Confession: Before tonight, I had never eaten or made Chicken ‘n Dumplings.  Not only that, but I wasn’t even sure EXACTLY what it was.  I’m from Seattle.  We don’t see many chicken ‘n dumplings in these parts.  I guess it’s more of a Southern or Midwestern dish. I have pinned a recipe here and there with the intention to try it, but had never gotten around to it until I was having a conversation with my niece, Maddie last weekend, in which she proclaimed that chicken ‘n dumplings is the very best thing in the entire world to eat.  According to Maddie, she’d rather have it than pizza, or even a Happy Meal.  Maddie is 7, so that is saying a lot.  So, I decided to ask her mom for her recipe.

As it turns out, Chicken ‘n Dumplings is highly fattening and highly delicious.  Right up my alley.  It is a thick chicken stew (who doesn’t like that) with biscuit dough dropped into it at the end.  The “dumplings” (read: biscuit dough) then cook in the broth.  Ah-mazing.  You don’t need bread with this, because it’s IN the soup.  (Confession #2: I did still have bread and butter with mine, Or keeping with the theme, should I say “Bread ‘n butter?”   I am English and soup is as good an excuse as any to chow down on bread ‘n butter, so I was taking it.)

This was a fairly no-frills, easy dish, perfect for a fall weeknight dinner, but comforting and hearty enough for Sunday night dinner.  It is made much easier by the fact that Tonya’s recipe for it calls for refrigerated biscuit dough, which was absolutely delicious, but you could certainly use your own recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits.

If you’ve never tried Chicken ‘n Dumplings, I hope you do.  It’s a glorious thing.  And if you’ve tried it before, still try this recipe.  It’s pretty darn good.

Ingredients:
64 oz chicken broth (That’s two boxes)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded. (You can also use boneless thighs, or just rip up a rotisserie chicken)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cans cream of celery soup (not the low-fat stuff, and honestly cream of almost anything would work just fine- mushroom or chicken)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
chicken bouillion and black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons flour
1 package of refrigerated biscuit dough (I used Pillsbury Grands, and used all but two of the biscuits)

Directions:
In a large soup pot, heat up your olive oil with your garlic, onions, carrots, and celery.  Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Add the chicken broth, cooked chicken, cream of celery soup, and seasonings.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, on low, allowing all flavors to marry.

Remove about 1/4 cup of your soup and mix it with the 3 tablespoons of flour until there are no lumps.  Pour the flour/soup mixture into your pot and mix well.  Cook, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, allowing your soup to thicken up into a stew consistency.

Tear biscuits apart into bite-sized pieces.  Throw into the soup, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the biscuits from sticking together,  Then, serve!