Easy Chicken and Dumplings

You have no idea how bad I wanted to title this post "Chicken and Dumplins".  I mean, I've never heard anyone below the Mason-Dixon line actually annunciate the "g" in dumplings.  And if they do they must be a relocated yankee.  It's kind of like how southerners use the working "fixin'" when they are talking about how they are about to do something.  Can I get an amen??  Anyone??

I gave in and added the "g" because I was afraid that when people searched for this recipe that it wouldn't show up otherwise.  Fine.  Just know I'll call them dumplins for the rest of the post....

Anyhow, when my hubby and I first got married I asked him what recipes he would like for me to try out and the first recipe he mentioned was chicken and dumplins.  It's now been almost ten months since our wedding day and I finally got around to making them.  This is definitely a cold weather dish and I just didn't feel right whipping a big pot of them up in August, you know?

There are a lot of great chicken and dumplin' recipes out there: some that only call for 4 ingredients, others that require 3+ hours in the kitchen so that you can make your own biscuit dough.   I'm sure I'll try the completely from scratch route at some point, but on this particular night I simply didn't have time.  I combined portions of several recipes and added a few twists of my own to come up with the recipe below.  I did take a few shortcuts, but I don't believe the flavor and quality of the dish suffered at all.

From start to finish it took me an hour and fifteen minutes.  Often I see prep+cooking time that is WAAAY shorter than what it takes me, but the time I mentioned includes pulling all of the utensils out, cooking the chicken, etc.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings CCK Original, inspired by multiple recipes
Printable Version
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 C chicken broth
water
5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1/2 C frozen peas (optional)
1/2 C frozen carrots (optional)
Additional broth or water if more liquid is desired (optional)
1 (16.3 oz) pkg refrigerated biscuit dough

In large pot heat 1 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until soft, adding garlic in just before onion becomes completely translucent.

Add chicken breasts to pot.  Add 2 C chicken broth and add enough water to cover the chicken by 1 inch.  Bring water to boil and cook chicken until done.

Remove chicken to plate and allow to cool.

Reduce heat to medium and add the 2 cans of condensed soup.  Stir with whisk to break up soup and combine.  Add parsley, salt, pepper and 2 bay leaves.  Add frozen vegetables if desired.

Once chicken is cool, shred with 2 forks.  Return to pot.

Add additional water/milk if you want more liquid in your dish.  Milk will obviously add some richness that water won't.

Tear biscuit dough into bite sized pieces and simmer 7-8 minutes until cooked through.  I just pulled one out to test for doneness.

Serve immediately.  Make sure to either remove the bay leaves or keep an eye out for them when serving.

*Some notes:
-I used butter flecked biscuit dough because I wanted an extra buttery taste in my dish.  Almost any kind of biscuit dough will work, but I would be careful with the flakey kind because of the texture.
-You can always add more liquid (water or chicken broth) if your dish is to "hearty" for your liking.  This is totally based on your personal preference.  I like mine really thick (per the photos) and actually removed some of the liquid.
-This dish make a LOT of food and is perfect for freezing!  Just store in serving size containers and re-heat when needed.  Great for a cold night when you don't feel like cooking.