Semi-Homemade Chicken and Dumplins'

I call this semi-homemade #1 because I bought a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and #2 because I used Bisquick to make my dumplings (I was going to make homemade dumplings but the hubby and I were running around all day yesterday and I ran out of time). But this dish tastes completely homemade and this batch was one of my best!

I bought my chicken at the grocery store on Sunday. I went up to the deli counter to ask the chicken lady when the rotisseries would be done at the exact moment she was pulling them out (score!), so I got a fresh chicken. I love when that happens. I had the hubby remove all the meat on Sunday night while I put the bones in the crock pot with cut up onions, celery, carrots, and about 8 cups of water. I set it on low for the night and by morning, I had chicken broth.

After straining the bones and the veggies from the broth, I let it chill all day to let the fat rise to the top and then skimmed it off right before the broth went into the soup. This soup was soooo good with homemade broth! Yum!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup baby carrots, sliced
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup cooking sherry
6-7 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp cornstarch
Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup frozen green peas

Dumplings:
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup fat free milk

Garnish:
Chopped parsley

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Saute 5 minutes or until tender.
2. Add sherry through bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add chicken to pan. Stir to combine. Add peas to pan. Stir to combine.
4. Combine water and cornstarch in small bowl with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan, mix well.
5. To make the dumplings, mix the Bisquick and milk in a large mixing bowl. Drop dough into chicken mixture to form 16 dumplings. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (flipping dumplings). Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
6. Garnish with parsley.

*Chef's Note*
This is a labor intensive recipe and probably not one for a weeknight. I have also made this one with canned chicken broth and it's still pretty good. I just haven't been buying canned chicken broth since I've figured out how cheap it is to make it. Another note: When you first put the dumplings in the chicken mixture, wait at least 4-5 minutes before the first flip to give them time to form. It looks like they are fusing together but don't worry, they aren't. And by the way, this makes 8 servings. I freeze a large bag of this. To defrost, I let it set for 24 hours in the fridge and then stir minimally in the pot when reheating as to not break up the dumplings. Tastes just as good!