Big Thicket Chicken and Dumplings

If you love good, old-fashioned, down home chicken and dumplings, this is the real thing! Note that this dumpling recipe makes "a bunch of dumplin's" because around here, most folks want more dumplin's than chicken. (prep time includes cooling time for cooked chicken.)

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 (3 -4 lb)  whole chickens
• 1  gallon water
• 1  teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  red pepper (optional)
• 2  celery ribs, chopped
• 4  green onions, sliced thin or 1⁄2 medium onion, chopped
• 1  carrot, shredded
• 6  chicken bouillon cubes

• DUMPLING INGREDIENTS

• 6  cups flour
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1  teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  cup margarine or 1  cup butter flavor shortening
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 2  cups  chicken stock

Directions

1. Place whole chicken and water into large pot or dutch oven.
2. Add poultry seasoning, garlic powder& pepper.
3. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium.
4. Cook chicken for about 1 hour or until tender.
5. When done, carefully remove chicken from pot; set aside to cool.
6. Remove 2 cups of stock and set aside to cool.
7. Add celery, onion, carrot and bouillon cubes to remaining stock and continue to cook on simmer.
8. While chicken is cooling, prepare dumplings.
9. Into large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, poultry seasoning and salt.
10. Add margarine and combine until mixture is coarse and crumbly.
11. (use a hand mixer) Add eggs and cooled chicken stock (be sure your stock has cooled to"just barely warm") then stir by hand to form a dough.
12. Turn out onto floured surface and knead slightly until smooth.
13. You may need to divide dough in half and only roll out half at a time.
14. Roll out to approximately 1/8-inch thickness.
15. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough in vertical strips about an inch wide.
16. Then repeat the process, cutting horizontal strips, which will give you little square dumplings.
17. Return chicken stock to a boil; drop dumplings in, a few at a time, as quickly as possible.
18. Cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking to bottom of pan.
19. When done, remove from heat and cover pan.
20. Remove skin and debone cooled chicken.
21. Cut into bite size pieces then fold into hot dumplings & broth.
22. This recipe will serve a family of 4 two main course meals.
23. Leftovers can be frozen.