CRACKER BARREL CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS CALORIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Boil 3 quarts water in a large pot.
• Add chicken, 1 t salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley and simmer for 2 hours.
• The liquid will reduce by 1/3.
• When chicken is cooked, remove it and set aside.
• Strain stock and throw away everything but the stock.
• Put 6 cups of the stock back into the pot. (Leftover stock can be frozen.)
• Add the pepper, 1/2 t salt and lemon juice and reheat while you mix dumplings.
• For dumplings, mix flour, baking powder, 1-1/4 t salt and milk in a medium bowl.
• Stir until smooth, then let dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Roll dough onto a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness. (Handle the dough as little as possible for good dumplings).
• Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares (I use a pizza cutter) and drop each square into the simmering stock.
• Use all of the dough.
• The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy.
• Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick.
• Stir often.
• While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have cooled.
• Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin.
• Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and drop them into the pot.
• Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, but stir carefully so you don't break the chicken up.
• When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot.
• (Very good over mashed potatoes.).

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced vegetables and a sprinkle of parsley to the butter and saute until vegetables are softened and onion is translucent (about 4-5 minutes)..
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon of bouillon granules, and ½ cup water to the saucepan.
• Add chicken to the pan and bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes longer until meat is cooked through.
• While chicken is simmering, prepare the dumpling dough. Combine flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
• Add buttermilk and stir the dough until it comes together (dough will be shaggy.)
• Heavily dust your work surface with flour. Scrape the dough onto the work surface and pat or roll out into a rectangle that is about ¼” thick.
• Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice the dough into 1” x 1” squares (or slightly larger rectangles). Dust the pieces with more flour and set aside.
• When chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken from the broth and set aside.
• Strain the vegetables from the broth and return the broth to the saucepan.
• Add remaining 4 cups of water, 4 teaspoons of chicken bouillon, and a ½ teaspoon pepper to the strained broth.
• Bring full broth mixture to a low boil.
• Add dumplings to the boiling broth - drop dumplings into the broth separately to prevent them from sticking together.
• Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the dumplings, uncovered, until done (about 10-15 minutes). Dumplings are done when they are soft and doughy like a noodle, all the way through.
• Meanwhile, chop or shred chicken into bite sized pieces.
• When dumplings are done, add the chicken back into the saucepan. Stir and cook the mixture a few minutes longer to heat the chicken through and thicken the broth with the starches from the dough.
• Stir in a drizzle of heavy cream, if desired, to add some creaminess to the dish. Serve with freshly cracked pepper and a bit of chopped parsley.
• Store, refrigerated, in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave just until warmed through.
• Simmering the chicken with broth and the sauteed vegetables gives it a great boost of flavor and also gives some great flavor to the broth in return. If you don’t mind a little vegetables in the finished dish, straining them is not necessary.
• You can use pre-cooked chicken, leftover chicken, or rotisserie chicken. I would still recommend simmering the broth with some veggies to boost the flavor, but you can pull this dish together extra quickly using premade stock and pre-cooked chicken.
• Simply make the dumplings, bring the broth to a simmer, and cook. Toss is the chicken and cook until heated through.
• The thickness of the dumplings will affect the cook time. These thin, square dumpling don’t take long to cook up.
• The dumplings are quite sticky until they are added to the simmering broth. Sprinkle heavily with flour. Try to avoid stacking them together if you can - cut them on a floured cutting board to easily move them around without causing them to stick together. Work the dough as little as possible to prevent tough dumplings.