Globecooking recipe : Chicken with dumplings (USA)

In the midst of a #KitchenClearout, I came across the end of a box of American Bisquick baking mix - basically flour with added raising agent - and decided to go looking for a way to use it up. I've already used it in a few recipes for cakes and cookies with varying results, so I decided to try a US recipe this time to see if it would work better. When I saw a recipe for Bisquick chicken and dumplings on The Weary Chef blog, it leapt out at me for two reasons - firstly, I liked the idea of a savoury recipe and secondly, it reminded me of the Newfoundland Pea Soup and Dough Boys (dumplings) that I made a few weeks ago. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe but it still came out delicious - a definite family-friendly winter warmer. It's a one pot wonder too so there is very little washing up afterwards (apart from the hob - see below !).

Chicken with dumplings

ingredients :

a pack of chicken breasts

2 onions

drizzle of olive oil

2 potatoes

herbs and spices of your choice : I used garlic salt, black pepper, white pepper, rosemary, thyme

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen carrots

chicken or beef stock

1 cup Bisquick (or flour)

1/3 cup milk

sprinkle of rock salt with rosemary (optional)

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onions until they go soft but don't take on any colour.

Chop up the chicken breast and add to the pot. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook until the chicken is completely white - don't worry if it's not totally cooked through as it will continue to cook in the stock.

Chop the potatoes (I didn't bother peeling them) into medium-sized chunks and add to the pot.

Add whatever herbs and spices you have in your cupboard.

I used up a sachet of Irish stew seasoning, which contained white pepper, garlic, fennel,chilli, rosemary and thyme.

Add enough chicken or beef stock to cover all the ingredients.

I found the end of a squeezy tube of instant beef gravy in the cupboard and used that up but a regular stock cube would do the job just fine.

Leave to simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are pretty much cooked then add the frozen veg. You could, of course, use fresh if you prefer. Leave the pot to simmer for another 10 minutes while you make the dumplings.

This is the Bisquick that I was using up.

Add the milk and stir to create a dough.

I added a shake of rosemary rock salt for extra flavour.

 Now, if you click through to my recipe for Pea Soup with Dough Boys, you will see that I had a problem with the dumplings soaking up too much liquid and making the soup stick to the bottom of the pan and burning. Therefore, this time around, I filled the pot up to the top with extra hot water before plopping in spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture.

This successfully avoided the drying out/sticking to the bottom of the pan problem, but it did lead to the sauce bubbling over the top of the pan when I put the lid on which resulted in a major hob clean-up job afterwards. I'll leave you to choose which is the lesser of two evils !

So, as I was saying, plop spoonfuls of dumpling mix into the sauce, press down into the liquid, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and pop on a lid.

 Leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the dumplings swell up and rise to the surface. You might need to press them down in the liquid to help them cook halfway through the process.

Sorry for the blurry photo - it was steaming and the kids didn't want to wait for it to cool down before I took a photo for the blog. Always the sign of a popular dish !

*** Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! ***

Fancy trying some more American dishes? How about Hoppin' John & Collards (South Carolina), Cheeseburger Pie, Minnesotan Hotdish, Monterey chicken, New York Baked Cheesecake or Parmesan Chicken Breast ?

Adding to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because it used up a box of Bisquick, a sachet of Irish stew seasoning and a tube of instant gravy.