MY HUSBAND'S SOUTHERN CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

This post might also be entitled "An Acquired Taste" , so termed by my Yankee mom who knows nothing about good eating. Everybody else loves it, my 10 year old son will even eat the left-overs. This is different than the chicken and dumplings eaten by Yankees and served by my mother. The Northern dumplings are more like soggy biscuits on top of chicken soup. Southern dumplings are wide glutinous noodles in a thick sauce with chicken and hard boiled eggs. Both are thrifty and the ultimate in comfort food.

Here is the recipe for the Southern Chicken and Dumplings:

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts
3-4 Hard Boiled Eggs
6-8 Cups Water
Salt,Pepper to taste
1 Cup Cold Milk
2 Cups Flour

Instructions:

1. Boil Chicken over medium high in the water in a large pot for 30 minutes.
   
2. Remove chicken and leave broth in pot. Cut cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.
   
3. Mix 1 cup cold milk and 2 cups flour and 1/4 tsp salt until blended. Turn out onto heavily floured surface and knead briefly with well floured hands. Flatten with hands or rolling pin flipping over the dough to keep surface well floured. Roll out to 1/8th inch thickness. Cut into noodles about 1" wide and 2" long using a floured knife.
   
4. Bring reserved chicken broth to a boil and add salt to taste. Drop noodles into boiling broth. Boil noodle for 5-7 minutes. Add cooked chicken and chopped hard-boiled eggs. If sauce is too thin, you may thicken with cornstarch. Adjust seasonings.

Lots of flour needed on surfaces



My son's noodles

This is a popular meal. For a little more flavor, you can add some rosemary and thyme and a bay leaf to the broth while the chicken is cooking. You can substitute chicken thighs or whatever part of the chicken you have to make the dish.