Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

Walking Through the Bible in One Year —
Bringing the Story to Life
Week 6 reading plan per day:
Click on the colored link to read each day’s scripture.
Monday (Leviticus 14-15) Tuesday (Leviticus 16-17)
Wednesday (Leviticus 18-19) Thursday (Leviticus 20-21)
Friday (Leviticus22-23) Saturday (Leviticus 24-25)
Sunday (Leviticus 26-27)

I recently received this comment from my friend Cheryl:  Help! I have a terrible time taking Quick/Sweet bread out of the pan. Part of the bottom always wants to stay in the pan. What tip do you have for me to try O Queen of the Kitchen? I’ve tried all the things I know.  I wish I could answer this unequivocally, however, I too suffer from this same frustration from time to time.  While I did answer Cheryl’s comment (yesterday’s post) I thought I might take this one step further today with the About.com website that gives some really good tips on removing baked goods from the pan.  If you have a tried and true, never stick solution, please share with us! 🙂

What does your Sunday dinner look like? I keep the romantic notion that Sunday lunch should be a gathering of the family around the dinner table, loaded with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and all the trimmings. The kids, the grandkids, the new girlfriends, the old boyfriends, everybody laughing and having fun and eating! eating! and eating!
Now you know the truth —  I grew up watching Leave It To Beaver, The Brady Bunch, and of course, The Waltons!  2012 reality is that our 6 kids and their spouses and our 8 grandkids all live in other states and so my “Sunday dinner” notion is only in my mind.  However, once in a while I stumble across a recipe that stirs up all those “around the dinner table notions” and this Chicken Dumpling Casserole is just such a recipe.

I was at Davis and Company getting my hair cut when the talk turned to recipes and food (surprised, right?)  Carissa and Ginger are two of the nicest women (not-to-mention fabulous hairdressers)  I have ever met!  While chatting and talking food Ginger gave me a recipe for a chicken casserole that she said her family just loved!  After receiving her email with all the particulars I discovered that this is an original recipe from Mary at Deep South Dish.  Mary first created and posted this recipe on her blog February 18, 2009.  She tells me that since that time it has become one of the most popular recipes on her blog.  I am here to tell you I now understand what all the fuss is about!  I will share my pictures and a link to Mary’s recipe.  I am quite certain you and your family will love it too!  Mary at Deep South Dish.
Start out by cooking come chicken breasts, cooling, and shredding.  I think this would be a great use of leftover roasted chicken too.
Next step mix up the “dumpling” part of the recipe and pour over the chicken.
After the dumplings comes this awesome gravy.  The original recipe doesn’t mention herbs but I couldn’t make this without adding some rosemary, thyme, sage, and a little poultry seasoning.  I added these seasonings to my chicken bouillon before adding the cream of chicken soup.  I do believe the herbs really add to this outstanding blend of flavors.  Then everything goes into the oven to bake.  The dumplings rise to the top, the gravy mixes with the chicken on the bottom and the best I can describe this is kitchen magic happens!
I served this up with sides of  green beans, collard greens, and creamy corn — all from last year’s garden — along with a yummy dose of mashed potatoes!  The kids and grandkids weren’t there but the chicken dumpling casserole ended up being the talk of the table!  Thank you Ginger for sharing and thank you Mary for your creativity!

Many Blessings and Happy Cooking!