I am a big fan of Chicken and Dumplins’, I have tried several recipes and about 2 years ago I started using Trish Yearwood’s recipe, I figured if it was good enough for Garth, then who am I to say otherwise…I loved her recipe and have been using it since, but just recently I tried a new recipe from Ms Kay’s Duck Commander Cookbook ( a Christmas gift from my daughter) I have just started to use some of her recipes and each one I have made so far has been a hit in my household…so I am going to give you the 2 dumplin recipes so you can try them yourselves hope you enjoy them as much as I have…By the way both are great, but my favorite is Miss Kays…..love the everything about the dumplin,

Trisha Yearwoods Recipe

Lizzies Chicken & Dumplin’s

Ingredients
Chicken:
One 5-pound hen or chicken (makes about 4-pounds cooked, after bones and skin removed)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Dumplings:
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Salt and pepper

Directions
For the chicken: Put the hen, breast side down, in an 8-quart stockpot and add water to within 2-inches of the top of the pot; this will vary according to the size of your pot, but the hen should float clear of the bottom of the pot and be covered completely. Add the salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 2 hours, or until the chicken is tender and the drumstick joint twists easily. Allow the chicken and broth to cool slightly, and then remove the hen to a colander.

Strain the broth into a very large bowl. Cover the broth and place in in the refrigerator. When the fat solidifies on the top of the  broth, remove and discard it. Remove the chicken from the bones and cut or shred the meat by hand into small pieces. Set aside 2 cups of the broth and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use. (Leftover broth may also be frozen in individual containers to be used another time.)

For the dumplings: Heat 2 quarts of the defatted chicken broth in a 3-quart saucepan. While it heats, put the flour in a medium bowl. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 3/4 cup water and stir the mixture into the flour to make a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and knead until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Heavily flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough very thin (you can also divide the dough into 4 portions and roll each portion separately, which will give you thinner dumplings). With a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2 by 4-inch strips.

When the broth reaches a rolling boil, add some of the strips of dough. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and bring back to a boil. Continue  to add the dough strips in batches, always raising the heat to bring the broth back to a rolling boil before dropping in more dough strips and reducing the heat to simmer before covering the pot again. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper to taste. Add the 2 cups of cooked chicken, heat and serve.

Miss Kay’s Recipe for the dumplins’

In the book I have the actual recipe is boiled Squirrel and Dumplins but in the note it states you can use chicken, so when I made this recipe I admit I used how Trisha cooked the chicken which would be how it starts in Miss Kay’s book for the squirrel, but after cooking the meat they add 1 can evaporated milk and 4 tablespoons of butt and leave to simmer as you make the dumplins (I did not do this but I will probably try this next time, I thin it would only add to its awesomeness…)

In a large mixing  bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and baking soda. With a pastry blender ot two knives scissor fashion, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk a little at a time, stirring until a soft dough forms, about like the consistency of biscuit dough. Divide the dough into 4 balls.

Sprinkle the counter with flour. Roll each ball of dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, adding more flour as needed to prevent it from sticking. Cut into the large squares.

Return the broth to a boil. Make sure there is enough in the pot to fill at least half the pot. IF not add more water or chicken broth.

Drop the dumplings into the boiling broth a hand-ful at a time. When they are all in, turn the heat to lover cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn off heat. Out the meat back in the pot and let it sit until hot again.

Happy Dumplin….I have both of these cookbooks, love them, love them and love them……Happy Dumplin’…..

I love trying new recipes, and my husband and I were watching Duck Commander before the dynasty and we watched Phil cook this Etouffee, it looked amazing and because my daughter bought me Ms Kays Cookbook, I went there to see if the recipe was in there and it was however it was different from how they did it in the show so we decided to try and recreate what they did in the show…Not sure if we were spot on but we wete close and this recipe was amazing, I listed what we used a bit different but totally worked…Hope you enjoy as well..

Iron Skillet Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee Recipe:

• 1 Stick Butter
• ½ cup flour (approx)
• ½ half cup water
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 carrots
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 5 cloves garlic
• 6-12 oz of crawfish
• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 tablespoon of Everglades Spicey seasoning (or your favorite cajun/cayenne)
• 1 tablespoon parsley

Chop the vegetables up and combine with garlic in a bowl, chop, but keep the tomatoes separate. Make a rue in your cast iron skillet (I used a stick of butter and about half cup of flour or so). Once the rue is at a nice pudding texture, add the bowl of vegetables and water, then let them cook down until partially soft. Add the stewed tomatoes and let it heat back up. Add the shrimp and crawfish, stir.  Add the seasoning and parsley, reduce the heat and cover.  Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly.

Serve over white rice and enjoy.

Recipe inspired by Miss Kay from Duck Commander..  Phil’s Crawfish Etouffee