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Southern Style Chicken and Dumplings

Lesson 7 - Learn to Cook for Real Housewives
Chicken and Dumplings - Southern Style
Every good housewife should have at least one chicken soup recipe. Join me as I teach my friends, the real housewives how to cook. This week I will show the girls how to make a perfect chicken stock and homemade dumplings.
Dumplings are very easy to make and you only need a few staples from the kitchen to make them. If times are thin this meal can be made for a family of 10 for under 10 dollars.
Chicken soup isn't just for the soul - it is good for the body too! It has been proven that it helps soothe cold symptoms as well as the flu. It contains carrots which are full of Vitamin A and great for retinal health. Chicken broth has also been found to aid in weigh loss programs. High in protein and lower in fat - this is a perfect diet menu item.
Soup is one of the many things you could survive on for a long time for just a few bucks so listen up ladies. Alex and Simon are on the verge of a split along with Adrienne and Paul...mmm mm m. Sonja is losing the condo! Ladies, you had better learn your way around a kitchen - things are getting real now, huh?



Skim that fat!
Housewives, you should have been practicing your knife cutting skills and techniques. This week you will need to use them in the kitchen. First we will be making chicken stock. This soup base can be used for a million things. I make a pot and divide my stock and chicken into two or three portions for quick and easy future meals. The stock can be frozen or even made into cubes with an ice cube tray for those recipes that just call for a few tablespoons or a quarter cup of soup broth.
Chicken Stock
- 3 carrots,
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 large onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves of garlic
- green onions
- fresh or dry thyme
- fresh or dry parsley
- fryer chicken
*add about 4 quarts of water to your stock pot.
To make a soup stock, you use the bones of a type of meat to flavor the broth. This is the only difference between and "broth" or "stock." I use the entire chicken and conserve as much of it as possible.
Toss the chicken in the pot, rough dice all the vegetables in large pieces and throw them in as well. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Turn the temperature to low and let it simmer on the stove for four to six hours.
Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. After it rests most of the meat will fall off of the bone. Shred the chicken and you can portion that and save some for later also. I often use the left over chicken for chicken salad.
Some cooks prefer to strain the vegetables from the broth through cheesecloth. I like to simply skim most of them out with a skimmer.
The liquid you have left is chicken stock. It can be used to make soups, stews, gravies or a base for many recipes. Use it all immediately or portion it and freeze some for later.






Flexible & Durable
Chicken Stock & Shredded Chicken
After you strain the vegetables from the broth you can toss them into the compost bin. At this point I divide the broth into two parts and use half for the chicken and dumplings and the other half for another busy day. You should end up with about 4 quarts of chicken stock or two portions of 2 quarts of liquid.
For chicken and dumplings - add about 6 cups of water to your stock.
I like to add fresh diced carrots into the broth. Sometimes I toss in kale or frozen peas near the end - you can be creative and add any extra flavors that compliment chicken. If you like you can also add some chicken boulion sesoning for a richer chicken flavor, but it is optional. I did not add any to mine this time - the chicken was very flavorful. Sometimes it doesn't come out as well and I can only guess it depends on factors that are out of my control. Possibly the difference in what the chicken was fed or the amount of fat, age of the chicken could have a huge impact on the flavor that is drawn from it.
Dumplings
- 3 1/2 cups of cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons of shortening
- 1 cup of milk
Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut the shortening into the mix. I use a whisk and mix the flour until it becomes small crumby looking. Once the crumbly mix is pretty uniform in size with no large lumps you can begin to add your milk. Add about a quarter cup of milk at one time gradually adding more until the dough begins to form a ball. (You may not need quite a cup of milk).
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. I use a cutting mat. Roll the dough into any thickness you desire. I prefer flat noodles that are about 1/4 inch thick. Make sure you flour both sides of the dough.
Slice the dough into uniform squares or rectangles. My kids like to use cookie cutters and make shapes with the dough. Let the freshly cut noodles sit out to dry for about 30 minutes.

Drop the noodles into the simmering pot of broth. Let them cook for about 5 or 10 minutes. Frozen peas or another vegetable of your choice can be added to the soup at this time as well. Place a tight fitting lid on the pot and let the dumplings simmer for 10 to fifteen minutes.
You should begin to notice your broth is turning to a gravy like liquid. This is because the flour from the dumplings is doing it's magic. Now you have delicious chicken and dumplings - southern style!
Add salt and pepper to taste.
I would serve this dish wish some hot biscuits or buttery dinner rolls.
Now you can see, how one 5 dollar chicken can stretch the menu without stretching the budget. Keep practicing girls you are starting to shape up like real housewives!

