Chicken & Dumplings

Dan gave his Mom a call tonight and we got a refresher on how to make her Chicken & Dumplings recipe (which she'd outlined for us on Saturday, but neither of us remembered well enough to execute). The dish turned out great, and Dan & I both had to slow ourselves down when eating it to enjoy every bite.

Chicken and Dumplings
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
1/2 cup water
Salt & Pepper
2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups all purpose flour
3 1/4 tspn baking powder
2 1/2 tspn sugar
1/4 tspn salt
6 1/2 Tbspn shortening
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place the chicken and water in a baking dish with a lid, and season with salt & pepper. Bake covered for ~25 minutes, or until chicken is mostly done. In the meantime, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until well combined and mixture is crumbly. When chicken is mostly done, remove from oven and add soup to baking dish and stir well. Return to oven, uncovered, turn heat up to 350, and cook until soup begins to bubble - about 10 minutes. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk. Toss with a fork just until combined. Form dough into 8 loose balls and place on the top of the soup. Cover and return to oven for another 15 minutes.