Weekly Pinterest Project: Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

When I first got the news of my grandfather’s death I was understandably distraught. I allowed myself a good 20 minutes of uninhibited grief before finally gaining enough composure to realize: ‘Holy moly, I have to fly to the US…like, now.’ My mind was flooded with preparations that usually take me a week to accomplish. 

While Jonathan got busy changing my flights, I booked the dogs in the kennel and started packing my bags. At this point, Jonathan wasn’t planning on making the trip with me so I was determined to make a substantial dinner with enough for leftovers, since a full-out trip to the grocery store was entirely out of the question with my limited time frame. 

I had recently pinned this recipe for Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings and had been waiting for an opportunity to try it out. I figured comfort food that could feed an army fit the situation to a tee. When life gives you lemons, make chicken and dumplings. 

I had only attempted the American staple once before and it was nothing short of disastrous. Ever since, I’ve been too intimidated to try again, but figured this slow cooking recipe seemed harmless enough. The ingredients and directions were both super simple which always grabs my attention.   

All it calls for it 3 thawed chicken breasts, 1 medium diced onion, two cans of condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 can of chicken broth, and 4 canned biscuits. Of those 5 ingredients, do you know how many I was able to find at my local Scottish grocery store? Two: the chicken and the onion. That’s it. I had to improvise for the rest. 

I managed to find Cream of Chicken Soup in lieu of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup and figured I’d add a little flour or corn starch if it needed thickening. Turns out, the regular old Cream of Chicken worked just fine. 

The closest thing to chicken broth is known as Chicken Stock in the UK, and it usually comes in little gelled cubes which you have to mix with boiling water. I did that and it worked just fine; just adds an extra step to the process. 

As for canned biscuits I’ve already complained and moaned plenty about the lack of these in the UK. I had some leftover Bisquik from my Christmas Monkey Bread but didn’t have to use it since I stumbled upon this mix at Marks and Spencer. 

Score! 

The dumplings didn’t look at all like American canned biscuits and they were a total gooey mess, but after simmering in the chicken soup/broth mix for 30 minutes, they were deliciously yummy. 

The directions were just as simple as the ingredients. To make the dish you just put the thawed chicken into a crockpot and pour the diced onion, condensed soup and broth over it. Cook it on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours and DO NOT STIR!!! I recommend adding some seasoning such as Tony Chachere's at the beginning.

About 40 minutes before serving, separate the chicken and shred it before putting it back in the pot and stirring it all together. Then cut each of your biscuits into 9 small portions and add to the pot to simmer for 30 minutes. Voila: A crockpot full of Homemade chicken and dumplings.   

There was so much food that Jonathan probably could have lived off of the leftovers for a good 2 days. Of course, by dinner time he had decided to fly to St. Louis with me so we had to eat seconds thirds for dinner and both had a heaping helping for breakfast in order to prevent any of the delicious meal from going to waste. 

For the original recipe, you can follow this link. I followed it almost exactly except for a few ingredient substitutions and I also added a can of sliced carrots right before I put the dumplings in. We’re healthy like that. I also added some Tony’s in the beginning for a little bit of a Cajun kick. 

We’ll definitely be adding this easy breezy meal to our monthly rotation. I’m always looking for crock pot recipes to incorporate into our diet .What’s your favorite slow cooker meal?