On a Comfort Food Kick...

I know that it's Labor Day Weekend and that I should be thinking about grilling and side salads, but lately I've been on a comfort food kick! First there was this Beef Stroganoff that I posted on Wednesday.



Then, check out this gorgeous pot roast that I made in my slow cooker earlier this week. It just melted in my mouth. You can check out the recipe here.



And now there is this:



A Chicken and Dumpling Bake that I found on Mary's blog, Deep South Dish. You just have to check out her blog if you're not already hooked. Her recipes are so yummy! I'm a big fan of traditional chicken and dumplings, but this was less involved as far as prep goes, and I've wanted to try her recipe for months. Thank goodness for the cooler weather and the abundance of chicken in my freezer. The timing was perfect for this casserole-style twist on a comfort food staple! Lucky for me, the weather here has been gorgeous so we've been playing outside, taking family bike rides, and hopefully counteracting the extra calories that this comfort food kick has brought to my table!

Here's what you need to do to bring this to your table:

Put the chicken stock in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken to the stock, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the stock through a colander and reserve. I used double the amount of chicken and stock and used half for this dish and half for my Chicken Enchiladas the next day. You need both chicken and broth for the enchiladas too.



Mary suggests melting the butter, mixing the batter, and then mixing the chicken stock and cream of chicken soup all in the same Pyrex measuring cup. Excellent way to cut down on your dinner dishes! However, I had poached my chicken the day before and reserved my broth in a Tupperware so I already had an extra "dirty" container. I decided to melt my butter in the casserole dish as the oven pre-heated.



Place the shredded chicken over the butter.



Combine the milk and flour until smooth. Mary's recipe calls for self-rising flour, which I did not have in my pantry. I added about a teaspoon of baking powder to the mix.



Slowly pour the batter over the chicken.



Now mix a can of cream of chicken soup into your reserved, strained chicken stock.



Carefully pour the chicken soup mixture over the chicken and the batter. No need to stir! As I was making this I realized how similar this casserole method is to the way I make my favorite Peach Pudding Cake.



All ready for the oven! Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is light golden brown.



Mmmm! This reminded me of my mom's cream of chicken that she serves over biscuits, which is probably why I was craving biscuits the whole time I ate this. Very yummy!



Mary's Chicken and Dumpling Bake

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts* (depending on size)
2 cups Rachael Ray Chicken Stock in a Box (reserve)
1/2 stick of Land O'Lakes unsalted butter
1 cup White Lily self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 can Campbell's cream of chicken soup

Put the chicken stock in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken to the stock, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Reserve the stock.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a Pyrex measuring cup, melt 1/2 stick of butter in the microwave and pour that into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Shred the chicken and spread it on top of the butter.

In that same Pyrex cup, whisk together the milk and the flour and slowly pour that over the chicken taking care not to disturb the chicken too much. Don't stir it up!

Strain the chicken stock through a colander into the same Pyrex cup (now you know why I wanted ya to melt that butter in it!) and whisk in the cream of chicken soup. Very carefully pour that over the flour and milk mixture and again, don't stir it up!

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is light golden brown.

*Can substitute leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or canned chicken