"Chicken And Dumplings"



Hi Everyone

Let me share some really great eating and it is so easy to make just takes a little time and you have a southern favorite.

You take a yard bird or if your city folks that is a large chicken. If you use a fryer, then hunt through them and find one that is close to 5 lbs or bigger. If you get a smaller one your buying lots of bone and little meat and you need meat not so much bone.

Now you need 2 or 3 eggs.

You need about 3 cups of flour if you use plain flour then you need the stuff to make it self rising but only use half as much as you would for making biscuits. But what I like to use is both self-rising and plain or all-purpose and mix them half and half or about that. You know we are cooking not building a rocket ship to fly to the moon.

You need salt, pepper, some garlic, and some milk.



Ok here we go ready or not making supper or Sunday dinner for the preacher and his wife or just feeding your husband or wife or just a friend. Anyway, get out a big pot that is large enough to hold the bird and cover it with water. Fill it up about half way to the top and heat it to a boil. Add a little salt and garlic and pepper but the eggs in and also the chicken and bring it back to a boil turn the fire down to low and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Let it cook for 1 hour on low heat, if you wish you can take out the eggs in about 15 mins and they should be hard-boiled by then.

Now comes the fun part you are going to make the dumplings with the flour and some of the milk. I use just a very small amount of vegetable oil but not much. You need to use about a cup and a half of milk or so.

 Just enough to make a nice dough that is dry enough to work with easily. Keep a little flour handy just in case you need to keep the dough from sticking to your hands to much. You need to have a place to lay the dumplings down; I use foil to lay them on with a little flour to keep them from sticking. Now take small pieces of the dough and mash them out flat and thin in your hands or you can roll the dough out really thin with a rolling pin but I just use my hands and that way I get to clean my nails really clean. Hehehheeh oh just kidding I wash my hands before I start this stuff.



By now the hour is most likely past and the chicken is ready to lift out of the pot but be careful it is really hot and the water which has turned into chicken stock now is hot also. You need to have a big bowl ready to place the bird into and now with lots of care bone out the chicken and place the meat off to the side for now. Bring the stock back to a slow boil and start adding the dumplings one at the time till they are all in the big pot. Now add the meat and turn it down to a slow simmer adding enough of the milk to just lighten the color of the stock. Peel the eggs and slice them about a ¼-inch thick.



Let this simmer until it gets thick and the dumplings are done. And just before you stop cooking it place the sliced eggs into the pot.

You can serve this with side dishes if you wish but where I live we just make a complete meal of this and it is great.

I do one more thing when I get done with boning the bird I place all of the bones and skin and such into another pot of water and cook it about 15 to 20 mins and then let it sit and it makes a great stock that you can freeze and save for later. It is kind of like 2 birds with one chicken.

Enjoy 
The Capt.
 

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Jimmy AKA jcshrimp1