My mother taught me to make chicken and dumplin's when I was a teenager. It was one of my favorite dishes she made. It was tradition that I have her Chicken and Dumplin's every single year on my birthday. And I never had anyone else's.....ever. Until I married my first husband. His mother made hers from scratch, like my mother. But they were different.
My mother added yellow food coloring to hers...to make everything 'chicken' colored...I guess. And she rolled her dough and cut it into squares.
I learned from my ex-mother in law to do 'drop dumplings' and not to add the food coloring. She showed me while cooking it, and there's no real 'recipe'. I make them by memory, and they're different each time. So, to me..it takes practice. And I've made them like that ever since.
Now, as I've mentioned...there is no recipe..not exact measurements... So here...goes. Anyone can read a recipe, I like to remember the memory of her teaching me, as I teach my daughters...
(And yes, I am a vegetarian - and no I don't eat this anymore. But since I love it SOOO much, I do make a meat free variety that I will post one day.)
Basic Ingredients - Flour, shortening, baking powder, salt, eggs and milk.
And of course....the chicken. Seasonings are your choice....I added fresh basil, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, garlic salt, olive oil. Boil under the chicken is done, pull the chicken out, remove from the bone and return to pot. The broth is the base for your soup.
Roughly : 2 cups of four, 2 tsp Baking Powder, salt, paprika, pepper.... Blend with pastry cutter until crumbly and blended.
Add 2 eggs and about 1/2 or more of milk. You decide consistency.
And there's your dough!
Drop it by the spoonfuls into the boiling broth and chicken! They need to cook for about 20 minutes.
You can add some milk and butter to your broth, to help thicken it...
I also like to add peas to my chicken and dumplin's...the girls love it!
And there you have it!
This is a recipe that my ex mother in law (RIP) taught me years ago. So, there are no measurements....it's not exact...and they're delicious!
