Chicken and Dumplings

When I asked Callen what types of things his mom used to make, he couldn't come up with a bunch.  He did mention chicken and dumplings.  NOT something we used to eat in my family.  The first recipe/attempt I made was a disaster.  Callen diplomatically said something to the effect of, "This isn't how I remember it, but it's good".

So here is attempt #2.  Find the recipe here.

I started by boiling the chicken and making the dumplings.  (Callen asked me later why I didn't just buy the dumplings.  Who knew you could actually do that?)

Cut them up, then boil them about 20 minutes in the chicken stock.  They looked weird to me, but apparently that's what they are supposed to look like.

Then just add the cooked/diced chicken and it's done.  

There was not a lot of spice and the dumplings' texture kind of weirds me out, but the only difference between this version and what he knew was that it was a little more "yellow" than normal.  But he went back for seconds, so I guess it was good enough to pass.  And I did get a "This reminds me of my childhood" as he was eating.  So I felt like this recipe went much better...

My opinion?  Kind of bland and like I said, weird texture.  So purely because of those two, I would have to say 2.8 stars.  A little better than half, but not something I will ever make if Callen isn't there.