“Chicken and Homemade Dumplings – Mom’s Specialty”

Chicken and Homemade Dumplings – Mom’s Specialty…one of my Dad’s favorites no matter the time of year. My Mom enjoyed making this for her family. I remember my Grandma making this dish and having it prepared on visits to her house on the weekends, usually Saturdays. Her favorite side dish was frozen corn. Had forgotten about the corn until I started writing this post. Amazing what brings back memories.

Chicken and Homemade Dumplings – Mom’s Specialty was definitely one of her specialties. This recipe is as close to her version as I can get. I’ve made this recipe over and over trying to duplicate hers. My husband loves it and that’s good, being he is my resident taste tester. Mom’s dumplings were so tender and creamy in texture. I remember her rolling out the dough, cutting the dumplings in strips and adding them one by one to the gravy so dumplings would not stick together. Mom used chicken pieces, not deboning the meat. Mom made sure there was plenty of gravy with carrots, celery and onion. Mom I think you would approve. You need to try this recipe for a comfort food fix on a wintry night. A cure for what ails ya! Enjoy!

Chicken and Homemade Dumplings – Mom’s Specialty

1 whole chicken (2.5 to 3 pounds), cut into pieces

1 large onion, sliced horizontal

2 lemon slices, ½ inch thick

Salt and pepper

4 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 celery stalks, sliced into bite-sized pieces

2 carrots, sliced

¼ t. dried thyme

2 fresh sage leaves or ½ – 1 t. dried sage

3 cloves minced garlic

1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Place chicken in a 6 qt. Dutch oven. Add vegetables and seasonings except parsley to pot. Cover with water, simmer until chicken is tender. Cooking time is determined by chicken piece size. Fork inserted should come out easily. Check for doneness in 30 minutes, continue to check at 5 minutes intervals. Remove chicken from pot, let cool, 10-15 minutes. Debone chicken and remove skin, cutting meat into chunks. Return chicken to pot. Discard lemon, bay leaf, and sage leaves, if used. Adjust seasonings and set aside to prepare dumplings.

Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ t. salt

2 T. vegetable oil

1/8 t. thyme

1 egg yolk beaten in 1 T. ice water

Mix flour, salt, thyme, and oil. Add egg mixture and more water, if necessary to form dough into a soft ball. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness; cut into strips. Return pot to medium heat on stove top; drop in dumplings, one at a time into chicken mixture. Add in chopped parsley.

Cover pot tightly and simmer for 15 minutes. Reduce heat if cooking to fast. Serve hot, garnished with fresh chopped parsley.