Sunday, March 8, 2015

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Alright, so I haven't take the time to blog in a VERY, VERY, VERY long time. I have still be using my crock pot pretty frequently and I am always looking for new easy and cheap recipes.  I still have a budget for groceries. I now go to the Grocery store twice a month and I can feel the irritation emanating from the cashier when i put all by food on the conveyor belt. I feel compelled to always over share and tell them how much I loathe the grocery store, and that I wont be back for 2 weeks.

I have read some of the blogs that say 30 days of meals for $100 or dinner for $2.00 per night. Now Im pretty cheap, but Im not looking to eat rice and beans every night. My goal budget is to spend $100 per week. This includes breakfast, school lunches, and dinner for at least 6 nights per week. For a family of 3 this allows me to make some yummy meals throughout the week. Spring sports season is starting up and I always like to have my meals planned out for the next two weeks. This not only keeps us from eating out, but also helps my hubs get anything started before I get home from work.

When I found this recipe for chicken and dumplings and I knew that I wanted to try it! I live in the south and we call it "Dumplins". I grew up eating chicken n' dumplins as a kid. My aunts can whip up an awesome pot (shout out to Aunt Donna and Aunt Lisa) which is always available during the holidays. Well, Im not one for slaving away during the week making dough and cleaning up a big ol' mess. This meal took a less than 30 min to make so Im sure I will keep this one in the rotation for sure.

Ingredients:
2 cans of canned biscuits (I used Great Value butter milk biscuits 10ct. a pack of 4 was $1.78)
3 cooked chicken breasts cut or shredded (I boiled 3 frozen chicken breasts you get in a 3lbs bag for $7)
1 32oz chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut biscuits in quarters. Bring your chicken broth to a boil and add uncooked biscuit dough stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cream of chicken and stir. Add cooked chicken and salt and pepper to taste.

And that's it... We added Brussels sprouts to the side and it was so darn good. There is always plenty left overs for my husband to take to lunch the next day, so that covers another meal.

One useful tip to make this cook faster is planning ahead. You can pre cook chicken breasts on Sunday or even buy a rotisserie chicken. Either way this meal is very easy to make and just as yummy to eat.