It’s Thanksgiving week, Lit Kitchers, and I know you are all very busy stuffing your turkeys, mashing your potatoes, and perfecting your pie crusts, so I am giving you an insanely easy recipe today. The world’s easiest chicken and dumplings. Seriously. Put in about 5 minutes of work, then pop that sucker in the oven and let it go.
A family drama, just in time for the holidays
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First allow me to introduce you to our new book of the week. Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House centers upon a brother and sister who grow up in the titular house, an architecturally unique mansion in a suburb of Philadelphia. During their childhood, their mother abandons them and their father. Maeve, the older sibling, becomes something of a mother figure to her younger brother Danny. Eventually their stepmother banishes the two siblings from the Dutch House.
Told from Danny’s perspective, the novel traces the progression of the two siblings from childhood into adulthood. Unable to let go of the house or their past, the two frequently visit the Dutch House, sitting in a car parked on the street outside while they catch up on each other’s lives and speculate on what their stepmother’s life is like in their childhood home.
Double Dutch
At one point in the novel, Maeve and her mother make chicken and dumplings together. And they use a Dutch oven! I absolutely love cooking with my Dutch oven–it is so versatile and simple to use and ridiculously easy to clean! You can cook with it on the stove or in the oven. I even took it with me on a recent camping trip and made a beef stew over the campfire! It is perfect for those fall and winter cozy comfort food recipes. I also love that they are using a Dutch oven in The Dutch House. Very Dutch.
“Maeve and our mother were making chicken and dumplings together on a late autumn Friday. Our mother, as it turned out, was the one who knew how to cook. The kitchen was tight and warm and they moved around each other with efficiency. “You should stay,” my mother said when I lifted the lid of the Dutch oven, dipping my face into the billowing steam.”
The Dutch House
I’m going to be sharing with you my insanely easy Dutch oven chicken and dumplings recipe, but first…
A quick announcement!
This Friday will be the start of the Lit Kitch Twelve Days of Christmas! That means the next twelve posts will all feature recipes inspired by Christmas-themed reads (and possibly even a movie or two)! Check back for some holiday inspiration!
The Ingredients
This recipe is so simple, I don’t even have to break the ingredients down by category. You only need 5 ingredients, plus some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Now, there are plenty of more technical, made-from-scratch-just-like-grandma-used-to chicken and dumplings recipes out there. This is not one of them. I promised you the world’s easiest chicken and dumplings. These ingredients provide every possible shortcut, short of just buying a can of chicken and dumpling soup. You can absolutely find dozens of recipes online for making your own broth, but you’re cooking a whole turkey dinner this week, so why not just open up a few cans of condensed cream of chicken soup, toss in some store bought chicken broth, and be done with it? Rather than having to chop and cook all of the vegetables, just throw some frozen mixed vegetables in there. Don’t feel like making your own dough? Pick up a pack of pie crusts from the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Just add the chicken and voilà–you just made chicken and dumplings.
The Recipe
Cut the chicken. Start by cutting the chicken into chunks, then season with salt and pepper.
Cut the dough. You will want to pull the pie crusts out of the fridge about 15 minutes before you’re ready to start, so they have time to get to room temperature. Unroll the crusts on a large plate or cutting board, then use a pizza cutter to slice it into little rectangles.
Cook the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes, until there is no longer any pink showing on the outside. Note that the chicken will not be cooked all the way through at this point, but that’s ok, it’s going to spend plenty of time in the oven.
Add the liquids. Reduce the heat to medium low, then add the cream of chicken soup and the chicken broth. Stir until combined.
Add the vegetables. Stir in the vegetables until evenly distributed throughout the soup. Remove from heat.
Add the dough. Working in batches, add the pie crust pieces a handful at a time. Do not stir into the soup as this will cause the dough to dissolve and become one with the broth. Instead, use a wooden spoon to gently push the dough pieces down until they are submerged in the broth.
Bake. Place the dutch oven, without the lid on, in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven, give it a stir, and enjoy!
This soup is really good reheated as leftovers, so you can have easy meals for the week while you prepare for your Thanksgiving feast! I wish you all a lovely Thanksgiving, and don’t forget to check back Friday for the beginning of the Twelve Days of Christmas!
