Mealtime Mama: Easy Chicken & Dumplings

Do you ever buy those rotisserie chickens that are ready-made at grocery stores? They taste great and save tons of time when you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry.

With our small family — mom, dad and daughter — we only eat a little of the meat on the chicken. So the last time we had it for dinner, I (Shannon) made sure to get all the extra meat off the bones then made my own broth for chicken and dumplings I planned to make the next night (broth recipe below).

Two meals from one chicken! Yes!

My sister, Gena, made these chicken & dumplings once and we loved them. My husband said mine turned out even better (smart guy):

Chicken & Dumplings

Rotisserie Chicken pieces

Broth from leftover chicken bones

2 extra cans chicken broth

Bisquick

2/3 cups milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Basil to taste

Old Bay seasoning to taste

Directions: Pour homemade chicken broth in large pot and add canned broth. Add basil, salt and pepper and Old Bay seasoning to taste. Now add the chicken pieces from the Rotisserie chicken. While waiting for this to boil, mix up your dumplings (just 2 cups Bisquick mix and 2/3 cup milk until a soft dough forms). Drop the dough by spoonfuls into the boiling broth mixture. After the dough is added, reduce heat. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes.

How to make your own broth from the leftover rotisserie chicken: Making your own chicken broth is easy! I just used the leftover rotisserie chicken bones to make mine. Just fill a pot up with cold water (about even with the top of the chicken), bring the pot to a boil, then put it on a low simmer for about 90 minutes. (Here’s a more detailed recipe if you don’t like to “wing it”.) After the cools a bit, strain the broth and then put it into a container and store in the fridge for when you need it the next day. All the fat will float tot he top and you can skim it off before using if you wish (I do).

Hope you love them!