When I went to TN for the first time, I was in a restaurant and somebody ordered chicken and dumplings and I could not belive what they brought to the table. It looked like off white gravy with hunks of chicken and these weird pasta looking things in it. I asked Danny and he said that is they way they did it up there ?!
Phillip, my Son, saw on TV one day about how they make the dumplings at Cracker Barrel. They cut the dumpling the size of a sugar pack. So they next time we ate there, he ordered it and fell in love !! Now when we go eat there, he orders chicken and dumplings with two sides of dumplings... a plate full of off white..LOL.
It's been awhile since I had cooked this and it came out really good. Danny loves the chicken stew but not the dumplings so it works our really good. I get ALL the dumplings : )
I served it with Lima beans..YUM
I used a hen but you can use a regular chicken. The hen takes longer to cook but I find it's a really good taste.Season the cut up chicken with garlic powder, black,red & white pepper.In a heavy pot, add oil to cover bottom and brown the chicken real good. I put the lid when I first start to brown it cause it makes the juice come out of the chicken and helps make the good stuff ( fond ) to stick to the bottom of the pot.
As each piece of chicken browns, take it out and add another piece till its all browned real good.
Add some water to the pot to cover the chicken and scrape up the good stuff stuck to the bottom ot the por. Bring to boil and cook till its kinda tender. You dont want it to cook all the way cause it will finish cooking in the stew. Take the chicken out and let cool. Take the meat off the breast cause you don't want all those lil bones in the stew.
Heat up 3/4 of an 8 oz jar roux. Yes..I used a jar roux..LOL. I use Kary's dark roux and its just as good as home made..really, it is. After it gets hot, add 2 large chopped onions, about 4 cups and let cook over med heat till kinda clear.
Add a chopped large bell pepper, about 2 cups and let cook a few mins till soft.
Add about 4 cloves of chopped garlic and cook just for a min or so, till you smell it.
Add the broth from the boiled chicken to the pot and stir till its comes to a boil and gets thick.
Add a couple of bay leaves, the chicken that is still on the bones..not the breast,Cover and let cook for about a hour or till the chicken is tender.
You may have to add more water if it gets too thick. If the gravy is too thin, take the lid off and cook more OR add a little more jar roux. just make sure the roux is disovled in the gravy, you don't want to bite into a hunk of roux. I would heat a little of the gravy in a seprate pot and add the roux and eat till all disolved and thick and add this to the pot. Add the cut up chicken breast and taste. I added granulated chicken boullion instead of salt,poultyr seasoning (be careful cause if you add to much, it can taste bad ) black,red and white pepper. It really needs a lot cause the roux sucks up the seasoning. Cover and let cook till the chicken breast is heated thru.
Add some chopped parsley and green onion.Let cook while you make the dumplings.
Use the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box. I used 1/2 cause I didn't need that much. I add poultry seasoning,salt, black pepper and chopped parsley. Just a little, so the dumplings are'nt bland.
Add the dumplings by the small spoonfulls to the stew and cover. Let cook about 15 mins..really depends on how big they are. Bigger takes longer to cook. Don't boil too hard cause the stew will stick to the bottom of the pot and you don't want to keep taking off the lid and stir cause the dumplings will never cook.
They puff up..YUM !!
Danny said after eating 2 plate, why don't you cook this more often..LOL He really like it..except for the dumplings..LOL Funny cause he was not that happy when he saw the lima beans sitting on the counter waitng to be cooked. He said he really didn't want them. Well, after I cooked them, he could not believe how good the beans were. I didn't add meat this time and they were kinda sweet..YUM
I will post the recipe for the beans when I get back from running around town.
This recipe is just a guide..a basic recipe to play with and cook they way you want. Add more or less of everything to your taste.
Cajun Chicken Dumplings
1 chicken,cut up
3/4 jar of 8 oz dark roux
2 large chopped onions
1 large chopped bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
chopped parsly and green onions to taste
Bisquick..recipe from back of box for biscuits
Chicken boullion granuals ( or cubes ) instead of salt..it gives flavor, not just a salty taste.
Black, red & white pepper
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