Crockpot Chicken & Pastry Dumplings

This recipe is Soooooo Yummy! It may even have some of you thinking of grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings from when you were little. The dumplings are not your normal biscuit dumplings. They are soft and fluffy instead of dense and doughy. It is the perfect meal to warm your belly this winter. It is so easy and affordable to make.  

 

What you will need…

 

2-3 Chicken Breast ( I did 3 so I could save some once cooked for chicken salad)

1 Onion – Chopped

1/2 Bag Baby Carrots- Cut into thirds 

2 Stalks Celery 

2Cans of Chicken Broth

1 Can Cream of Chicken

2 Cups of Water

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Kitchen Tip: You could also use a rotisserie chicken. You can even make your own broth/stock.

 

Take your rotisserie chicken and place it in a boiling pot of water. Once your chicken starts to fall off the bone remove chicken and shred. Next strain the stock and use about 4-5 cups of it instead of canned broth. Store the left over stock for a later recipe.

 

Dumplings:

 

3 Cups Cake Flour

3/4  tsp. Baking Soda

3/4  tsp. Salt

4-5  tbsp. Shortening

3/4 to 1 Cup Milk ( You will gradually pour this in and may not use it all)

 

The easy part…

 

Put your chicken, onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper, garlic, chicken broth, and water in the slowcooker.

Cook on low for about 6 hours or until chicken falls when picked up with fork. Remove chicken from slowcooker and shred using two forks. This should be effortless. Put your chicken back into slowcooker. ( This is where I set some aside for chicken salad)

 Add cream of chicken and stir.

 

Now you are going to make your dumplings. In a bowl take your flour, baking soda, salt and one tablespoon at a time of shortening. You are going to mix all of this together by hand until small crumbly balls form.(sorry I forgot to take a picture of this part) You will slowly add shortening to achieve this. Next you are going to slowly pour in a little less than a cup of milk until one big dough ball forms. Do not over mix! ( they will become tough ) Now on a floured surface knead your dough about 4-5 times. Next roll out you dough pretty thin, a little thicker than a tortilla. (if that helps lol) Now you are going to cut them into strips about one to two inches long and a little less than an inch wide.

 Once they are cut into strip you are going to leave them for about 20-30 min to dry a little. after you have waited for them to dry s little you are going to place them into the slowcooker with rest of the yummy goodness. Let them cook for about 30 min and then Dinner is Served!

 

~ If left on “keep warm” it will thicken. You can add more water or broth if desired.

~Also I had a few too many dumpling strips so I saved some of mine, uncooked in a freezer bag for a later recipe. 

 

~ If you do not have time to make the dumplings you could boil some egg noodles and have Chicken Noodle Soup.

Gotta Love Multifunctional Recipes