My Grandmother Matthews was not an ambitious cook. Cooking was something she was forced to squeeze in between feeding the chickens and plowing. She utilized any new timesaving item that the grocer offered - canned fruits, applesauce, custard etc. But when it came to chicken. Leahr Bullock Matthews shone like a rare Indiana jewel.
This is her recipe - changed to meet our modern requirements for lowfat.
1 chicken, legs and breasts, cut into serving size pieces. (Can also use only breasts or only legs.)
(If using skinned chicken you may want to add some instant chicken boullion flavoring.)
3-4 cups of chicken broth (Swansons, or homemade - whichever you prefer.)
2-3 cups of Flour
Salt and pepper
1 TBS parsley flakes
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Stew chicken in broth. Add salt and pepper and seasoning to taste. Add water or extra broth as needed to keep the amount of liquid stable.
When chicken is tender remove it to a separate bowl or dish. While broth bubbling gently, place flour and additional salt and pepper into a separate mixing bowl. Make a depression in the center of the flour (As a child I always helped Grandma "Make the lake.") Ladle broth into the depression and with a fork stir flour into the liquid little by little until it makes a dough simililar to pie crust. Remove to a floured board and roll out to about a quarter inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch squares and using a spatula return them to the broth. Make another depression, add more broth and make more squares until you have as many dumplings as you want. Let them cook until they all return to the surface of the water.
In the meantime, remove the chicken from the bone and readd to the broth and dumplings. I sometimes add a tiny bit of white wine before serving, but Grandma never did that!!
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