Chicken and Dumplings- Cathy's inexpensive way

mmm-yoso is the food blog.  Cathy is writing about a meal she makes for less than $5 for two.  Again.

Happy New Year everyone, and thank you for the good wishes.  I hope 2009 is good for all of us. 

 Here I am again, on a Friday, posting about a meal you can make for two for $5, using ingredients on sale this week...or in the future.  It is a simple version of chicken and dumplings which I like better than the one on a box of "biscuit mix".   (If you have cravings, which I understand completely, this is a very easy way to satisfy those cravings).

The main ingredients (which do not have to be name brand) are 32 ounces of Chicken STOCK (it has  been made with vegetables and has more flavor than broth; most boxed stocks are on sale this week for $2 for 32 ounces), two cans of cream of chicken soup (the generic is just as flavorful as name brand and so go by price), a can of FLAKY biscuits-jumbo or small- and some leftover cooked chicken.   Chicken legs and thighs are on sale for 99¢/lb, or you can cook a chicken, depending on the price (I could only find whole chicken for $1.59/lb this week...) if you need a calculator to figure this one out, call me or send an email...

Yes. Canned biscuits.  When I grew up, mom called them "Ballard Biscuits" and when I lived in the South, people called them "Dumpling Biscuits".  For what it is worth, The Mister made a horrible face and was prepared to not like this recipe when he heard how I made it (with the canned biscuits), but He really liked the taste the first time and every time since.

 

Also, flour, salt and pepper.  I always use white pepper.  It has heat, but tastes kind of nutmeg-esque to me.  Also, you don't see pepper flakes on everything.

   

Pour the stock and the soup into a pot and bring to a boil.  (one hint:  I do not put all the stock in at first, use it to "rinse" out the soup can, instead of trying to scrape out bits of soup- you are not adding water to this).

Heat to boiling, then you will bring it to a very low simmer, while in the meantime,

 

you have opened the can of biscuits, divided the flaky layers into thirds, and coated each 1/3 of a biscuit in the flour/salt/pepper mix.

You are then going to tear each layer of  floured flaky goodness into thirds again (making each biscuit into nine pieces).

You then drop your 1/3 of a 1/3 biscuit, piece by piece, individually, into the pot of (now simmering) broth/cream soup mix.

YOU *NEVER* STIR THIS OR YOU WILL END UP WITH DUMPLING FLAVORED SOUP

 

Press the 'dumplings' down into the liquid.

Let this simmer for at least 15 minutes. More like 20... It can go longer.  Remember, dumplings are soft, not crispy...  They are cooked.

 

See?

 

Meanwhile, press in the leftover chicken.  So it can warm up.

Serve.  It probably does not need any additional seasoning.  

Cathy's Chicken and Dumplings

1 box (32 ounces) chicken STOCK, 2 cans cream of chicken soup. Mix and heat to boiling.  Put to low simmer.

One can refrigerated flaky biscuits, flour, salt and pepper. Divide the flaked layers of one biscuit into three, dip in flour, salt, pepper mix.

Divide those floured flakes layers into three pieces each and drop individually into simmering broth/soup mix.  NEVER STIR-push the pieces down into the liquid.  Let stay at very low boil for 15-20 minutes.

Add shredded/chopped leftover chicken (about 2 cups) , again pressing into pot until heated through.  Serve.

Southern Plate's Southern Chicken and Dumplings recipe can be found here.  

Comments

[Greg]

Yesterday, I posted comments to Amy and Dave about their response to Cathy's recipe for $5 Chicken and Dumplings. The points I made to Amy and Dave were that:

- Cathy is typically unwilling to hear dissenting views about her preferences in food

- [if] Cathy has cooked something, or likes the way it tastes, [those are] not reliable indications that the dish will in fact be good

[referring to "$5 Fridays"] "these homespun homilies to white trash cuisine are an embarrassment"

- Cathy doesn't have functional taste buds

I wish to apologize to Cathy and to yoso readers for the "reliable indications" and "taste bud" comments.

