It’s no secret that I absolutely LOVE food. Even more than loving food, I absolutely love making homemade meals!! I have four cookbooks, and Pinterest. What else could you possibly need! I do the best I can to eat as little processed food as possible and make whatever I can! Tonight, I’m sharing with you one of my favorite recipes from one of my cookbooks!
Home Ranch Chicken and Dumplings Casserole
(don’t mind the cornmeal in the photo – my mind was clearly on the next night’s cornbread!)
Filling:
- 3 pounds boneless chicken breast
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 carrots cut into pieces
- 1 onion minced
- 3 cups chicken broth (I use chicken base and water! saves a ton of money and has less sodium)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 cups frozen peas
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose four
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup whole milk, warm
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, warm
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
#1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13×9 baking dish and set aside.
#2. Heat 1.5 teaspoons of the oil in a dutch oven (I use a large pot) over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the chicken and cook until it’s golden brown on both sides (about ten minutes), and flip halfway through. If you have too much chicken for your pot, brown half the chicken first, and then the other half after. Remove the chicken and set it aside on a plate.
#3. Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, salt and cook until its softened (5 to 7 minutes). Whisk in the broth, cream, potatoes, and bay leaves. 
#4. Return the chicken, along with any juices, to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and tender (I let it go for about 30 minutes just to be safe!).
#5. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Get rid of the bay leaves, then skim the fat off the surface of the sauce with a spoon. Using a potato masher, carefully mash half the potatoes. Instead of using a fork to shred the chicken, I just throw it in the blender and hit “pulse” a few times (I will probably never go back to shredding anything with a fork!), and then return the bite-sized chicken pieces back to the sauce. Mix in the peas and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and set aside. 
#6. For the dumplings: Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Stir in the milk and buttermilk until it’s smooth. Drop eight dumplings onto the filling and brush the tops of the dumplings with the melted butter. 
#7. Bake it in the oven until the filling is bubbling and the dumplings are golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. 
Cool and enjoy!!
I got this recipe from my “Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers” cookbook! This meal is a hit in my home and makes for some awesome leftovers!
<3 Linda
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