1 chicken (5-6 lb. fat hen)                                               1 can (26 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1 box Anne's frozen dumplings                                      1 stick (1/4 lb.) real butter
1 teaspoon black pepper - to taste                               2 teaspoons salt - to taste
1 can (10 3/4 oz) chicken broth                                     3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 gallon chicken broth reserved from cooked chicken

Place chicken in a 12 quart sauce pot and add enough water to completely cover the chicken and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Boil on high heat about 3 hours until chicken can be pulled from the bones discarding  the skin, bones and fat from chicken.  Cut or pull chicken into smaller pieces and set aside.  Let the stock cool down until the fat coagulates and skim most of the fat off the stock.  Bring reserved chicken stock (at least one gallon or more) back to a rolling boil and add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, chicken bouillon cubes, stick of butter, can of chicken broth and break frozen dumpling pieces in thirds adding a few at a time until all the dumplings are added to the pot.  Reduce heat to medium/low and boil until the dumplings began to swell up and are tender; takes about 30 minutes.  Add deboned chicken and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes until chicken is thoroughly heated through.  Add cream of chicken soup and once mixed, turn heat off; place lid on pot and let set 30 minutes to an hour, whereas the dumplings will continue to absorb the broth and swell to their maximum size.  Adjust seasonings as needed and serve while hot with your favorite sides. 

YIELD:  10 or more servings

Note: Grandma Coley's dumplings were made by mixing plain flour and ice water and rolling the dough to about 1/8-inch thick and cutting into 1-inch width strips several inches in length.  However, the Anne's frozen dumplings are about as good as those made from "scratch".  Joyce got some on the job training from Grandma with this "ole time" chicken and dumplings recipe.  I can still see Grandma rolling the dough out with the large wooden maple rolling pin and using the boat shaped wooden biscuit dough mixing bowl.

Mickey Porter 02-13-99