Regarding the first, I should have said, "...not reliable indications that the dish will taste good to me." As to the second, of course, suggesting that Cathy doesn't have functional taste buds was inaccurate, and, on rereading, it strikes me as personally insulting, something I never intended.

I got caught up in what I was writing and didn't stop to consider that everyone's taste is different, and while I may disagree with Cathy about what tastes good, I should have focused on the food, not on the writer.

Finally, an explanation: I have used an alias and false email account to protect my privacy. yoso posters like Cathy can send email to commenters privately, and having no desire to engage with Cathy in other than this public forum, I chose not to provide her that opportunity. For those who've criticized this decision, I ask you to consider whether you'd send me YOUR email address. I don't think so. I appreciate the chance to discuss our opinions here, in the open, where public scrutiny can weed out the substantive from the self-indulgent.

[Greg]

Hi Amy,

Thanks for writing back.

What I wrote to you originally was, "to lay out processed, packaged and pre-mixed foods, incidentally [indicates] to your diners that you don't give a damn what they think about the meal.

I didn't mean to suggest that "every woman who cooks in a particular way is doing so because she doesn't care about her family's opinion of the food."

If I read you right, you accept that a person (let's leave women alone... both sexes sport crappy cooks) can raise a family on Hamburger Helper and Cheez Whiz and truly believe they're serving up tasty, nutritous meals that serve the family well. Please tell me if I misunderstand you on this point.

For myself, I think people serve such food with a disregard not only for its immediate effects but without considering that, in the long term, they're training their kids to think that that's what good food is.

So people are forgetting how to cook: go to your standard supermarket and try to buy any but the most basic spices; more and more, they come mixed together in flavor combinations. Schools sell soft drinks, and energy drinks, and potato chips. Oh, and of course, there's the whole diabetes thing.

There's no snobbery in what I say. I'm not advocating for "six green beans, artfully displayed on a plate". I'm suggesting that cooked is better than heated up. That's all.

[Cathy]

"Greg"- Since you pointedly did not apologize for two statements in your latest comment, let me address those first.

A) I BLOG about what I like, what I eat. I do not tell you, or anyone, that you should or should not like something. This is a BLOG- an online, open diary of what we eat. Period. (**Not** a FORUM, of which there are many, moderated ones, all over the internet, with different subjects being discussed).
I state that things are spicy or not spicy and fresh or not and if they satisfy me or not. Nothing more. Kirk and ed do the same. We are not advertising for any restaurant nor claiming to be a resource and end all experts in anything. This is a hobby, not a profession.
Comments are made about the post to which the comments section is attached to. A general discussion about food is not usually made on this BLOG.

2. As far as being a "homespun homily to white trash cooking", that is an insulting term to everyone who lives in the South and reads and comments on the SoutherPlate.com blog, which I added a link to at the end of my post. The 30+ people who commented on the Chicken and Dumplings recipe that was posted earlier this year, indicating that was exactly how they make their dumplings, or that they had tried the recipe and loved it are not a minority.

i. The fact that you have stated repeatedly that my posts are an embarassment is a direct insult. Again, this is a BLOG, not some website to be used as a be all end all resource for everything about food. It is a few of us doing something different that we do in our normal, paid professions. We are (or at least were) having fun just talking about food we eat in an anonymous way. I posted a recipe I have made in excess of 20 years.

III. You stated you have seen how we (or I) "abuse" people who have differing opinions and you did not wish to talk in private.
a)I merely wanted to let you know, in private, that Kirk specifically requested a fast simple chicken and dumpling recipe this week, for The Missus. That fact did not need to be brought out in public by me, nor by Kirk, who as you see, is now seriously considering stopping this blog altogether. Because of your comments. Which could have been stopped, or at least toned down, if I could have made things clear in private.
B. Do not ever accuse me or anyone on this blog of abusing anyone's email address. That is a lie without substance. Abuse of email is an extremely strong concept in this day of internet fraud. Saying any of us abuse the private email addresses we get is prejudicial.

