Chicken and Dumpling's

Chicken and Broth

One Whole Chicken or 1 package of skinned chicken thighs.
Hot Water enough to cover the chicken by about 3 inches
½ Teaspoon Celery Seed
¾ Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
½ Teaspoon White Pepper
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder (not onion salt)
¾ Tablespoon or 1 Whole Tablespoon Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)
1 Teaspoon Tarragon
1 Teaspoon Parsley
2-3 Bay Leafs
1/2 large onion

1 large carrot peeled and split

2 stalks celery

A couple of tablespoons of Better than Bullion Chicken Paste, Low Sodium or Regular.

Do yourself a favor and don't use Bullion; the salt content is atrocious and doesn't bump up the chicken flavor factor enough.

Bring to a boil, then knock it down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for an hour and a half to 2 hours.

Place a strainer over an equal-sized pot (I do this in the sink). Pour the contents of the pot directly into a colander; the broth will catch in the pot. Allow chicken to cool and debone, reserving the chicken. Discard bones, skin, and 1/2 onion, celery, and carrots. Return broth to the stove.

Rue:
3 Tablespoons of Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
1 Cup of pot broth and 1 Cup heavy whipping cream combined

Do not cook the rue dark... this is a lighter-colored dish.

Return the empty original pot to the stovetop and make your rue. Set your strained chicken aside and slowly pour the broth back into your cooked rue, whisking rapidly so it does not clump.

Now add in your rough sliced veggies...

4 Lg Carrots sliced
4 Lg Celery sliced
1 Medium Onion Diced
2 Cups frozen peas

Debone and skin your chicken and add the chicken meat back to the pot. 

Dumpling's
4 Cups of Flour (I use bread flour)

8 Teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon White Pepper
2 Eggs
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Cup of Whole Milk; you can use half and half for a thicker gravy.
1 Cup Stock from the Pot
1 ½ Teaspoon of Tarragon or Parsley (I sometimes use half of each)

I do not sift the bread flour... I use a whisk on it after dropping it in the bowl... the same effect.

Place flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl and whisk them together well.
Using a 3 Cup measuring cup, add:

1 cup hot broth
1 cup cold whole milk (in that order so your eggs do not cook)
2 eggs (whisk together)
3 tablespoons melted butter (separately)

Pour all wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir to incorporate; do not overmix.
Set aside and allow it to stand for about 5 minutes to give the baking powder time to activate.

Using an ice cream scoop treated with cooking spray, drop equal-sized dumplings into your gently simmering pot...do not crowd the dumplings; they have to expand and have a little wiggle room to cook up fluffy and light. Also, do not boil your dumplings; you want that broth at a gentle simmer. Place the lid on and cook for 7 ½ minutes... open the pot and gently flip the dumplings; replace the lid and cook for another 7 ½ minutes. Stick a knife in one dumpling to see if it is fluffy and cooked. Repeat and make a second batch.

While the first batch of dumplings is simmering, microwave the peas in a bowl with a lid for a few minutes until heated. Add the peas to the pot after you remove your last batch of dumplings and stir to incorporate.

A couple of tips and notes:
You can cut the dumpling recipe in half if you like; however, I find they all get eaten.

I use two large spoons to flip the dumplings; you don't want to break them. Again, only crowd a few in the pot at one time; they will not cook properly.

I use white pepper as it has a different taste and look.

A Rotisserie Chicken already has seasoning salt, so avoid adding salt to the dumplings. You can use a plain chicken instead of a Rotisserie; however, the cooking process of a Rotisserie tenderizes the chicken rather than toughening it.

That goes for the broth as well; better than Bullion Chicken Paste is the best product out there. It comes in regular and low-salt versions... however, it contains salt, so you don't want to salt that broth... I omit it from the recipe on purpose. You can always add salt and pepper to your serving bowl, but as the saying goes, you cannot remove it.

I know the recipe SOUNDS complicated, and yes, it has lots of steps... but once you get it down, it is like riding a bike.