Chicken and dumplings reminds me of my mom. Oh how I still remember her in the kitchen making this comfort food. She would often make it on Sundays in the winter and it was always the perfect soup to come home to.

We would fight over the dumplings because it seemed like there was never enough to feed our family of eight. So Mom would always give each person 2 dumplings, because otherwise it would only be chicken and dumpling…. not cool. I also remember us kids complaining that the soup was too hot, so we would each put an ice cube in our soup. Nothing like watery soup! Even with the ice, I’ve always loved this soup and still do.

This old fashioned chicken and dumplings recipe has been handed down through my family. It’s a pretty old recipe and although it has been slightly adapted through the years, it’s still very much a homesteaders recipe. Forget using cans of chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken, No way! Your going to be resourceful and save money just like the good ol’ days, making your own stock and even using the chicken fat that you skim off the top of the broth. LOVE IT!

After making this for my family, I am so grateful for my mother. All the time and energy she put into making meals for us and how she never seemed to get upset when we would ruin her meals by putting ice in the soup, or like my own kids, maybe not even eating some of the meals she had worked so hard on. This chicken and dumplings recipe is a little time consuming as you cook the chicken and make your own chicken stock the night before. But there is something about home-style, old-fashioned recipes; the way mom did it, the hard way, that really makes me happy and appreciate my mother.

This week in celebration of the mother in your life, I encourage you to pull out one of your mom’s old recipes and give it a try. Then, call her and tell her how much you appreciated all the hard work she did for you when you were young. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

Chicken and Dumplings

Stew:

1 stewing hen
1 onion, chopped into big pieces
5 pieces of celery chopped into big pieces
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 cup chicken fat or butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots

Dumplings:

2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
4 tbsp melted butter
1-2 tsp. parsley- optional

Method:

On day before serving, rinse chicken in a colander and place it along with the onion, celery, salt, and enough water to just cover it in a large stock pot.

Bring to a boil and simmer, covered over low-medium heat.

Cook for 3-4 hours until meat is tender and falls from the bone. Remove chicken and strain, keeping broth.

Cool chicken and chop. Refrigerate broth over night.

On the day of serving, your chicken broth should look like this. All the fat hardened and on the surface. You will want to remove all that fat off the top of broth. Save this chicken fat for later.

After you remove the fat, your chicken stock should look more like this.

In a large pot melt 1/2 chicken fat (or butter); stir in 1/2 cup flour.

Then add strained chicken broth and stir until thickened. At this point you can add the carrots and celery and simmer until they are tender. Add chicken pieces and heat through.

For Dumplings: Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add milk and melted butter (or any extra chicken fat if you have any left) to make a soft dough. Add parsley if wanted as well.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons – I like to use a cookie scoop! – into simmering stew.

Cover tightly and steam without lifting lid for 12-15 minutes.

Season to taste. Enjoy!

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