Chicken And Dumplings-cracker Barrel

• servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 quarts of water

1 3-4lbs chicken, cut up

1.5 teaspoon salt

1 onion

2 stalks celery

1 clove of garlic

1 Bay leaf

4-6 parsley leaves

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For The Dumplings

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1.5 teaspoon salt

1 cup and 2 tablespoons of milk

Directions

1 Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken. 1 tea spoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncov ered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third.

2 When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and float ing scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.

3. Pour 12 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipeit can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplins.

4. For dumplins, combine the flour, baking powder, 1/½ tea spoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for to 5 to 10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a ½-inch thickness.

5. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplins will frst swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20 to 30 min utes until thick. Stir often.

6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplins for another 5 to 10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.

7. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot. Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.