Supper For Tonight

Chicken And Dumplings Chicken and Broth 7 cups water 2 Chicken Breasts 1 teaspoons salt 1 small onion sliced 2 pieces celery, chopped 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper sprinkle a little parsely for looks Dumplings 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk 1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, 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 floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out. 3. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings. 4. For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness. 5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes 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 dumplings for another 5-10 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 consistencyserve, and eat, yum yum, this is kinda like the ones Cracker Barrel uses, smaller portions for the two of us, and omitting some things we do not like. This makes an excellent meal, and I take one of the Chicken breasts and put up for tomorrow, I will make a large Chicken Chef Salad with it. So really preparing two meals at once, just thought you can set aside some of your chicken for other things if you like.