Whenever we go to Costco I always pick up one of their rotisserie chickens. They are always delicious and a great value. I strip them down, freezing the bones for soup at a later date and then we enjoy the meat in sandwiches or casseroles. You can't beat a rotisserie chicken from Costco in my opinion!
I love Chicken and Dumplings and this casserole dish I am sharing is a variation on that. It is loosely based on a recipe from one of those Baking mixes, but instead it is from scratch. I have also sized it to serve two people perfectly, but I have also included measurements to serve four in the note section of the printable recipe.
Its a "just-like-magic" kind of an entree. Almost like a pudding cake. You know the ones I mean . . . the self saucing ones, except this is not a sweet pudding, but rather a savoury chicken casserole along the same vein . . .
You melt some butter in the bottom of a shallow casserole dish. Of course you could melt the butter in a bowl and pour it into the dish, but why? Its going in the casserole dish anyways, and so I just pop the butter into the dish and then place it into the oven while it is preheating to melt the butter.
One less dish to wash. Have I ever told you about how lazy I am? Its true. If I can find a way to save money, time or on the washing up, I will do so! Especially with the washing up. Not my favourite chore!
Once the butter has melted you tilt it to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Easy peasy. Then just scatter some shredded cooked chicken over top. I say 2 cups, which works out to 1/2 of the whole chicken breast meat. (I like to use the breast meat in casseroles if I can.) I just tear it into shreds.
You could of course cube it, but shreds are so much more interesting don't you think???
It does use half a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. I know some people eschew these, but I am not one of them. I think they are a great store cupboard ingredient and I like to use them in casseroles. They have their place in my larder for sure.
You only need the half can of course, but the other half can be put into a small plastic container and frozen to use another day. Todd always makes himself a bowl of soup with it. He loves soup, especially cream soups, so it never gets wasted in this house either way.
You make a thin batter using flour, milk, baking powder and salt. This gets drizzled/dolloped over the chicken in the dish. It will not cover it, so don't think you can just pour it over the whole thing. You will need to dribble it here and there so that most of the chicken is more or less covered with at least some of it.
The half can of soup gets stirred together with some chicken stock/broth and then poured over the whole casserole dish, which is where the magic happens . . .
Don't be tempted to stir it in. Just leave it and pop it all into the oven. Let it bake and just like magic, a gravy is formed and dumplings pop up all over the place. This is seriously yummy folks!
Chicken & Dumpling Casserole for Two
Yield: 2
A fabulously tasty casserole that is quick and easy to make. Shredded chicken gets drizzled with a dumpling batter, with a liquid gravy poured over top. Like magic it makes a saucy chicken in gravy topped with dumplings. Serve with your favourite sides for midweek meal.
ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken ( use Rotisserie chicken)
- 240ml chicken broth (1 cup)
- 2 TBS butter
- 70g plain flour (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 (400g) tin of condensed cream of chicken soup (1/2 of a 10 3/4oz tin) (freeze the rest for another time.
instructions:
How to cook Chicken & Dumpling Casserole for Two
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
- Put the butter into a shallow 7 by 11-inch casserole dish and pop it into the oven to melt the butter. Take it out and tilt the dish to cover the bottom with the butter. Scatter the shredded chicken over top of the butter.
- Whisk together the milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Drizzle over top of the chicken. It won't completely cover it so just make sure it is spaced as evenly as you can get it over top.
- Whisk together the soup and chicken broth. Pour this mixture over top of everything. Don't stir.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed up and are golden brown. Serve hot.
NOTES:
For a full sized casserole to serve 4: 3 to 4 cups chicken, 480ml (2 cups) chicken stock, 4 TBS butter, 140g (1 cup) flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 240ml (1 cup) milk, 1 full tin of the soup. Mix and fix as above, using a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
I served it with some leftover stuffing I had frozen from Christmas, sweet potatoes and a mix of peas and carrots. My husband was one very happy camper! Yours will be too!
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