Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch!

I try to plan 10 dinners to cook each time we go to the grocery store, and this week I just could not come up with the last one.  Phil decided on chicken and dumplings, which I kind of complained about eating.  It is just so bland and floury!  Honestly I have only eaten this the one time my mom made it in the crock pot. I was about eight or nine, and I remember not liking it.  Of course, Philip almost always orders this if we make a road-trip exit to Cracker Barrel. I found an easy recipe for it in my favorite cookbook:

We received this cookbook as a wedding gift four years ago, and I refer to it all the time!  Instead of using canned biscuits and rotisserie chicken, I made it "from scratch" the easy way.  Here is my adapted and halved  recipe that serves four.

Quick Chicken and Dumplings
2 chicken breasts
2 c. water
2 t. chicken broth base (I like Orrington Farms)
1/3 c. cream of chicken healthy substitute (recipe HERE)
1 1/4 c. cold water
1 t. seasoned pepper
1 bay leaf
1/3 c. milk
1 c. Pioneer baking mix

Directions:
While chicken boils in a separate pot, bring two cups of water and broth base to a boil.  Mix cold water and cream of chicken mix in a separate bowl until smooth.  Add to broth mixture, stirring until it thickens.  If it is too watery, stir in two tablespoons of flour mixed with 1/4 cup cold water.  Add pepper and bay leaf.  In a separate bowl, mix milk and baking mix.  Roll into teaspoon-size balls and drop into boiling mixture.  Cook 5-8 minutes or until dumplings are done.  Shred chicken (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer--it is awesome for this!), add to dumplings, and serve hot. 

Cooking the chicken takes the longest--20 minutes.  I did this while I was working on the dumplings, and we were eating within 30 minutes.  This dish is very flavorful and hearty!