Homemade Chicken & Dumplings......For Real!

So I was browsing Pioneer Woman's website and came across her Chicken & Dumpling recipe. It looked so yummy. So I decided to make it. The prep time was 10 minutes and the cooking time was 30 minutes...OK that's do-able..........well that turned into 2.5 hours for me! Seriously! Between cooking and helping with homework, and making sure Hunter was happy it took forever....but it was Sooo So So So worth it! Except for the dumplings, I almost cried when I bit into one!

I started off with Chicken leg Quarters:


Took these spices and coated the chicken and then dredged them in Flour:




Threw them in a pot and browned them on both sides and set them aside:




In the same pot, added my diced up trio (onion, carrot, and celery-I hate celery but used it anyway) I also added a bit of red onion and lots of garlic cloves, also added in some Italian seasoning and some tumeric-never had this spice, smells good, makes the 'stew' a pretty golden color:



I let that cook for a few minutes...then I added in a little cooking white wine, chicken broth, and apple cider vinegar-yes its odd, but it gives it a great kick!:




Let it come to a simmer, then added the browned chicken leg quarters into the pot:



I then made the dough for the dumplings, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and kosher salt, then mix in half and half:





The chicken needs to finish cooking so I left it in about twenty or so minutes, at a light boil/hard simmer. Then took the chicken out and shredded it off of the bone:



This is the mess it makes (ick):


At this point I needed a helper, I was about two hours in at this point and my kids had had enough of it! Hunter was fussy so I set him in his Bumbo and sat him on the counter....Don't panic, I was right next to him the entire time!:


So after I spent a good twenty minutes shredding the chicken off of the bone, I added it to the pot, along with some heavy cream, Mmmmm heavenly! I let it cook for just a few minutes then started dropping in my dumplings.....



This is the end result:


Now above I mentioned I cried when I cut into one of the dumplings....
The recipe did not state I couldn't crowd the dumplings in the pot....
So my dumplings were hard and gummy....
I did notice that a few of the dumplings we're puffy so I cut into those, perfect, light, fluffy, and delicious!
So in the morning on the following day I boiled up some water, threw in some chicken boullion, and proceeded to make the dough again for the dumplings....
I put just enough in so they had room to expand and float around....
Let them puff and cook for about ten minutes, took them out and made the rest of the batch. Turned out perfect!!!! Added them to my leftovers and enjoyed the 'stew' for breakfast this morning!

I do have to say that this is more of a stew than the classic chicken and Dumplings, but it is soooo so so good! The kids raved over it and Kevin practically licked his bowl clean and went for seconds! (that is saying ALOT) Even with the unfortunate mishap with the Dumplings!