Chicken and Dumplins

So plenty of folks have been pickin' on the South because of a perceived overreaction to the most recent cold front. In our defense, we hardly ever have to drive in winter weather like that, and it rarely snows here (though all we got was a lot of slush...).  So cut us a break, it probably won't "snow" again for three years....

I decided, in honor of it literally freezing all day, I would make some chicken and dumplins to warm things up. I have also recently begun making my own chicken stock, which is surprisingly easy to do. It tastes great, and if you have the time, totally worth it. So I'll start with that experience.

The first thing I do is roughly chop up carrots, celery, and a medium-sized onion. I then add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. For me, that's it; but you can always tie up some fresh herbs and add those to the stockpot as well.

Ok.... worst part is butchering a whole chicken. 

You wish you saw me do this the first time. 

Mr. Gingerbread is sitting across from me "youtubing" it, and then trying to explain to me how to go about making this not look like an animal anymore... It was really icky; popping joints, pulling here, scooping there... apologizing to the poor thing... anyways... 

Go for the organic bird if you can. Most likely all the "special parts" will be in a little baggy that you can just pull out and do what you want with (for example my dad/granny would probably make a gravy out of them...ya, I'm ok.). There was no neat packet with this one... I think it may have had two hearts...

Once you've cut up the chicken, take the carcass (ew) and put it and any other bones and bits into the stockpot with 8-10 cups of water. I let the stock simmer for three hours. After that, I remove all the "bits" and put the rest through a sieve. You can then store it in the fridge, and I usually put the meat into baggies for the freezer. In this case I'm leaving most of it out for the soup.  

TO THE DUMPLINS!!!

So after the stock is cleaned up a bit, I add my raw chicken parts, pepper, bay leaves, diced onion, and diced celery to the pot. I often add another 2 cups of water because the stock has cooked down a lot. I also add in 2 teaspoons of "better than bouillon" chicken "stuff" to add even more chicken-ness to the soup. It's CHICKEN and dumplins after all...

I then let it simmer for 45 minutes, or till the chicken is cooked. After that, remove all the chicken, and for goodness sakes let it cool! You'll burn the mess out of your hands trying to get all the meat off the bones right away.

Ok, so you may have noticed some "schmaltz" activity. I skim some of that off, but it's delicious so leave a little in there. This is comfort food, ya'll; lets not pretend we are making this to stay within our calorie count goal... that ship has sailed... 

The dumplins are super easy, and honestly better the next day. Ya, I said it; my dumplins (southern, of course) are a bit on the tough side, but the next day - butter. I honestly don't know why, and I'm ok with it. Before you make them add 3 tablespoons of flour in a cup of water to the soup to thicken it. Then add the money - heavy whipping cream. 

For the dumplins you take some salt, pepper, and flour and mix it with ice-cold water till you form a dough. Roll that joker out till it's nice and thin. 

Then cut them with a pizza roller into squares. Or get creative, we own the dumplins not the other way around.... I obviously was not inspired when I cut these... just squares. Don't worry about excess flour, that helps thicken the soup even more.

As you add them, hold half of the dumplin in the soup then drop it in. Don't stir once you've added them. I don't know why... just don't. You'll open up a crack in the space-time continuum. 

Let those babies cook for about 3 minutes, or until they are done. 

And there it is folks. Literally a whole day in the making, and so worth it. This reminds me of Granny's house and feeling all warm and toasty inside. Which, even in Florida, is a must this winter. And really, when Mr. Gingerbread says, "this is good, what did you do to it??" you know it has to have something special. 

Chicken and Dumplins:

Ingredients:

Soup:
8 cups chicken stock/broth + 2 cups water
2.5 - 3 lbs of raw/bone-in chicken
2 teaspoons "Better than Bouillon" or two cubes of chicken bouillon
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 Bay leaves
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
3/4 - 1 cup water with 3 tablespoons of flour mixed in
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Dumplins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 - 1 cup ice-cold water

Directions:
1. Add raw chicken, and next six ingredients to the chicken stock + water.
2. Simmer 45 minutes. Remove chicken, and let it cool.
3. Remove chicken meat from bones, and add back to soup.
4. Add flour to water, mix well, and add to soup. Let it simmer while you make the dumplins.
5. Add salt, pepper, and flour to a mixing bowl. Mix in iced water slowly till it forms a ball of dough.
6. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out to a quarter of an inch in thickness.
7. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into squares.
8. Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream to the soup and stir it in.
9. Drop dumpins into the soup and cook for three minutes or until done. Do not stir the soup after adding dumpins.
10. Dish up and enjoy!!!