Chicken & Dumplings with a Side of Nostalgia Please....



Grandma Wren and that handsome little guy is my dad.



Much to the delight of my father and the chagrin of my mother (who already had a refrigerator full of food for Christmas), Christmas when I was young included Grandma Wren bringing over a big stockpot full of chicken and dumplins. Chicken and dumplings is a soul satisfying dish of hot broth with big chunky floury dumplings in and mouth satisfying pieces of chicken. This is a perfect week dish to put in the fridge for lunches and a wonderful use up for your holiday turkey.

 

Grandma Wren’s Chicken & Dumpling’s

(with a little modification)                      

Flavorful broth (my recipe)                   

Serve up piping hot with a big soup spoon!

1 chicken

1 chunked up onion

1 bouillon cube

2-3 bay leaves

2-3 Tbsp rosemary

1-2 tsp of thyme

2 Tbsp parsley

water to cover

Put all in a pot and cover chicken with water until covered completely. Bring to almost a boil on medium and then simmer for 1 ½-2 hours. Cool and strain out solids. Put in refrigerator
a few hours or overnight to allow fat to solidify and remove.

Dumplings



Roll out to about 1/8" or so.
Dumplins puff up when cooked.



Dumplings are so easy and so open to additions. The original recipe is version has no herbs in it but I put in a couple of tsps of dill and parsley. Feel free to improvise.

2 cups flour                                                     

½ tsp of salt (to taste)

chicken broth from the above recipe

Herbs as desired (optional)

Mix flour, salt and herbs (if desired) together. Slowly add broth (maybe a ladleful at a time) to produce a dough. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into strips. Brush off any additional flour with a pastry brush. Cut strips into 1-2 inch pieces.

Drop dumplins a couple at a time to prevent them sticking into
a large globby mess.

 

 The Soup

Chunk up chicken and add to soup. Slowly dropping a few at a time so they don’t stick, drop dumplings into boiling soup. Dumplings only take a few mins to cook through. Season soup with salt and pepper. If desired, add a can of cream of chicken soup to make it creamier. Serve piping hot with a great big side of nostalgia for good old fashioned, stick to your ribs food.