Chicken and Dumplings

from Nina Ownby (my mom!)
1 large chicken, cut up
1-2 celery stalks, broken in half
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 T. salt
2-2 ½ quarts water
Six hours in advance, boil these together for about 2 hours. [I usually also add 10 whole black pepper corns, bruised, and sometimes also a bay leaf or two, and/or a sprig of rosemary. You could also add a broken, unpeeled carrot for a richer colored broth.] Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and put on a plate. Cool. Take the meat off the bones and set aside.
Return bones to pan and simmer longer with 2 T. lemon juice. [I skip this step when I’m in a hurry, but it is a good step to do if you have time, because you’ll get more calcium from the bones in your soup.]
About 1 ½ hours before serving, strain the broth. Discard the limp vegetables and bones. [compost!] Stir in all of the below. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper if needed. Cook ½ hour. Make dumplings. (recipe follows)
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 carrots, peeled sliced
3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced
salt & pepper
[You could also add sliced celery, or green beans, or peas, but I almost never do]
Dumplings
Makes 10 or 12
1 c. flour
1 ½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
Mix all together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2 t. vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ c + 2 T. milk
2 T. fresh parsley, minced
Mix all together in a medium bowl. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Drop by heaping soup spoon into the simmering broth. Cook ten minutes with the lid off, and ten minutes with the lid on. Turn on off the heat. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and arrange on a plate. Return the chicken to the pot. Serve immediately. (Adding the chicken cools the soup down so it might not burn your tongue when you try it.)