This recipe is a great start to a home cooked chicken and dumplings meal. I did make several modifications, as many others did. First, I used a whole (thawed) roasting chicken and put it into the crock pot with 2 cans chicken broth, about 1 tsp of black pepper, and 3-4 stalks of chopped celery. I set the crock pot on low and cooked for about 8 hours. Then, I gently lifted the chicken (with my husband's help - leave the broth/celery in the crock pot) out of the crock pot and onto a broiler pan (the slits help the extra juice drain off) and picked the cooked chicken meat off. Most of it fell right off the bones. Before putting the chicken back into the crock pot, I always double-check the remaining broth to be sure that there are no bones left in there. I then add 1 can cream of chicken and 1 can cream of celery to the broth and stir thoroughly before adding the chicken back in. After adding the chicken, I put 2 cans of the Grands Buttermilk biscuits in by rolling them out onto a lightly greased surface and cutting them into thin strips. I try to push as many of the dumplings to the BOTTOM of the pot as possible, with the chicken on top. Then, I continue to cook for an additional hour until the dumplings are done. Using the whole chicken adds a little extra work, but in my opinion it makes the entire thing SO MUCH MORE FLAVORFUL. Thanks for a great recipe - my husband even prefers it to his former favorite, Cracker Barrel!

Reviewed On: Sep. 12, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I made this recipe last year and it was a HUGE hit with my family. It was our first year having Thanksgiving at home (instead of with grandparents) so I had never made stuffing before... but this recipe is almost impossible to mess up. Being from the South, this recipe was actually not quite spicy enough for me so I was a bit more liberal with the cayenne pepper as well as adding about 1 tsp of paprika and about 1/4 cup of chives to the recipe. The spices are easily adjusted to your own personal taste without taking away from the recipe itself. In fact, I just hopped on to double-check the recipe so I can make it again this year! Definitely a keeper for a spiced-up Holiday meal.

Reviewed On: Nov. 23, 2006