In an ever-increasingly busy world, trends lean toward delicious, home-cooked tastes in two-income timing. Men and women, both work, children come home to empty houses with TV/video game/computer babysitters, and everybody’s tired of pizza after the third time this week…. It’s difficult to juggle all life’s responsibilities while trying to maintain a Brady Bunch or Ozzie and Harriet style home life.

Once I left my parents’ house to brave the adventures and freedom that 18-year-olds dream of, I found that my mother actually had a few things figured out. As college became more and more demanding of my time, I wondered how she and so many other women managed to make time for everything: job, husband, children, laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning…changing the air filter…getting gas…paying bills…calling their mothers.

We had a close, family friend named Kim who seemed to take me under her wing during these first years of independence. She never bothered, over-stepped or demanded, just offered a few hints each time I’d see her. Ah yes, the language of the know-it-all teenager—no preaching, just a tip or two mingled in with conversation.

Her most famous hint (wonderful woman, many of them were recipes) was about the canned biscuit dumplin’—a quick and easy substitute for flour, rolling pins and whatever else those fabulous ladies at MeeMaw’s senior citizen meetings used to make their chicken ‘n’ dumplins.

It was a favorite of mine since childhood—warm and comforting broth, tender chicken and puffy, drenched dumplins…and now, it was in my grasp!

She said to make the soup like usual (which my mother informed me, meant to boil and debone chicken or use chicken breasts, use the broth to boil an onion, add cream of chicken or mushroom and salt and pepper) then open a can of biscuits and drop bite-sized pieces into the pot. Then just bring to a boil and simmer.

Well, that’s just what I did. I made it for friends and family, often, and beamed at my ability to master such a traditional dish.

It turned out perfect each time, until one night…when I’d planned to entertain one of my brother’s childhood friends, a.k.a. the biggest joker/teaser/comedian/bag of wind I’d ever met. Brad, or Tiny, stands more than 6 feet tall and has a shiny, bald head like Mr. Clean. His vibrant nature and hilarious extremes included a pet Rottweiler named Pork Chop. Brad would’ve looked all out of sorts with any normal pet, so he opted for a pony-sized beast that stood at hip height and rode in the back of his truck.

Brad, like Pork Chop, was sweet once the shocking exterior faded. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t find whatever subject of sensitivity in a 20-mile radius and use it to prod until all good-natured responses had been exhausted.

Soooo, now that you’ve met my dinner guest, we will head back to the kitchen. Crazy college and work hours noted, I’d decided cook the chicken in the crockpot while I was gone that day.

As Brad, Kelly, and baby Maddie sat in my living room, I scurried to debone the chicken, add the onion, soup and spices, and pinch pieces of canned biscuit into small bits before dropping them into the crockpot. I returned the lid to its place and hurried back to the living room to share a few minutes’ worth of anecdotes, then announce that dinner was ready.

I lead the guests into the kitchen and raised the lid, so that the familiar aroma brought a smile to everyone’s face. But the smiles quickly faded as I plunged the spoon into the medley, to find that a stringy layer of dough had formed at the top of the dish where plump, cooked dumplins should float.

Brad exploded his boisterous laughter into the room as I stood in front of the crockpot, dough still stuck to my serving spoon.

As I took a moment to assess the situation, the problem crept into my mind. I had always used a pot to boil the dumplins, then simmer the mixture. Since the very nature of a crockpot is against boiling or any hurried method of cooking, my dumplins remained raw and stringy.

I quickly poured the soup into a pot, boiled the dumplins and CHECKED to be sure they were done, before calling my guests into the kitchen a second time. Delicious as usual! Delayed, but delicious.

Chicken ‘N’ Canned Biscuit Dumplins

3 chicken quarters

1 can biscuits (not butter ones, that’s another story)

1 yellow onion

12 oz. cream of chicken soup

12 oz. cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper

Boil chicken, debone and use broth to boil medium-sized onion pieces. Once onion is soft, add both cans of soup and chicken; stir well. Add bite-sized biscuit dough to the pot, boil, then return lid and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (as the cream soups can scorch). Let cool and enjoy. Serves 8.