I’d like to introduce y’all to Angie! Tonight, she’s sharing a meal for her family of 7 that’s just under $8.50!
In between school, boy scouts, choir, girl scouts, homework, BPSA scouting, potty training, MOPS, learning how to walk and PTA – somewhere in there this family of 7 has to eat! I don’t have an excess of time or money so I need to cook smart. That’s right, this is a complete easy meal to add to your recipe books. Using the crockpot is just awesome to the 10th power because you don’t even have to be there until the finishing touches are needed! It looks like a complex meal, but the ingredient list is actually pretty simple.
Note: this recipes calls for cooking the chicken in a slow cooker and then finishing the recipe on the stove.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Yield – 8 servings
Preparation Time – 30 minutes
Cooking Time – 5 hours
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken $2.68
- 1/2 onion (diced) $.13
- 1 clove garlic (chopped fine) $.06
- 3 cans of biscuits* $1.17
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh beans $1.95
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 whole watermelon $2.50
Directions
- In a slow cooker, combine chicken, onion and garlic in 8 cups of water until done (approx 4 hours on high).
- Remove chicken, and shred with knife (should yield 7 cups, what you don’t use – freeze for another meal).
- Strain broth.
- Set aside 2 cups of chicken broth for green beans.
- Add remaining broth plus 8 cups of water to large pot.
- Add shredded chicken.
- Cut each biscuits into 1/4ths and add to chicken and broth.
- Boil on medium for 45 minutes stirring every so often.
- While you are stirring your chicken and dumplings, in a medium pot combine 2 cups of reserved chicken broth and 1 cup of water to and bring to a boil. Snap off the ends of the beans and add them to the broth mixture. Boil for about 10 minutes depending on how firm you like your beans. (By boiling it with the chicken broth, you are getting all those wonderful garlic and onion flavors.) Drain beans, return to them to the pan and add the butter. Saute until butter is melted and serve warm.
- Let dumplings sit for 15 minutes before serving to firm up.
*I choose to use biscuits (and you can use ANY kind) because I can find them for 39¢ a can. To make the meal more frugal, make your own dumplings. To make the meal faster, use boneless skinless chicken breasts, canned broth, garlic & onion powder.
Total meal $8.49
Angie Atchley is a freelance writer and is also the voice behind Vivo Bello. She chronicles the antics of her 5 young children, posts kid friendly recipes, and hosts Meaningful Mondays about random acts of kindness.
Andrew says
This sounds delicious! I can’t believe it’s so darn cheap for so many people. I’m going to try out this recipe. Thanks again for continuing to post great ideas.
Tricia @Hodgepodge says
Angie this is wonderful! I have never seen a crock pot version of our favorite chicken and dumplins’! Thank you.
Marguerite says
Ok, I’m confused. The ingredients call for cooked chicken and in the first step we’re cooking the chicken — how much raw chicken should we start with to get the 7 cups of cooked shredded chicken?
This recipe looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Angie Atchley says
Hi Marguerite,
Sorry if it was confusing. In this recipe I used a 4 pound chicken and put it in the crockpot. After it was deboned & cut up it yielded 7 cups. That is where you get your 3 cups shredded chicken to work with. Just freeze & use the left over chicken later!
Megan C. says
I’ve never made chicken and dumplings before but have always wanted to try. So you put uncooked biscuits in the pot?
Angie Atchley says
Yes Megan, just cut them into 1/4s and throw them into the pot, uncooked. Feel free to email me if you are trying to make this and have problems!
Shannon says
I add carrots and a can of corn and a can of green beans, all my veggies in the pot. Then I don’t bother with sides
Valerie says
If I was using boneless chicken breast and broth how would I do the recipe. How much broth would I need and pretty much how would I do the recipe then?
Angie Atchley says
Valerie,
How much chicken you put in is really just how chickeny you like it. Using canned broth, use the same amount of water as broth. So, For a family of 4 or 5 for instance, I’d use 3-4 boneless chicken breasts (cooked and cut up), 2 cans of broth, 2 cans of water, and 2 cans of biscuits. (if you are really lacking time and not concerned about budget, you can use 2-3 cans of the canned chicken instead of the breasts – but I really am not fond of the canned chicken)
Let me know how you like it!
Angie