Family Recipe Swap: Mamaw's Chicken and Dumplings

Whether you call her Mamaw, Grandma, Nana, or Gigi, you have to admit grandmothers are pretty special and so is their cooking!  Today, I'm participating in a blog tour with bluwaterlife, The Crowned Goat, 2 Bees in a Pod, and Concord Cottage as we celebrate moms by sharing our favorite family recipes.  

Growing up, we called my mother's mother, Mamaw.  My mother has taken on that name from her grandchildren too.  And, let me tell you, these two have made some incredibly delicious dishes in their days!  Today I'm sharing my Mamaw's famous chicken and dumplings...sort of.  I don't have the special touch that she added to hers that made them so flavorful.  Perhaps it was the fact that she used a lot of items fresh from their farm or the fact that she would cook a whole chicken, make her own stock, and her own dumplings from scratch.  Yep, that's probably it but I will say, these chicken and dumplings, inspired by her recipe, are pretty doggone good too!

There is a printable and Pinnable recipe at the end of this post but for now, let's get on with some of the basics.

I use 1 pound of skinless, boneless frozen chicken breasts, boil in about 3 cups of water and 16 oz. of chicken stock, adding poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and butter.  I put these on the stove about 3 hours before dinner and just let them cook on a slow simmer.  You want the chicken to pull apart quite easily.

Once the chicken has boiled for a couple of hours, I used two forks to shred the chicken.  I did this while still in the pot but you can remove it and add it back in.  After the chicken is shredded, add 1 can cream of chicken soup and 2 cups of half and half (I know! Just try to not think about the calories) to the pot.  Stir until the soup is incorporated well.  Next, taking about a cup of the liquid from the pot, pour it into a dish and add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch.  Whisk until the lumps are gone and add back to the pot.  

Next, the tortilla strips (aka dumplings) go in.  I use a pizza cutter to make the strips.  Add the strips into a ziploc baggie with about a half of a cup of flour and shake.  Add the flour-coated strips to the chicken pot and gently push into the stock.

We're almost done!  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes on medium high, watching carefully.  This will allow the stock to thicken from the cornstarch and flour.  

Now, we're ready to eat!!  Be careful...chicken and dumplings are hot!  

Be sure to continue our Family Recipe Swap by visiting my friends at:

2 Bees in a Pod

The Crowned Goat

Concord Cottage

bluwaterlife

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie