Yes, I was at Costco today and I fully intended to buy something pre-made to reheat. But I was feeling sick and tired and nothing I saw sounded really good. Then I saw Chicken and Dumplings and I thought, why spend the extra money? I'll just whip that up at home.
And I did.
It took about 35 minutes.
When it was done it looked UGLY. The four kids took one look at it and complaints started to roll. "I'm not hungry." "I'm not eating that." (and my favorite) "Do I like this mom?"
I served them in bowls and sat for a few minutes watching them watch their bowls of slop. Hoping for candy, my dearies?
The inspiration came, as it usually does, like a shaft of light out of the depths of frustration and necessity.
You all know the story of Chicken and Dumplings, don't you? Cowboys used to ride long days on the range. They had to eat cold lunches and worked very long hours. By twilight, their tummies were growling like a cornered mountain lion. The poor camp cook knew those men had ridden hard all day and were looking for a meal that would stick to their ribs but the cook only had one great big kettle. He didn't have an oven or even a second campfire. So he took a great big pot and hung it over a roaring blaze. He filled the heavy iron kettle with chicken, corn, carrots, peas, and a little bit of other yummy goodness.
(At this point, I had to stop and serve second helpings to my three sons and tell my daughter that yes, there were sometimes cowgirls too and they also ate Chicken and Dumplings).
After the chicken had done a little cooking, the camp cook added heaping spoonfulls of corn bread dough to the bubbling chicken mixture. (Mine looks a lot like Chicken Pot Pie filling). He did this because he knew the cowboys needed bread but he didn't have any other way to cook it. So into the pot went the dough.
When the cowboys came in from the range, they had to do their night chores like putting up saddles and watering horses. Then they washed their hands and faces. (My kids eyes bugged out of their heads - AND FACES!) The cook always checked and if there was dirt behind the ears or under the fingernails, the cowboys were sent back to wash up again. And no one wanted to get sent back because that meant you would be last in line for chow (which, I explained, means dinner).
Well, Chicken and Dumplings were so popular with the cowboys that they asked the cook to make it for them every single Wednesday.
The end
FWIW, that's not really the origin of Chicken and Dumplings. The point of the story was to get my kids to eat dinner. My three year old, who is like Mikey from the Life commercials ("He never eats anything.") ate three bowls. My other "Mikey," who is even worse, ate two helpings. My biggest boy, Will, had two large helpings and a big smile. My husband (who came late and heard the legend retold by my 5 year old) asked if there were leftovers he could take with him for lunch tomorrow.
This is my very own recipe (and legend) for Cowboy Chicken and Dumplings.
2 large chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup milk
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 can sweet corn
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon thyme (dried)
2 teaspoons arrowroot
1 box of Jiffy corn bread mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Cook the chicken up in a big stock pot with a tablespoon of oil added to it so the chicken doesn't create a horrible mess for you to have to chip off the bottom of the pan later. I like to cut the chicken with my kitchen scissors as I hold it with tongs over the pan. I don't like cutting raw chicken on a cutting board.
Use a stove top if you must. There would be lots more drama and dare I say, eating, if you cook this over a campfire, which you can seriously do.
When the chicken is fully cooked (not pink on the inside) add the onions. (I like to use sweet onions because they don't make me cry). Sautee until the onions are browned around the edges (or translucent if you prefer your onions to blend in).
Add milk, chicken stock, cheese, peas n carrots, corn and thyme. Stir. When mixture is hot spoon a little of the liquid out into that measuring cup you used for the milk (why make more dirty dishes). Add 2 teaspoons of the arrowroot to the hot liquid. Stir. When the liquid is dissolved (it takes 3 seconds) pour it into the pot. Stir it all up. When the liquid begins to thicken add the corn bread topping.
In a seperate bowl mix up the corn bread mix according to the instructions on the box. Drop big ugly glops of it over the chicken mixture. Cover tightly with a lid.
The steam in the pot will cook the cornbread. Why do it this way? My dear husband and several kids don't like the texture of cornbread. It's too dry, they tell me. Steaming the bread creates a wonderfully moist texture.
I left the pot on the stove for about 20 minutes and in that time, the bread soaked up all the yummy gravy. The mixture didn't have any pot pie-type sauce/ gravy left. Again, for my gravy suspicious family, this was good but if you want a creamier Chicken and Dumplings, experiment - try more milk, try leaving the stock pot on for a shorter period of time, try cooking it in the oven (though this will increase cooking time).
Four of four stars for easy.
Four of four stars for inexpensive.
Four of four stars for eaten and enjoyed by everyone in the family.
One of four stars for looks but that's cowboy food for you.
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