MONDAY RECIPE POST - CHICKEN AND BISQUICK DUMPLINGS

Chicken and Bisquick Dumplings

I don't have a website for this one.  We've all got our own favorite of this recipe, and this is very similar to the one Gregg's mother used to make for her family when they were kids. It's a bit of this, and a bit of that, and made to fit our own tastes.

1 sweet yellow onion, diced

4 carrots, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large chicken

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix

2/3 cup of milk

Method:

Take chicken out of the refrigerator, remove plastic wrapping and the bag inside the cavity.  Put chicken into a large pot.

Add the onions, carrots, celery, minced garlic, basil, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover with water and cook on stovetop starting at medium-high (I have an electric stove and put it on 7).  When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium (4 on my electric stove).  It will take 45 minutes to an hour.  Keep covered. 

At this point you can prepare the dumplings.  Put the Bisquick baking mix into a large bowl, add the milk and combine until a soft dough forms.  Don't over mix or your dumplings may turn out a bit tough.  Cover and refrigerate.

When chicken and veggies are cooked, take the chicken out of the pot, making sure no liquid is left in the cavity.  If you have a deep strainer insert inside your pot, it would make it a lot easier.  But if like me you don't, I hold it very carefully over the pot at a slight angle, using two very large strainer spoons to hold it securely.  I let the liquid drain back into the pot.  It is a little tricky but as you can guess, this liquid is boiling hot so you don't want it dropping back in, or have hot broth cascading out of the chicken when you transfer it from pot to plate.  You should be able to now lift the chicken from the pan and place on a plate large enough to hold the whole chicken.

Once cool enough to touch  take the meat off the bones and cut into bite-size pieces.  Put the meat back into the pot and discard the bones.  Turn the heat back up to a slow boil.  

Time to take the dumpling mixture out of the fridge.  Put large spoonfuls of dough onto the broth, repeating the process until you have used it all up.  Again, please do this carefully as you don't want to splash.  Cover tightly, turn down the heat to 4 and cook for 20 minutes.  Don't be tempted to lift the cover.  

My Mother-in-law told me years ago that interrupting during cooking would make the dumplings tough.  

To serve up, place a dumpling in the middle of your bowl, pour chicken, veggies and broth over the top.  Leave it about 20 minutes to cool before you sit down, and enjoy!

Gregg made most of this meal.  I read the directions and coached him when he had a question.  It is the first time he has made his mother's Chicken and Dumplings.  I told him once again this is another reason his mother would be proud of him.  We are still enjoying her recipe after all these years, and now her son is making it.  He said I am a good coach, but I told him he is a great chef, and we have a lot of fun making our meals together these days.

Added note: 1-29-19

After reading a couple of your comments, I should have realized that Bisquick is not a staple overseas.  I found it in Germany once in a section with other American products and was delighted to be able to make family some pancakes, but not sure if that was a one time thing.  It's basically flour with three other additions.  I found this copycat recipe here.

Homemade Bisquick Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tablespoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed

In the bowl of a standing mixer, add flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the cold, cubed butter and using the paddle attachment, mix the ingredients together on low, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Alternatively, you can combine the ingredients using a pastry blender, two forks or your fingers.

Store the baking mix in the fridge or the freezer for up to 3 months.


Using the above homemade mixture, you can also make the recipes below.  I would like to thank Tiffany, host of Don't Waste The Crumbs, for these great recipes.  I will be revisiting to see what other recipes I can make.

Classic Biscuits Made with Homemade Bisquick:

1-1/2 cups homemade Bisquick
1/2 cup milk

Combine the ingredients together until a soft dough forms.  Knead 10 times.  Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into circles using whatever cutter you have handy.  (A cup turned upside down could be used also.)  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes at 450 degrees F.  

Classic Pancakes made with homemade Bisquick

2 cups homemade Bisquick
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Stir together milk and eggs until well blended.  Add the homemade Bisquick mix and stir until just combined.  Pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto a hot griddle or large frying pan.  Cook until the pancakes start to bubble and edges are slightly dry.  Flip and cook until golden.

Classic Waffles made with homemade Bisquick

2 cups homemade Bisquick
1-1/3 cups milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons of melted butter (optional)

Preheat the waffle iron and coat with melted butter if using.  Stir milk and eggs together until well blended.  Add homemade Bisquick and stir until just combined.  Pour a small amount of batter onto the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions.

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At 4.35 p.m. (1-29-19)  it is snowing again, a lovely fluffy type of snow coming down quite heavily. I don't think it will be as much as the last time, maybe.  Those snow flakes are huge!  It is supposed to stop at 7.00 p.m. tonight.  I saw the junco's visiting and as there were slim pickings, I rushed out before it got too bad and filled the bird feeders up, and sprinkled some on the rails.  I haven't seen them since but the squirrel is out there.

Happy cooking everyone, stay warm if you are in the cooler climes, and cool if you are in the more tropical ones.