great but I tend to be a bit lazy as this recipe shows, but it's easy + damned good. Bon Appetite all.

If you make your stock from scratch like I outlined above you will almost always have some extra. I freeze it in ice cube trays and put it in a big zip lock bag amd use it cube by cube in things like Pan Sauces etc... How many times do you need a little chicken stock and end up opening a who quart container?

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Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Hey, troops, cold weather will be here soon + with it the need for "Jewish Penicillin" but with the addition of dumplings. From scratch is great but I tend to be a bit lazy as this recipe shows, but it's easy + damned good. Bon Appetite all.

I love a good authentic matzah ball soup!

Several years ago there was an interwiew on NPR with this owner of a Kosher N.Y. restaurant that (as a joke) had added deep fried matza balls in bacon grease to the menu. Funny thing was, only the goyims were offended; the jews knew a joke when they saw one. But truth being stranger than fiction, he said they turned out to be the best seller on his menu.