dumps like a truck, chicken thighs like what.

the other morning, suzanne ran up the stairs all excited to tell the roommates she was going to cook one of her families' favorite recipes: chicken and dumplings. here she is in her own words:

ever since i had the ability to request my birthday meal each year, i always chose this delicious plate of all white heaven. when i told charlotte (the beautiful woman that brought me into this world) that i was making my favorite meal for the gals, she insisted that we throw in "something green". to please char, meagan whipped up some garlic snap beans and i made a low-fat waldorf salad for the sides.

this recipe is super easy and a definite stand by when it comes to comfort food. the pressure was on though since this was the first time i was recreating one of my mom's famous and fabulous recipes. i don't know if it tasted like what my mama makes, but everyone got seconds (and some of us thirds).

i don't have any real measurements for this, but just go with your gut on what you think is best.

ingredients:
1 4lb whole chicken
dried thyme
garlic powder
1 bay leaf
water
2 cups bisquick
2/3 cup milk
3 cups diced potatoes
s&p

directions:
in a large pot over medium heat, cover chicken about 2/3 the way with water. add spices and s&p. every 20 minutes, flip chicken over in pot until the meat is literally falling off the bone. this process should take a little over an hour. remove chicken and keep water/broth in the pot. shred chicken from bone and set aside. in a separate bowl, mix together bisquick with milk. this will be a pretty thick mixture. add potatoes and scoop ice-cream sized dumplings (from bisquick mixture) into pot. cover/cook dumplings and potatoes for about 20 minutes. be sure to stir the pot pretty frequently to break up the dumplings, or else it will become one big lump. add chicken back to pot, season with s&p if needed and serve immediately.