My Grandma Keeling was a wonderful country cook. Years of practice and she could prepare fried chicken that would make Colonel Sanders hang his head in shame and Chicken and Dumplings so good that they would cure a broken heart!Grandma lost her Mother to Scarlet Fever when she was only 6. After that she and her Dad managed as well as they could with help from her Aunt Zula. Grandma said she had a fruit crate beside the wood stove that she used to reach the pots. I just can't imagine what that must have been like.
Chicken and Dumplings filled many pots during Depression years. If you were lucky enough to live on a farm, chicken and eggs made their way to the table frequently. Grandma said they never went hungry, even if they didn't always have exactly what they wanted. That's one of the secrets to Happiness, being satisfied with what you have rather than always wanting more.
Make this from "scratch" recipe and see how satisfied you feel when you set down to a steaming bowl of goodness!
Grandma's Chicken and Dumplings
Broth:
3 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 whole chicken fryer (about 4 lbs.)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
3/4 -1 cup milk
In a large pot saute onions, celery in butter til tender. Add whole chicken fryer to pot and cover with 6 cups water, add the bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat til chicken is cooked through.
Once chicken is cooked place in a large bowl. When cool enough to handle, take off all the meat off the bones and shred into bite sided pieces. Add chicken back to pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. While the broth is coming to a boil, make the dumplings.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening with a fork. Stir dough while adding milk. Start with 3/4 cup and add more til completely moistened.
Drop by the spoonfull into the boiling broth. Do not stir dumplings. Reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Allow dumplings to cook for 15 minutes. Do not peek or the dumplings will be tough!
Sounds like a great recipe. I have made chicken and dumplings from a Williamsburg Cookbook recipe that sound similar. I do like the dropped dumplings as opposed to those that are rolled out and cut into strips.
ReplyDeleteJoycee!
ReplyDeleteI have missed you and your wonderful blog and have to say I am glad to be back and hope you will come and visit so we can catch up!! Love love love chicken and dumplings, my comfort food!! Hope your Christmas was a joy filled one!!
Hugs
♥ Teresa
A SWEET STORY...MY MOM WAS A GREAT COOK AND HER MOM ETC. THEY HAD TO AND THEY DID IT SO WELL! I LOVE TO MAKE THIS TOO, ALWAYS SO GOOD! Come say hi :D
ReplyDeleteWhat cool stories from your history. I love hearing them and those from my own history too. That recipe sounds so yummy. We had a similar one only with homemade noodles instead. I will have to give yours a try though since I love dumplings.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
How Wonderful, I will be sure to save your recipe, my grandmother was identical to the way you describe yours! I still have her cast iron skillet, but never does my chicken turn out like hers nor does my chicken and dumplings. :) What a wonderful little blog you have here, thanks for following. :) I've returned the passion for your page. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Grandma Keeling would turn out a pot of these in what seemed like the blink of an eye. But like any good cook, she did all the preparation long before dinner and with her generation that meant killing the chicken, cleaning it and putting it in water overnight. Nothing was easy or quick-to-fix!
ReplyDelete