Nonnie's Chicken 'N' Dumplings

Select fat hen (disjoint or leave whole), cover with water, add salt and pepper, cover, and cook slowly until hen is tender (2 or 3 hours or more depending on size of hen).

-Or if you're like me, just use skinless, boneless breasts.

Remove chicken from stock. You should have around 2 quarts liquid to cook dumplings in.

Dumplings:

-They're actually more like noodles.

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 level T. shortening or chicken fat from stock
1 egg
milk

Stir flour with baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening or chicken fat. Make indentation in flour, add 1 egg and with fork mix enough milk to make stiff dough, gradually picking up flour until dough follows fork around. Roll very thin on floured board, cut in 1 inch squares, place on cookie sheet in layers dusted with flour. In most cases, the flour dusted on dumplings makes the stock the desired thickness when the dumplings are added. Drop the dumplings (2 or 3 at a time) in rapidly boiling stock, being careful not to stick 2 together. By the time you have finished dropping the dumplings in stock, they are ready to serve. Cook until dumplings resemble cooked noodles, 5 minutes or less. When dumplings begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and serve, either strained, with dumplings piled on cooked chicken-the gravy separate or together.

-Nonnie says if it doesn't thicken enough to make a paste with flour and water to thicken.

Nonnie with two of her seven great grandchildren. Most of my memories of growing up include eating something yummy at her house. Too bad I didn't inherit the cooking gene.