Perfect Chicken and Dumplings The Super Easy Way

It's HERE!!! Sweater weather!!!! And that means it's time for warm-your-bones stews. Today I decided I needed chicken and dumplings. Now -- you're going to raise your eyebrow and protest, "Buttttt that takes so much tiiiiiime and wooooooooooork." No my friends -- you're going to let your crockpot do most of the work, and Campbell's and Pillsbury will help with the rest.

That's right:

Perfect Chicken and Dumplings The Super Easy Way

1/2 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup (I like Healthy Request)
1 can cream of celery soup (Again -- Healthy Request)
4 soup cans of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 tbs garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 cups sliced or shredded carrot
8 oz fat free sour cream
1 can refrigerated biscuit dough

1. Cut chicken into 4 oz large pieces and place in bottom of crockpot. Add both cans of soup. Add chicken bouillon. Add 4 soup cans of water (stirring water in cans to help remove soup that has stuck on sides). Add garlic, pepper, and poultry seasoning.

2. Cook on low 4 hours. Remove chicken from crockpot and shred and/or cut into bitesized chunks (chicken should just easily fall apart at this point). Return to crockpot.

3. Add carrots and sour cream. Turn heat to high. Cook on high 1 hour.

4. Transfer soup to large pot on stove. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer.

5. Roll biscuits out to 1/8" thickness. Cut into 1/2" strips, and then cut in half. Drop dough into pot. Cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

ALTERNATE to make this even easier: cut chicken into bite sized pieces in step 1. Add carrots and sour cream in step 1. Cook on low 6 hours. Continue to step 4.

OR keep stew in crockpot. Cut biscuits as described in step 5, and drop into crockpot. Cook on low an additional hour.

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Crust

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Crust

For filling:

1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, diced
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots
2 cups chicken broth
4 tbs flour

For biscuit crust:

2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c melted margarine
1 cup milk

1. Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Saute onions over medium high heat for 5 minutes, until softened.

2. Add chicken, rosemary, and garlic. Cook until almost no pink remains. Add peas and carrots. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through.

3. Stir flour into chicken broth. Add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Pour filling mixture into cooking sprayed 13x9x2 inch baking dish.

4. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and garlic. Make a well in the center and add milk and melted margarine. Stir just until combined.

5. Drop by large spoonfulls over the top of the filling mixture. Bake at 400 degrees 25 to 30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of biscuit layer comes out clean.

6. Allow to sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 8.

Chicken Panzanella

Perfect low calorie, low fat, comfort food casserole! And did I mention it's ridiculously easy AND that you can use it as a make-ahead recipe (just stop at step 1)! Yeah. Like I said: perfect.

3 c cooked chicken, cubed
2 cans diced tomatoes, italian style
1/2 c Kraft lite Zesty Italian dressing
1 pkg Italian style croutons
4 oz shredded 2% milk mozzarella cheese

1. Stir chicken, tomatoes, and Italian dressing together in 13X9X2 inch dish. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes.

2. Stir in croutons. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

3. Remove cover and stir again. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Yields 8 servings

Sausage and Cornbread Casserole

Sausage and Cornbread Casserole

1 lb bulk sausage
6 eggs
1 cup milk
4 oz shredded cheddar
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c cornmeal
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 c milk
1/4 c oil

1. In a medium skillet, brown sausage. Transfer to cooking-sprayed 13x9x2 inch dish by straining out fat with slotted spoon. Do not discard drippings from pan.

2. Add onion and pepper to pan. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are clear and peppers are soft. Mix into sausage in dish.

3. Whisk together eggs, milk, and cheese. Pour evenly over sausage, onions, and peppers.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and oil. Add all at once to flour and cornmeal mixture. Stir just until moistened.

5. Drop cornbread batter by large spoonfools on top of egg mixture.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 28 minutes, or until eggs are set and cornbread is light golden brown.

Yields 12 servings.