She says that her Aunt Gladys worked on these chicken and dumplings for 2 days. Seeing that the world only took 7 days to make, 2 days for chicken and dumplings seems extreme to me.  Unless you were born in the south.

My wife of 35 years has combined her aunt’s recipe, her mom’s recipe and then she has some of her own likings that she puts in her deliciousness.  So, this chicken and dumpling concoction has been handed down for generations.

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I do recall one time, as they were deciding on who would bring what that year to the family reunion, my sweet mother in law became VERY upset over the mismanagement o of the chicken and dumplings at last year’s family reunion. She was sitting on a picnic table in the back yard and declared that ‘well LAST year I didn’t even get ANY of MY OWN chicken and dumplings!’.

My wife, without any doubt, makes the best durn chicken and dumplings I’ve ever tasted. As I type this she is tearing the cooked chicken breasts apart in a big ole bowl. Boiling on the stove in a big pot is a chicken broth (that the aforementioned chicken was boiled in) with seasonings, onion, and thinly sliced carrots. She says most people don’t put carrots in their C/D but she started doing it when our kids were little so that they would at least get a vegetable there. (insert good ole southern mama here).

As she is patting out her dumplings tonight, she recalls seeing her daddy help make dumplings. Her mom would get tired rolling out the dumplings, so he would come in and do the rolling out for her. When I asked why he had to help her mom roll out her dumplings, she says ‘I reckon mom just made stiffer dumplings that I make.’

So here, before your very eyes, is my wife’s/her mama/her mama’s aunt’s (her cousin Viola’s mama. I included that because Viola is a particularly southern name) recipe for chicken and dumplings. Be aware these delicacies are NOT on a diet anywhere. Too many of these can cost you money as you’ll need to purchase larger clothes and cause your blood pressure to be monitored. Moderation, people. MODERATION in your dumpling intake. Gluttony is one of those 7 deadly sins, you all know.

  • Boil 3 whole chicken breasts. A lot of people think that you should use dark meat because it makes the broth ‘richer’. But she doesn’t usually buy chicken that way so she uses chicken breasts. She uses a stock pot that’s 6 quarts. While it’s boiling, She puts 3 chicken bouillon cubes/salt/pepper/poultry seasonings/parsley flakes.  (pinches or dabs you know, of those things).
  • While the chicken is boiling, slice up baby carrots, chop 2 small onions and 3 celery stalks sliced and add to the boiling chicken. Don’t add too early or they’ll be mushy.
  • When chicken is good and done where it’s starting to fall apart take the chicken out let it cool and shred it or chop it or however you like your chicken meat. Set the chunked up chicken aside. This leaves you with boiling broth and vegetables. Let them cook a little longer if needed until the vegetables are done. You may have to turn the broth off if needed while you make dumplings. Just don’t let the vegetables get too mushy. hear me? 😉
  • Now we make the dumplings! spread wax paper on the countertop, dust the wax paper heavily with self-rising flour.
  • put 3 cups self-rising flour in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the broth until you get a stiff dough. As you dip out the broth, don’t dip the carrots or celery.
  • Spoon the dough out onto the wax paper you’ve prepped. It will be warm dough, so take your time, put plenty of flour on your hands and pat the dough out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
  • Slice the dough into slices about 1.5 inches wide x 3 or 4 inches long.
  • Make sure that the broth is boiling, use a spatula to pick up the dumplings and drop into boiling broth.
  • Add the chicken back into the dumpling/broth mixture.
  • Cook all of this on medium for 5 or minutes more. Then turn off.
  • Let cool.
  • Open the back screen door and yell ‘ya’ll c’mon, suppers’ ready!’

I’m through typing now because I can’t type and eat dumplings at the same time.

 

That’s the best that I can tell about it,

~Mark