Comfort Food

It is an icy, yucky day. The kids are home from school and I am thinking that something warm and comfortable sounds really good for supper. To me comfort food means one of two dishes, potato soup or chicken and dumplings. Because my husband thinks we should have meat at every meal, chicken and dumplings it is.

I am making these on the stove top today because I am home and don't mind, but all the chicken and seasoning can be dumped in the crock pot before you head out to work if you want.

In a big pot (I use an enormous cast iron stock pot) melt a couple tablespoons of butter, add to that, 1 rib of celery, chopped, 1/2 cup onion, chopped and 1 small carrot, chopped. Let them cook till they start to brown. Add 1 whole chicken, brown on all sides, add 1 gallon water, 2-3 chicken bullion cubes, a couple cloves of garlic, 8 - 10 black peppercorns, 2-3 sprigs rosemary and thyme (about 1 teaspoon of each herb) and cover. Simmer till the chicken is falling off the bone, several hours, stirring occasionally. When the chicken is done, set him aside to cool. Strain the broth, and separate off the fat. Put the broth back in the pot and reduce it by half.

If you want to use canned biscuits for dumplings ( after all that work, the chicken deserves better!) you can, but I will mix 2 cups of self rising flour, 1/2 stick of butter and enough milk to make a biscuit like dough and drop it by spoonfuls into the boiling broth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. NO PEEKING!

Clean up and chop the chicken meat, add to the dumplings when they are done, stir to combine and serve. If your chicken was very big, you should have plenty for chicken enchiladas or chicken salad tomorrow.