Dolly's Chicken & Dumplings Shortcut

Dolly Parton’s Chicken & Dumplings — full recipe in caption. There’s something about chicken and dumplings that just feels like home. Dolly’s recipe is simple, old-fashioned comfort food, right down to the homemade dumplings. I know we’re all tight on time, though, so I’m giving you Dolly’s original recipe first, followed by my Crock-Pot shortcut using rotisserie chicken and Bisquick. Same basic comforting flavors, just a little faster. Save this one — you’re getting two ways to make it. Dolly’s Original Chicken & Dumplings Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds 2 quarts water 2½ teaspoons salt, divided ¾ teaspoon black pepper 1 whole onion, peeled ¼ cup chopped celery leaves For the dumplings: 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening ¾ cup milk Directions: Place the chicken in a large Dutch oven with the water and 2 teaspoons salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the pepper, onion and celery leaves, and simmer until the chicken is tender and pulling away from the bone. Remove the chicken and onion and strain the broth. Remove the chicken from the bones and cut or pull it into pieces. Bring the broth back to a boil. Combine the flour, baking soda and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cut in the shortening until crumbly. Gradually stir in the milk until a moist dough forms. Knead lightly for about 5 minutes, roll about ½-inch thick and cut into roughly 1½-inch squares. Drop the dumplings into the boiling broth. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Gently stir, return the chicken to the pot and cook about 8 minutes more, until everything is heated through. Shannon’s Crock-Pot Shortcut I know we’re all tight on time, so if you’d like those same comforting flavors a little faster, here’s my shortcut version. Ingredients: 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded 4 cups chicken broth 1 cup water 1 cup diced onion 2 ribs celery, diced 1½ cups frozen peas and carrots 1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon black pepper Salt to taste For the Bisquick dumplings: 2¼ cups Original Bisquick mix ⅔ cup milk Directions: 1. Add the chicken broth, water, onion, celery, peas and carrots, cream of chicken soup, thyme and black pepper to the Crock-Pot. Stir everything together, cover and cook on HIGH until the vegetables are tender and the mixture is good and hot. 2. Add the shredded rotisserie chicken and stir gently. Cover and let the chicken heat through. 3. In a medium bowl, combine 2¼ cups Bisquick with ⅔ cup milk. Stir just until a soft dough forms. Don’t overmix it. 4. Drop rounded spoonfuls of the Bisquick dough over the top of the hot chicken mixture, leaving a little room between them because the dumplings will expand as they cook. 5. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 1 hour. About halfway through, gently turn the dumplings so the other side cooks in the hot broth. 6. Check one of the larger dumplings before serving. Cut into the center — it should be fluffy and completely cooked through with no wet or gummy dough. If it needs a little more time, cover and continue cooking until done. 7. Gently stir everything together, taste for seasoning and serve hot. Shannon’s Shortcut: If you want another quick option, you can cut refrigerated Pillsbury biscuits into pieces and use those in place of the Bisquick dumplings. I personally like the Bisquick version because you still get those big, soft, fluffy dumplings without making the dough completely from scratch. Which way would you make them — Dolly’s original or my Crock-Pot shortcut? #DollyPartonRecipes #ChickenAndDumplings #CrockPotRecipes #EasyDinnerRecipes #ComfortFoodRecipes