Easy chicken and dumplins that tastes darn good

The secret is "Mary B's Dumplins".  I get it in the long frozen cooler in the frozen rolls section at Winn Dixie.   Dumplins as good as granny made from scratch but you aint gotta make em.

Drop the pieces of a 2.5 lb chicken in a pot with 3 quarts of water.  
Add three stalks of celery chopped into small pieces,  a good amount of carrots chopped into small pieces and a medium size onion chopped into pieces.
Add the desired amount of salt and pepper (and garlic if you like garlic).
Bring it to a boil and then back off the heat and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes,  take the chicken out and debone and deskin it and cut into smaller pieces (if you prefer) and put it back in the pot.

Add one can of cream of chicken soup,  one can of cream of celery soup and stir it good to mix it with the broth.

Bring the heat back up to close to a boil.  Drop the desired amount of dumplins in (and as far as I'm concerned the more the better cause they taste so good).
Let the whole thing cook slowly in a crockpot for an hour or two.  The dumplins get larger and more tasty the longer they simmer.

Oh I forgot. Break the dumplin sticks into thirds before you drop em in.
A third of a stick makes the perfect size cooked dumplin after it expands.

Those are really good dumplings, and super easy.

Are they the big fluffy dumplings or the thin ones??

Used to be made right over in Bagdad. Maybe still are.


Q: We keep Mary B’s buttermilk biscuits in the freezer. Is (or was) there a real “Mary B”? — John Kane

John T. Edge replies: There was a real Mary B, the wife of the founder of the company. He started out making dumplings in Bagdad, Florida. Biscuits came later.

Jake92 wrote:Are they the big fluffy dumplings or the thin ones??

They are thin to begin with and will stay on the thin side unless you let them simmer long enough and if you do they will be get bigger and fluffier.

Mr Ichi wrote:Used to be made right over in Bagdad.  Maybe still are.


Q: We keep Mary B’s buttermilk biscuits in the freezer. Is (or was) there a real “Mary B”? — John Kane

John T. Edge replies: There was a real Mary B, the wife of the founder of the company. He started out making dumplings in Bagdad, Florida. Biscuits came later.

I got turned onto the biscuits first and then decided to try the dumplins.

I quit making biscuits when I tasted Mary B's.

Thanks Bob. I'll try them within the next few weeks..

I still make my own dumplings......self rising flour, a little bit of baking powder, and whole milk. Roll out and cut in strips...pinch off 2" pieces and drop in boiling broth.

The reason I asked is that mom used to make chicken and dumplings with tomato sauce/gravy.. The dumplings used to be 2-4" thick and cover most if not all of the chicken.. She lost her recipe and has tried almost everything, but they just come out 1/8" thick like they are in 3-4 different restaurants in Pensacola. She is going nuts trying to figure out what she's forgetting..

I like the round dumplings. Sometimes I use Bisquick, but I also make them from scratch...just combine flour, baking powder, salt...cut in some butter to pea size...add milk just to hold together & drop onto simmering broth...cook 10 minutes, cover and cook 10 minutes more...done. (Top dumplings with poultry seasoning (parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme).

Jake92 wrote:The reason I asked is that mom used to make chicken and dumplings with tomato sauce/gravy..  The dumplings used to be 2-4" thick and cover most if not all of the chicken..  She lost her recipe and has tried almost everything, but they just come out 1/8" thick like they are in 3-4 different restaurants in Pensacola.  She is going nuts trying to figure out what she's forgetting..

Either she should use self-rising flour or add baking powder to the dry ingredients...or substitute baking soda for the baking powder and use buttermilk instead of whole milk. The soup part should be at a slow simmer.

Thank all three of you..  I'll let her know..

Jake92 wrote:Thank both of you..  I'll let her know..

Jake, when I cook the dumplings, I add a stick of butter to the broth. Don't need a rolling boil on the broth...just bubbling. After adding dumplings I put the chicken and veggies back in and simmer for 15- 20 minutes. My grandmother always added 2 sliced hard boil eggs to the pot.

Do you ladies have measurements for your dumpling recipes? I'm not a good enough cook to figure it out!   

QueenOfHearts wrote:Do you ladies have measurements for your dumpling recipes?  I'm not a good enough cook to figure it out!   

3 cups flour and about a cup of milk....enough to form a soft ball of dough that pulls away from the bowl. Extra flour for your hands, counter top and rolling pin.