Recipe - Chicken And Dumplings Ala Joann

1 Chicken; whole, * see note
1 md Onion; chopped
3 Stalks celery; chopped
5 cup Chicken broth
2 tablespoon Parsley; dried
1 teaspoon Tarragon
3 md Potato; minced
4 Carrot; minced
10 ounce Peas; frozen, optional
Three fourths cup Flour
1 One half cup Water
Salt and pepper; to taste
4 dr Yellow food coloring;
optional

DUMPLINGS
2 cup Flour
One half teaspoon Baking powder
3 md Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
Milk

* An old stewing hen is preferred, but a fryer chicken is okay.

Cut the chicken into large pieces. Put chicken (with the skin on), onion,
celery, chicken broth, parsley and tarragon into a large stew pot. Bring to
a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is tender. (A stewing hen
will take about 3 hours; a fryer about 45 minutes) Remove chicken from pot
and cool. Clean the chicken very carefully, removing the skin, loose fat
and bones. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Defat the broth if
desired. This can be accomplished by refrigerating it over night so the fat
hardens on top. I use pieces of paper towel laid on top of the warm broth.
Return the chicken to the pot and add the potatoes, carrots and peas.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix the flour with the water in a
tightly covered jar. Thicken the broth with the flour mixture as it comes
to a boil. Add the yellow food coloring, if desired. (I think it makes the
stew more appealing) Simmer a few minutes. Bring it back to a boil and drop
the dumpling batter by large spoonfuls on top of the boiling stew. Lower
the heat to simmer. Cover the pot. Turn the dumplings as they cook for 10
to 15 minutes.

DUMPLINGS: Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the slightly beaten eggs
and enough milk to make a thick dough.
Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by JoAnn
joannr@pclink.com on Sep 12, 1997