Chicken 'n' Dumplings -- Cracker Barrel Style

Ingredients

Chicken and broth:
3 quarts water
1 (3-4 lb) chicken, cut up
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
3-6 whole fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour, see note
1 tablespoon baking powder, see note
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

2Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot.

3Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours.

4The liquid will reduce by about one third.

5When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside.

6Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum.

7You want only the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.

8Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe - it can be frozen).

9Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the tablespoon of lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the Dumplings.

10For the Dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and milk in a medium bowl.

11Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5 to 20 minutes.

12Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2-inch thickness.

13Cut the dough into 1/2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock.

14Use all of the dough.

15The Dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy.

16Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Stir often.

17While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle.

18Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin.

19Cut the chicken neatly into bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot.

20Discard the skin and bones.

21Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5 to 10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart.

22You want big chunks of chicken in the end.

23When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot.

24Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.

*Note~They noted that they found that they needed about 3/4 cup more flour than the recipe called for. They added 1/4 cup of flour at a time to get the dough to rolling consistency and added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.