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Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

March 5, 2013 by 12 Comments

I adore my slow cooker. I adore shredded chicken.  I adore dumplings.  You knew it was only a matter of time, right?  Because the only thing better than a plate of tender chicken with carrots and celery and fragrant herbed broth and fluffy warm dumplings is all that stuff cooked with no muss and no fuss in your trusty slow cooker.  It’s the perfect storm of comfort food meets convenience meets delicious!

Now, the trick to this one (and trust me please, I have learned this from long, hard experience) is that you need to put the dumplings along the outside edge of the slow cooker – right up against the side where all the nice heat is.  But I am getting ahead of myself, because first you need to start with the chicken.  I use boneless chicken breasts for this one and usually I am all about getting all my frustrations out by pounding them thin with my trusty mallet, but in this case you are going to leave them nice and thick – they will cook up nice and tender that way.  You’re going to give them a quick sear on the top of the stove first which is going to give your chicken that nice brown roasted taste.

Now pop the chicken into the slow cooker and give the veggies a quick turn in the skillet, just enough to get them a little bit tender.  Add in a little poultry seasoning and flour, and then a nice amount of chicken broth and white wine (or all broth if you are not a wine person) – this is all going to combine into a lovely fragrant sauce.  Pour the whole thing into the slow cooker with the chicken, add some more broth, cover it up and go find something else to do for 6 hours.  I highly recommend spending the whole time re-watching Downton Abbey.  Then email me so we can discuss the season finale…good grief!!!

After that 6 hours is up, take the chicken out and using two forks, shred it into nice bite size pieces.  Toss it back in and give everything a stir.  Now mix up the dumpling ingredients and drop them in 1/4 cup amounts around the outer edge of the slow cooker – it’s perfectly fine if they are touching the sides.  Put the cover back on and take a nap for an hour.

When you come back, your dumplings will be puffy and gorgeous – now scoop up ladlefulls of the chicken and veggies and rich sauce, and make sure everyone gets at least one dumpling.

I like to serve this in warmed soup plates with James Taylor music playing in the background.  James Taylor + chicken and dumplings = One Perfect Supper.  Happy chicken and dumplings!

Print
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 carrots, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (I like the boxed Pacific and Imagine varieties)
1/2 cup white wine
Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sear the chicken on each side until it is brown, around 4 minutes per side. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Add remaining oil to skillet. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and poultry seasoning and stir until coated.
3. Stir in wine and one cup of the broth and stir until simmering. Pour everything into the slow cooker.
4. Add remaining broth, cover and cook on low setting for 6 hours.
5. After six hours, remove chicken from cooker and shred into bite sized pieces with two forks. Return chicken to cooker and stir.
6. Make dumplings by mixing dry ingredients together in medium mixing bowl. Stir in milk and butter until combined. Drop 1/4 cup amounts of dumpling dough around the edges of the slow cooker (you should have about 8 dumplings) and cover. Continue cooking on low for another hour.
7. Serve in soup plates and ejnoy!

 

Filed Under: chicken, dinner Tagged With: , ,

Comments

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  1. Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says:
    March 5, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    Oh my goodness gracious, Kate! This looks amazing. My slow cooker and I are the very best of friends and I really think this needs to happen soon at my house! xoxo

    Reply
  2. Joanne says:
    March 5, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    I’m always amazed by just how many things slow cookers can make…dumplings are on my “REALLY?!?” list. :)

    Reply
  3. Rachel says:
    March 6, 2013 at 8:19 am

    Superb looking, but try to make the dumplings with a mixture of cornmeal and flour. It’s my favorite way to do dumplings now. Would also fit right in with the southern influence in your house!

    Reply
  4. Jocelyn says:
    March 6, 2013 at 10:33 am

    These look and sound so wonderful. My family is going to have to try this very soon! Thanks for all your inspiration!

    Reply
  5. Judith - Texas says:
    March 6, 2013 at 10:57 am

    Just copied the recipe and put ingredients on my shopping list – it will be dinner sometimes next week- love chicken and dumplings and anxious to try it using the slow cooker. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  6. Amanda says:
    March 19, 2013 at 2:19 am

    Fantastic idea thanks. Made it yesterday for my kids and it went down a treat. Only addition I made was some lightly roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled over the top. My family love these and they’re so good for them.

    Reply

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