Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 envelope Parmesan salad dressing mix

Dumplings:
1 cup minus 2 Tbs. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
Milk
1 Tbs. dried parsley
3 cups stock

Gravy:
2 Tbs. flour

Chicken:
Rinse chicken and trim of any fat. Coat chicken breasts on both sides with salad dressing mix. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken on both sides in hot olive oil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 10 minutes, turning once, or until juices run clear when cut with a knife. Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.

Reserve 2 Tbs. of the pan drippings to make the gravy.

Dumplings:
Bring stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Break egg into a liquid measuring cup; add milk until the level reaches 1/2 cup. Beat well; stir slowly into the sifted ingredients. Add more milk if necessary, but keep batter as stiff as possible. Add parsley.

Dip a spoon into the boiling stock, and then use it to drop a spoonful of batter into the stock. Repeat with all of the remaining batter. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Reserve 1 cup of the stock to make the gravy.

Gravy:
In the skillet in which you cooked the chicken, blend 2 Tbs. pan drippings and flour with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Continue to cook slowly and stir constantly while adding 1 cup of the stock used to cook the dumplings. Cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

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