Back to the Beginning with Chicken and Dumplings

I can't believe it was nine years ago this month that I joined the Yankee-Belle Cafe. Ruthy, aka The Yank, and Missy, aka The Belle, decided to add to the menu by offering up Tuesdays with the Texan. And that very first recipe I shared is still one of my favorites. 

Good old fashioned chicken and dumplings are one of my family's favorites when the weather turns cool. Comfort food to the max. My girls' great-grandmother taught me how to make them, which means I learned from the best. Many of Lois's recipes are forever woven into the fabric of my family.

The first thing we need to do is make our chicken stock, which will also provide us with the chicken half of our chicken and dumplings. So, in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add one chicken (or whatever type of chicken meat you might have on hand), two or three carrots cut into thirds, a couple stalks of celery, one onion, quartered, some salt and pepper. I like to skin my chicken so there isn't as much fat in the broth, but that's a personal preference.

Add three quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for a little while before removing chicken and vegetables. Strain broth, discarding solids.

Once the bird is cool enough to touch, remove the meat from the bone and chop into bite-size pieces. For the most part, the veggies don't make it into the soup, however I like to smash the carrots into tiny pieces and add those.

Return broth to Dutch oven, along with the chicken, and bring to boiling. 

While you're waiting for the broth to boil, prepare your dumplings.

Combine:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vegetable or canola oil 
• Approx. 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (if the mixture seems too sticky, add more flour in small amounts)

Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed a handful of times.

From here, it's up to your personal preference. Some like their dumplings big, others like them small. I like a bite of dumpling in every spoonful. My sons want as few dumplings as possible. Personally, I think that's just wrong, but they're brats.

You can roll out the dough and cut it into pieces. That's too much work for me so I flatten a portion of dough on a cutting board, slice into strips, then cut the dumplings into the boiling broth mixture with a scrapper or knife. Remember, you can add as many or as few as you like.

Once you've added your dumplings, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Then get ready for a bowlful of pleasure. 

Now, if you find making the dumplings intimidating, here's a secret shortcut Greatmom sometimes used--canned biscuits. Simply break or cut them into pieces and drop into the boiling broth. Easy-peasy.

A lot has changed in the last nine years. But one thing that will never change is our love of family and food. Good food that stirs fond memories and continues generation after generation.

What's family favorite dish that has been passed down through the generations at your house?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com