SOFT STYLE BY HUSH PUPPIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stockpot and cover with water. Add about a teaspoon of salt and a big pinch of pepper or handful of peppercorns. Feel free to add several stalks/leaves of fresh herbs (no need to chop), like parsley, thyme, oregano, or sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cover and cook chicken for at least 1 hour or until cooked through (about 165 degrees).
• Tip: I recommend making the dumplings the night before. They can sit out, loosely covered with a tea towel or plastic wrap until you're ready to begin cooking. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas. Add milk — 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need a full cup — and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix.
• Divide the dough into two equal halves, loosely shaped into rectangles. Roll each half of the dough out onto a floured piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Roll about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. Allow the strips to rest and harden for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Once the chicken is done, remove it from the broth and let it cool. Remove chicken from the bone (this shouldn’t be hard, it should be falling off pretty easily at this point) and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.
• Pour the chicken broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth (you can improvise with a coffee filter or paper towel), discarding vegetables. Reserve 8 cups of broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use for another recipe. It’s much more flavorful than the chicken broth you buy at the grocery store.
• In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, bring the broth to a very gentle simmer. This can be a bit tricky depending on your stove because you don't want the broth to get too hot or the dumplings may come apart. You should be able to see lots of tiny bubbles rising below the surface of the broth, but they don't need to be breaking through into a full simmer yet.
• Drop in the dumplings, one at a time, and give the whole pot a gentle stir after every 5 or so dumplings. This will help keep them from sticking together. After all the dumplings have been added, continue to cook on medium, stirring regularly, for 7-10 minutes. At this point, the broth should have started to thicken and get more white/opaque as the dumplings cook down.
• Reduce heat to low and gently stir in your shredded chicken. Cover and continue cooking on low until thickened to your liking, about 20 to 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat the the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook until the onions are translucent and slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and stir up any brown bits.
• Pour the mixture into a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.
• Stir the chicken broth, carrots, celery, soy sauce, tapioca, and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Add the chicken thighs to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the chicken to a cutting board and remove the bay leaves from the filling and discard them.
• Shred the chicken, discard the bones, and stir the chicken back into the slow cooker. Add the peas and the heavy cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Pour the filling mixture into a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish.
• Unroll the pie crusts and lay one of the rounds on your work surface. Brust half of it with water and lay the other crust over the wet part, and then roll the two pieces together to form one pie crust dough rectangle, about 15 inches by 11 inches.
• Place the crust over the filling, trim and crimp the edges, and bake in a 425 degree F oven for about 25 minutes until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly.