Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

I know it's been a really long time since I have blogged-- Almost a month actually. I have to apologize to you all. I was so dedicated to this blog at first but then I just got so busy with work, taking care of my daughter, hanging out with friends, spending time with my future husband, and getting ready for school that I really just haven't had time for anything else. Or maybe I've had time for everything else and none for blogging or cooking. Oh well. I apologize. Sadly though, with me starting school again next week, I'll have even less time to cook or make blogs. The days that I won't be in school I will be working and the days I'm not working I will be in school. Ugh! When will I ever cook again?! :( 

So anyway, on a lighter, cuter, and sweeter note, I have an introduction to make. Her name is Autumn and she's the love of my life. I know I don't have a whole lot of pictures on here so what I am going to try to do is introduce you to all of the most important people in my life, one blog at a time!

This is my precious baby girl:

And she helped me cook this fantastic recipe! I have to brag too... Besides her being just absolutely freakin' gorgeous (yeah, so what? I'm a little biased... at least I'm right! :)), she's an amazing little helper too! :)

Okay, so I can't lie to you in tell you that this is my recipe even though I would pay money to let the creator give me credit for it. Yes, my friends, it's that good. I found this recipe a few years ago and I have never had anyone complain. This has always been a hit anywhere I have ever taken it! I got this recipe from cooks.com and I didn't even tweak it. Honestly, there really isn't a need to at all. The only time I have ever changed this recipe at all is when I made my own dumplings. It turned out fine but it was too much work, so from then on I have always stuck to this recipe, word for word. I'm telling you now... It's wonderful.

I have also been told by a couple of people that I should try making this recipe, minus the dumplings, and try making a chicken pot pie out of it. When I have time to do a little research on making a pot pie, I am going to do just that!

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes (or 4 regular chicken bouillon cubes)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 5 oz can evaporated milk
1 small onion
1/2 package of frozen peas and carrots (I usually use fresh carrots finely diced and frozen peas)
1 can 10 count biscuits
whole milk
salt and pepper

I always start by cutting my raw chicken into cubes and then boil chicken first. Once it's done I drain the water down to about 3-4 cups, take out the chicken, add the bouillon cubes to let them dissolve, and then re add the chicken.

 Then I add my milk and salt and pepper just like the recipe states. I suggest not adding much salt at all because the other ingredients that are added in have a high sodium content which makes up for the lack of salt added in the beginning.

Again, as suggested in the recipe, I add my peas, onion, and my cream of- soups

Once all of the above ingredients are added and incorporated well, I let this boil for about 7-8 minutes. Now, in the recipe it suggests that you cut your biscuits into fourths, but I don't like my dumplings that big at all so I always cut mine really small. They always expand to become much larger, anyway!

I usually only add about 5-6 of the biscuits into my soup because if you add all 10 of them, it's a little excessive, especially with the way I cut my dumplings, but I like it like that, so use your better judgement once you look at the pictures below.

Once my dumplings are added, I allow my dumplings to boil in my soup for about 10-15 more minutes. After I let my dumplings finish cooking, I add my evaporated milk and gently stir.

This recipe could easily feed my family for 3 days. I would say that it's easy to get about 10 servings out of this.

This recipe is excellent for a cold winter night or when you need the comfort of a good, hearty soup. Try it. It's sure to please!

Happy Eats!