I will not bother commenting further to you "Greg", as I think I have made myself clear. You were deliberately mean, telling me to start lurking and stop contributing to discussions of food and cooking.

That's what bullies do.

[Cathy]

ed, Amy, Rooney- Thank you for commenting in a constructive way.
Birdie- you mean the ubiquitous, infamous commercial waffle machine from www.wafflesnw.com? God I am fascinated with that machine! I posted on it when we were driving home from Detroit after Thanksgiving last year...oh, now that is a hotel breakfast treat memory which will stick with me forever... :)

[Amy]

Greg, you mentioned "working class women" in that same paragraph. It's no leap on my part to draw the conclusion the people who "don't give a damn" are such working class female cooks. But, gender aside, it's at best inappropriate to comment with such generalizations about people's behavior.

"If I read you right, you accept that a person (let's leave women alone... both sexes sport crappy cooks) can raise a family on Hamburger Helper and Cheez Whiz and truly believe they're serving up tasty, nutritous meals that serve the family well. Please tell me if I misunderstand you on this point." I'm afraid you do misunderstand me. I'm saying I don't know what such cooks believe, nor would I assume to know. You'd have to talk with those cooks to know their beliefs. I think quite honestly, that you and I are of the same school about cooking, but approach talking with others differently. Honey or vinegar. I'm inclined to thinking I'll get more people to try cooking from scratch with honey.

[Greg]

Cathy,

Your last comment sidesteps the issues I've raised and just talks about what a terrible person I am for insulting you. I understand that you're uninterested in discussing the points I've made. It's clear, both from this series of exchanges and from your past posts, that you just want to be offended, and right. So okay... a)sorry you're offended, and b) you're right. Enjoy that.

[Greg]

Amy,

Thanks for your kind, and considered, comments. It's gratifying to have at least one reader take the time to understand what I said, without being "... shocked... shocked..." at the sound of the words.

Kirk,

Apparently, I misunderstood the purpose of public forums like yoso. I'd thought they were platforms for the open exchange of ideas on whatever subject was raised by the poster. I expected that any considered opinion, however disagreeable, was appropriate for presentation to the readers.

I'll do you the favor of not inflicting my opinions on your readers any more. Do yourself a favor, and shut down the comments feature of yoso; you and Cathy can easily write your own accolades, saving the readers the trouble of thinking for themselves.

[Dobbson]

Oh, boo hoo. I somehow insulted the south. Does this mean I'm banned from Hometown buffet as well?

Check it out... I read this blog, subscribe to the RSS feeds, have gone to many places after reading Kirk's reviews and can't wait to try Vampire Tacos when I'm in Yuma.

That's why I read this blog. If I want to learn how to squirt ketchup into macaroni and cheese for a daring excursion into welfare cuisine, then I'll just read the inside of the box.

Seriously, I noticed santuckylife.blogspot.com isn't being used. You should take the big step and start your own blog about how many donuts it takes to wake up in the morning and restore this blog to it's respected and valuable state.

That is all.

[Decimator]

Way to flounder, Greg. Totally invalidates every inspired and well crafted comment you made previously. Stand by your guns or lie down and admit weakness.

Cathy has ruined this blog. Kirk and Ed talk about unique and interesting places to eat. Cathy talks about how to live and eat like you're on welfare.

Which one of these is not like the other? Which one does not belong?

[Greg]

Dobbson, Decimator (if those are your real names...)

Now? NOW you decide to ring in? LOL...

I've spent the past day, and waaaay more time than the effort warranted, trying to spark a conversation about good food, bad food, the place of food in our culture, anything substantive.

But for Amy, I haven't found anyone whose feelings aren't more important to them than their ideas. Since I have no desire to hurt anyone's feelings, and I can't get anyone to discuss their thoughts, I bailed. If you guys want to take a crack at it, I'll monitor and ring in if I think I can add to the discussion.

Good luck.