CHICKEN BAKED POTATOES and CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

This weekend was cold, rainy, gloomy and leaf-less; without falls bright yellow leaves everything looks so dreary. We've had several hard freezes and the snow line on the mountain behind our house is creeping very near; it won't be long. To celebrate the completion of our annual "winterizing", we decided to enjoy a lazy weekend. Saturday, I put chicken breasts and veggies in the crockpot and at dinner time, I just thickened the broth and served it on split baked potatoes.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups chopped veggies
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
4 cups good quality chicken broth (not bullion)
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of poultry seasoning
pinch of dried basil
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Saute onions in a little butter until they mellow, then put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours (check for chicken tenderness at 6 hours). You want the chicken to be nice and "fall apart" tender. Thicken broth and serve over large baked Yukon gold potatoes that are cut in half.

DAY TWO

On Sunday, I used the crockpot leftovers for another lazy day meal:

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

 



My mother made wonderful chicken and dumplings, so our Sundays dinner was a trip down memory lane for me...Hubby, not so much. He courageously gave the dumplings a taste then gave me one of those squinty "I don't think so" glances and politely moved the dumplings over to the side of the bowl and ate everything else. Oh well, I enjoyed them thoroughly.

In a saucepan, cook 3 diced potatoes in seasoned (salt & pepper) chicken broth. Add them to the crockpot leftovers. For chicken and dumplings you want a liquid that is the consistency of gravy. If your leftovers seems to thick, add just a little bit of the chicken broth you boiled the potatoes in. If it seems too thin, thicken it with a little bit of corn starch slurry. When your gravy is the right consistency, bring it to a strong simmer.

Dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon chicken bullion granules
2 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup milk
pinch of poultry seasoning

Mix everything JUST UNTIL MOISTENED and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Drop heaping teaspoons of dumpling mixture onto the SURFACE of the simmering gravy. Put a TIGHT FITTING lid on the pan and cook for 15 minutes (do not peek). At the end of 15 minutes, test the dumplings for doneness with a toothpick. If they are not cooked thoroughly, put lid back on and cook another 5 minutes. Spoon gravy over dumplings before serving.