Chicken and Dumplings (Oooh Yummy!)

Good evening my wonderful bloggers and blog readers! Tonight, we have a special dish for you all to try out. I'm sure you are all aware of Chicken and Dumplings, correct? Well we are about to get up close and personal with the recipe ourselves. It's a bit extensive, but in the end, it will be well worth all the hard work and dedication. So, with that being said, let's go cook!

Southern Chicken and Dumplings

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 large bone-in chicken breast halves with skin
• 1 (32 ounce) can chicken broth  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, plus
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Are you still with me?

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. 
2. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. 
3. Place the chicken breasts into the pot, skin-side-down. 
4. Pour in the chicken broth, and enough water to just cover the breasts. 
5. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken begins to fall off the bone, about 1 hour. 
6. Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts from the pot. 
7. Remove and discard the skin and bone; allow the meat to cool, then tear apart into bite sized chunks. 
8. While the chicken breast are simmering, prepare the dumpling dough by whisking the flour, baking powder, and 1.5 teaspoons of salt together in a mixing bowl. 
9. Work the vegetable shortening in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. 
10. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk. 
11. Stir together until a stiff dough forms. 
12. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth. 
13. Form the dough into 12 pieces, and set aside. 
14. After you've shredded the chicken, stir the cream of chicken soup, 2 cups water, salt, pepper, and shredded chicken back into the pot. 
15. Return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Drop the dumplings into the simmering broth one at a time to keep them from sticking together. 
16. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the dumplings have puffed and are no longer doughy in the center, 10 to 20 minutes.
17. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a magnificent evening. Enjoy your new recipe and remember, don't over-stuff yourself! I will catch you all tomorrow. Happy blogging everyone!