Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Perfect meal for a cold winter’s night. This chicken and dumplings made with southern-style dumplings will warm the cockles of your heart!

This was a dinner I used to make a lot when my husband was still alive because he really loved it.

I hadn’t made it in many years now because it was one of those meals I just ate too much, and yeah, was tired of it. Anyway, I like to experiment with food and eat lots of different things and try new things. Unfortunately, my husband’s outlook was not the same as mine, so when he was alive, I kept to more or less, “safe” dishes.

But recently, my friend Melissa from Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen posted her crock pot version of southern chicken and dumplings in my Facebook Crock Pot group and it just looked SO good and I was intrigued by the flat dumplings. When I made this in the past, I used the baking mix recipe–and I might add I didn’t really care for it–but he’d eat it so….

The dumplings looked as if they had a chew factor involved and that’s something I really liked.  Plus Melissa is always telling me that even though I’m a Yankee through and through and with my Brooklyn NY roots, inside me lurks a little southern lady. I think she may be right about that!

I’m calling it “southern style,” because of the dumplings, but since I’m from southern Brooklyn, maybe it’s more that than from below the Mason-Dixon line, but whatever, it’s STILL delicious.

I use whole pieces of chicken–I don’t shred it. But feel free to do that if you want to make it more authentic. The base recipe is the one I always made in the past and I used to use parts. Actually the parts are easier because you don’t have to do the work of boning and shredding!

The gravy was thick enough from the dumplings cooking in it, at least for me, but if you want a thicker gravy, just mix 2 tbs of flour in 1 cup of water and add it to the gravy–bring it to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes to cook the flour.

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Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

Servings: 4

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken cut up or 2-3 lbs chicken parts
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 chicken stock cubes
• 3 ribs celery cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 1/2 cups water
• Dumplings:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbs unsalted butter cut up in small pieces
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk

Instructions

• Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat
• Add the 2 tbs butter to the pan and melt.
• Add chicken, brown well on all sides. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
• Add the celery, onion, baby carrots and bay leaf to the pan and saute until onion just begins to get soft.
• Place the chicken back in the pan. Add stock cubes, and the water.
• Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30-40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare dumplings as follows:
• Place flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl; stir to combine.
• Add the flour and using a pastry blender, cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Gradually add the milk while stirring adding only enough milk to make a rollable dough.
• Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and knead a few times.
• Roll out dough so it's 1/4-inch thick.
• Using a pizza cutter (or a knife), cut dough into 1-inch squares (approximate)
• Let the cut dough remain on the floured surface so it dries slightly.
• When chicken is done, remove it from the pan and keep it warm.
• Bring the liquid to a boil and add the dumplings, stirring so they don't stick together.
• Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes, or until dumplings are done.
• Add chicken back to the pan if desired.
• Serve immediately.