Chicken and Dumplings

Susi Mann came to visit Nashville when Jacob and Margaret were little. Doug must have been taking Robert and Andrew to a football game at that other SEC school in Tennessee . . . Susi had been looking for a chicken and dumplings recipe, and I had one that I used when trying to recreate my Cracker Barrel favorite. This was the result. It wasn’t till I made it a year later that I realized we should have made the dumplings thinner and cooked it longer. I’ve tweaked this recipe a couple of times since she visited.

Two years later, I was heading to Switzerland, and as it happened the Manns were thinking of getting a black lab. Camden was somewhat of a test balloon for them, but it was a great comfort to be able to Skype the kids and Camden. I was a little worried that he would forget me and rather live with them. Luckily, Susi didn’t want to vacuum every day, and when I returned to Virginia to pick him up, Camden stood by the door as I packed the car staring me down with eyes that said, “I don’t know where you think you’re going, but you’re not going without me.”

Stew

2 cups shredded chicken

2 qts chicken stock, homemade

black pepper

Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 T butter

3/4 cup milk

~ Combine ingredients for dumplings and chill in a ball until ready to use.

~ Roll out dumplings to about 1/8 inch thin and cut into 2 inch squares.

~ Bring chicken stock to boil and slowly add dumplings.

~ Simmer for 23 minutes to thicken stock and cook dumplings through.

~ Add shredded chicken and black pepper to taste.