Well this is shaping up to be a crazy week! I am sure that I am not the only one feeling the same way! There is shopping to be done, lists to be made, trees to buy and a plethora of other things to occupy every minute of our day! But, that doesn’t change the fact that we have floors to clean, laundry to do, living rooms to dust and meals to prepare.

In the midst of all of the chaos of my day, I looked at the clock and realized it was after 5pm! AHHH!!! I did a quick assessment of what was in my freezer and refrigerator, calculated the temperature outside and thought, “Self, it’s cold…it’s late…I’m tired…we need to eat.” So, I dug deep and went “to the mattresses.” In the end, I produced chicken and dumplings…my kids horked it down-as did my husband. I was nervous to make them, as it’s been a long time. But, they were a warm and comforting end to this long, stressful day.

If you want to give them a try, here is the recipe:

~Serves 4-8 People~

Food Stuffs:

Chicken quarters
1 Purple onion-chopped
2 Carrots-chopped
4 Stalks of celery-chopped
2 Boxes of chicken stock
2 Cups AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
3 Potatoes-peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp shortening or Crisco
2/3 Cup Butter Milk or sour milk
Sage, parsley, salt, cracked pepper, marjoram, cream sherry

In your largest soup pot, boil chicken pieces until the meat falls off the bones. Remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Once they have cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones.

Now, it’s time to add your spices. A pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of parsley and sage and marjoram and cracked black pepper to taste. Lastly, you want to add about a 1/4 cup of cream sherry.

Add your veggies to the chicken stock and simmer until they start to soften. Remember, do NOT overcook. Your veggies should be tender, not mushy. Remove the veggies from the stock and set aside.

While your chicken is cooking, you should prepare the dumplings. They will need a little time to “dry”. So, grab a metal bowl and combine the flour, 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder. Stir. Add shortening and blend with the pastry cutter till little balls form. Slowing fold in the milk, using only enough to moisten your dough. Form dough into a ball, flour the surface of your counter and roll the dough until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut the dough into one inch squares and let sit until the chicken and veggies are finished.

Once you have removed the veggies and chicken from the stock, bring it back up to a boil. Carefully add the dumplings and cubed potatoes to the broth, gently stirring so as not to brake the dumplings. Reduce the heat and simmer your dumplings until they are cooked through( 2-4 min). Turn the heat off and add the chicken pieces and veggies back into the pot. CAREFULLY stir them into the broth-you don’t want to smash your dumplings.

Serve this with warm bread and butter and a light white wine.  Hope this finds you warm and snugly on this cold and blustery day!