Happy fall, y’all! 😉 The kids in town are all back in school, and the sound of the school buses rumbling by makes me want to go out and buy a new notebook and a package of no. 2 pencils! A few leaves are just starting to show brilliant colors of the sunset, and it’s again time for my Secret Recipe Club reveal!

 

 

Each month we are secretly assigned to another blogger in the club, and we make and review one of their recipes! It’s a great way to promote each others’ blogs, and make new friends along the way! This is my 14th Secret Recipe Club post, and last month was my “One Year Anniversary” of joining the club! I can’t believe a whole year has passed by already! But like they say, time flies when you’re having fun! 😀

This month I was assigned to someone that I can totally relate to, but on a smaller scale than what she must go through! Her name is Sarah, and her blog is Sarah’s Kitchen! Sarah is originally from Kent, a county in southeast England that borders Greater London to the northwest, Surry (where actor cary Grant was from!) to the west, and East Sussex to the southwest. Other famous names you might recognize, that were and are actually from her area of Kent include writer Charles Dickens, actor Peter Cushing, singer/actor Peter Frampton, and Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Dick Taylor and Mick Jagger all from the the infamous band, The Rolling Stones! What I liked when reading about Kent the most though, was, that it’s called, “The Garden of England”!  And I can only imagine how beautiful it must be there! No wonder she gets heartsick for home. As you see, Sarah is now a U.S. citizen (for five years now! Congrats, Sarah!) and has been living in America for 13 years with her husband, Randal, and their two pomeranian, 4-legged fur babies, “Abbey” and “Ella”, in Texas! She is a LONG way from her homeland! And, I’m sure at times, feels like she just doesn’t fit in. We moved a lot when I was a kid, (I went to 6 different schools growing up, and have been living on the east coast for 8 years now after living my whole life in the midwest), so I can definitely relate to feeling like a fish out of water!

I really enjoyed reading Sarah’s blog and, as always, looked at each and every recipe! I have baked way too many goodies lately, so I was looking more towards something savory. Since fall is here, and a lot of families are struggling to ease into the back-to-school routine and have probably maxed-out their credit cards in trying to pay for all those school supplies, I thought to make something that is total comfort food and frugal! 😀

Sarah and I both have a love for Pinterest, and we both saved a recipe that’s very popular there, as well as being around for many years! I have never tried it, but Sarah and her hubby gave it good reviews, so, thank you, Sarah! I decided to finally give it a try, too!

Her photo of her Chicken and Dumplings Casserole made my mouth water! But others in the running were her Baked Spaghetti, Baked Potato Soup, and her Beef and Beer Stew with Herb Dumplings! (I really wanted to make the last one, but for whatever reason, the hubs just wasn’t on board. He was rooting for the chicken and dumplings! 😉 ) And that sounded like a winner-winner-chicken-dinner to me, too. 😉

Perfectly comforting, and just the ticket that I was looking for! 🙂 Sarah also makes FABULOUS cakes, too, so do pop on over to her blog to check those out as well! They’re quite amazing!! (She could easily open up her own cake shoppe!!)

So, for my little back-to-school slash dinner-on-a-dime theme, let’s get started making dinner! You’re going to love how quickly and easily this casserole comes together!

Out of simple force of habit, I accidentally added a bay leaf into the broth with the chicken when I went to stew it, as that’s just what I always do, so that’s a simple add-in that you can add or not. (oops!) But It was delicious! (whew!) Then, remove the chicken and shred it, saving the broth.

 

 

~ ~ ♥ ~ ~

 

 

You then just melt the butter in your dish, (which I just popped into the microwave to do), and top it with your pulled chicken. Don’t stir! That’s the whole trick to this recipe – – is not to stir the layers! 😉

 

 

Next you whisk the flour and milk together until smooth, and slowly and gently pour that over your chicken. Remember, no stirring! 😉

 

 

Then you whisk the canned chicken soup with the reserved chicken broth (and I added just a teensy bit of extra flavorings), and do the same again. Gently pour over, trying not to disturb the layers; and, of course, don’t stir! (I know you want to, but don’t! This is what creates the whole “dumpling thing” going on! 😉 )

 

 

Then just pop the whole thing into the oven, and bake until the top is golden browned and bubbly! 😀

 

 

This made for the most wonderful heartwarming and tummy-warming fall meal on such a dark and stormy day! The Chicken and Dumplings Casserole was fantastic! I served this with some of my country-style green beans and homemade mashed potatoes, and everything went so well together! It was just perfect! 😀 And a meal that will surely join the regular fall and wintertime rotation of much needed comfort foods on icy cold nights!

 

 

Thanks so much, Sarah, for sharing this recipe and getting me to finally give it a try! Your drool-worthy photo and positive reviews convinced me, and I’m so glad that I did! It was absolutely delicious!!

 

Okay, I have to go now, because if I don’t get scootin’,
I’m not going to get any! t’s going fast!!!! 😀

 

 

 

Hope you all enjoyed! Be sure to save this one, you’ll want to make it soon!

 

 

 

*Please take the time to pop over to Sarah’s Kitchen
and check out all of her wonderful recipes!

 

 

 

(*The other two recipes on the plate are my Best Creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes and my Country-Style Green Beans with Bacon, Brown Sugar, Caramelized Onions & Sweet Balsamic Vinegar).

 

Recipe adapted from Sarah’s Kitchen.

Yield: 6 servings

Chicken 'n Dumplings Casserole / The Secret Recipe Club

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Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 - 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, as needed to just cover chicken breasts
• 1 bay leaf, *optional added ingredient
• 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 (10 1/2 oz.) can Campbell's cream of chicken soup, (regular, not low-fat or low-sodium)
• 1/8 tsp. coarse ground pepper, *optional added ingredient
• 1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning, *optional added ingredient

Instructions

To a large saucepan with lid, add chicken broth, chicken breasts (and bay leaf), bring just to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, (or until chicken is cooked through and easily breaks apart). Remove bay leaf and discard.

Remove chicken from broth and leave to cool. Strain the chicken broth into a large glass measuring pitcher. Reserve about 2 cups or a tad less.

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Add butter to 9x13 baking dish and microwave until just melted. (Swirl dish a little to make sure bottom is evenly coated).

Shred chicken and place on top of the butter.

Whisk the milk and flour, and slowly and carefully pour over the chicken. Do not stir.

Mix the chicken soup, (pepper and poultry seasoning) into the reserved chicken broth and again pour over the milk and flour mixture slowly as to not disturb the layers. Do not stir. (*I used a scant 2 cups chicken broth, and saved the rest for another use.)

Bake in preheated 400º oven for 35-45 minutes, or until casserole is lightly golden browned on top.

Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you don't have self-rising flour, here is a substitute that you can use:

1 cup self-rising flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda + 1/2 tsp. salt.