Chicken and Dumplings or Dumplin's

Hi everyone! Yesterday we packed up some tenderloin chili and our famous gumbo and took off to volunteer at the manna food bank: Fill a Bowl for Charity event. A celebration of 25 years of MANNA in our community.

A little background on MANNA

Established in 1982, MANNA is a private, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to alleviating hunger in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. MANNA is nonsectarian, community-focused, volunteer-supported, and committed to the philosophy-"waste not, want not."

The demand for emergency food services in our local communities is growing at an alarming rate, with a 43% increase in families served by MANNA year-over-year from June 2006 to June 2007. MANNA now serves over 20,000 persons in northwest Florida annually through a network of ten distribution sites spread throughout the two-county area.
There are no costs for any of the program services of MANNA Pantries, either to the client or the referral source. MANNA operates with minimal government support and is dependent on donations of both food and funds to sustain its operation and to support the growing base of men, women and children facing hunger in our local communities each day.

The event was a lot of fun and so I thought since it is so cold I would add a southern favorite for everyone to try.
This recipe comes from allrecipes.com. I like this site because you can read the reviews of people who made it and sometimes additions or subtractions to the recipe that you might like to try. Dumplings date back to practically the creation of man in a lot of cultures. I know that they were a regular staple in southern kitchens. I remember when my Grandfather, Charles Teague moved up north to stay with my mother in Pennsylvania he had me go to the store buy several packages of frozen dumplings and have them fed-exed priority mail so that he can make real chicken and dumplings. He was tired of Yankee food! It turned out to be a really bad idea because the dumplings of course thawed and turned into a gooey mess. It made us all laugh though! Happy Sunday Everyone...



Chicken and Dumplings III
SUBMITTED BY: Linda Humphress

"A lighter version of this classic down-home dish. One of the best comfort foods of all time!"

PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
45 Min
READY IN
1 Hr
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 4 servings
US
METRIC

About scaling and conversions
INGREDIENTS
1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 (14.5 ounce) can low-fat, low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1 teaspoon celery seed
ground black pepper to taste

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, stir together the cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips, onion and celery. Saute until chicken is cooked through, and onions are tender. Transfer the chicken mixture to the soup pot, and mix well. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Season with celery seed and black pepper.
To Make Dumplings: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of oil. Pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.
Drop tablespoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into simmering chicken stew. Cover pot tightly, and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 12 to 15 minutes - without peeking! Ladle into bowls, and serve hot.