Not even close, definitely no cigar

Attempt #1 at Chicken & Dumplings = 

miserable failure.

I mean by a long shot... 

soupy

burnt

tangy(?)

It was just all bad and it started with a recipe typo.

I used Paula Deen's recipe posted here.

I didn't pay much attention to the sense of things at first...

{I'm a dedicated rule follower... I have a tenancy not to question directions until it's too late}

...anyway...

When I got everything but the dumplings in the pot I was looking at it thinking, that is a LOT of water to thicken up... maybe I should compare my recipe to some others...

So I started looking...

And then I realized.. my recipe says 4 Quarts instead of 4 Cups of water.

Holy moly.

I now I'm bailing water out.

Well then you lose flavor too, right?  So I add another bouillon cube and some flour to help thicken it up.

It's still pretty soupy so I'm thinking, okay... I know my grandma used to make her chicken and dumplings with noodles, I'll add pasta!  What better way to soak up extra broth?!

Potentially could have worked, if I hadn't added the dumplings so soon after.

I may have only a vague memory of making chicken and dumplings once with my grandmother when I was a little girl, but I remember one very important tip she gave me.

"Don't stir your dumplings to death or they'll turn into hard balls of dough instead of  fluffy dumplings"

Yes Ma'am.

So I'm stirring as little as possible, trying to balance the concepts of not killing my dumplings and keeping the pasta from sticking... I failed.

The dumplings were fluffish, though a little tougher than they should have been and some pasta, though mostly loose in the pot, stuck vehemently to the bottom of the pan.

Then the burning smell, and thus the burnt taste and now the house stinks... and I'm irritated.

You and I shall have our day #91... I will make successful chicken and dumplings... you just wait and see.