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." ~ William James
Comments
O, yes. My Momma used to make chicken 'n dumplings when I was growing up. I have not ever really had any since then that was very good. This looks so much like hers. I have to give this a try. Sending Angels to you :) ps
Mmmm..Love chicken and dumplings. I have my own recipe., but I am going to try yours..it looks more like my grandmother made..Yum!
I love dumplings my grandmother made them every winter with chicken soup. Yours look so good.
Worth a try !
OKk I'm not a housewife - but I'm bookmarking this sucker! Great hub. Thanks!
I've never had chicken and dumplings made with cake flour. Interesting twist. I will have to try it. Voted up.
Great recipe! This is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. I make this but I cheat and use Annie's dumplings. It isn't the same as homemade. Excellent hub with photos that are a little too appetizing. What time is dinner? LOL.
You are making me what to get the flu or something so that I can test the powers of chicken and dumplings. Yum!
Kelly,
Yummy, yummy, yummy! I love dumplings and have been operating under the philosophy that if I were to make them (for roommates and such) I would pilfer the recipe off a box of Bisquick...now I will be going with yours!
Update: I did a meal for the roomies the other day "Chuck Wagon Bean Bake" Not really a good "dating recipe" because of the explosive properties of the beans but it was tasty! (toot, toot...)
Thomas
I am not a housewife but I still want to make all of these great recipes that you share with us :) I vote useful, vote up, and smiling at you Kelley :)
I am sorry, I thought my first post did not take, as it just went away, so I reposted a comment. In His Love, Faith Reaper
RealHousewife-Your a beautiful and great wife, mom, cook, and have a sense of humor. Your the whole package my friend and that's the wrap from me. LOL
RHW, Lactose Intolerance is actually the main reason I am so passionate about cooking. Or at least it was the propellant behind my beginnings of cooking. I decided I wanted to eat healthy and know what was in my food! I really don't give lactose intolerance much thought anymore. It is just a part of my life and I love coming up with recipes that are healthy and unique because I cannot default onto something like cheese, cream or milk. I think those things can become crutches in the cooking world (however, sometimes they are vital to a recipe).
I'll have to look up some good alternatives for this recipe as well, but chicken broth may work just fine!
Kelly - My recipe is fairly similar only I use the frozen already made strip dumplings without really suffering any decline in flavor or succulence.
Great food!
TFP
Wow, you ARE a real housewife. This looks delish!!!!! I love chicken and dumplings. I need to start making and freezing my own broth, too. Excellent hub!
Wooooooo, you know it girl!!! There is nothing to compare with southern style chicken and dumplings. Amen on this one. Thanks for the recipe. Great hub and photos too. All looks delicious, and no doubt is delicious! In His Love, Faith Reaper
How yummy-licious looking, Kelly. Thanks for your trouble. Who doesn't love chicken and dumplings? Well, maybe the chicken ......
This is so cool to know how to make my own dumplings. Chicken and dumplings are one of my favorite soups. I had no idea what ingredients made the dumpling. If I wasn't so lazy right now, I'd make them for dinner. LOL-I will definitely make these soon. Thanks for the great recipe :-)
You know it girl!!! Southern style is the real deal when it comes to chicken and dumplings no doubt! Thanks for sharing. In His Love, Faith Reaper
RealHousewife, I am so glad you are writing articles like this because nowadays it is difficult to find a cookbook that teaches how to cook from scratch. This is a good thing you are doing and you are inspiring me to get back into cooking again rather than eating so many prepared frozen food dinners. Thanks.
Looks scrumptious. Now there's a word you don't see everyday. But this recipe was worth it. :-)
Yum, I love chicken and dumplings. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
This looks delicious! I'll have to add it to my list of recipes. Of course, I will be using a substitute for the milk (lactose intolerant) ;)
I have never had this style of chicken and dumplings before but I though of making it after seeing a chef doing it on Top Chef...lol...Thanks for the recipe, looks absolutely tasty.
am a vegetarian but your final pix on this hub, gave me the yum and excess secretion of saliva...lol
Kelly,
I must confess that I do not have the knife skills down pat yet, but I am trying hard! :)
Awesome recipe you have here! The food looks so good! I need to start cooking more, right Jon? We both need to! LOL Thanks for sharing Kelly!
My mouth is watering. I want it to be fall and I want to eat this now!! LOL Great job :) and I loved the pictures.
This looks so absolutlely yummy. I make my chicken soup the easy no hassle way. Frozen veggies (but I guess I should be practicing my knife skills!) and then I use the paste to make the broth. Throw in some canned chicken and I got homemade chicken soup that really isn't much of homemade. We shall call it mock. Then I make dumplings. I just drop balls of it in and let it go from there. That is the lazy version. However, yours looks much more appetizing!! And I love how you made the dumplings. I am going to try that because I bet the kids would love star shaped dumplings or Christmas trees during the holidays. And I will make a batch so it lasts all week long! :) Great hub!
Oh no you didn't! There is no food on Earth I would rather eat than chicken n dumplings! I have been known to drive for 50 miles to eat this at a roadside diner in the hill country. They make it real good. But I think this recipe may be even tastier, girl! Ima gonna try it fo sho.
This is what I need. Something simple and delicious. Thank yous so much. I am going to try this.
Love chicken and dumplings!
Sounds good. Cake flour that surprises me. Looks really good. Voted Up.
OMG OMG - this looks FABULOUS!! NOM NOM NOM NOM Can you hear me chowing down? Haha. I'm bookmarking this. I love making veggie stock but now I want to make chicken stock and those dumplings! MMMMM. I have a feeling I just found a new favorite soup.
One question: what is "fryer" chicken? I don't cook much with meat, so I admit I haven't heard of that.
This is on my to-make list of recipes this week.
Where is my previous comment? Hello!!!! sigh...now I'll do it again....great recipe...I would eat this every day if I could.
I could just shove my face into that picture you have here...I know this is delicious without even tasting it.
Not a good idea to read recipes before lunch. This sounds absolutely delish. The pictures are perfect. I will add this to my arsenal of recipes.
I loved everything about this hub. The recipe reminded me of my grandmother's and I wish I had some of this for my lunch break!! Thanks very much for posting this hub and recipe. Very nice.
I have to say this looks much better and tastier than any dumplings I've ever had. Years ago I decided I didn't like dumplings but after seeing how you make them I may have to change my mind.
Mmmmmmm.......my absolute favorite!!! Jamie
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