Slow Simmer Chicken And Dumplins

• 2 quarts water
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 1 (3 -4 lb) broiler-fryer chickens, cut up into about 6 pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
• 2 carrots, cut up into chunks
• 1 garlic clove, peeled & quartered
• 1 large bay leaf
• 4 -6 whole fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (more if you like)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 of a fresh lemon)
• DUMPLINS
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons milk

1. In a large pot, bring chicken broth liquid to a boil. Add chicken, plus 1 tsp of salt & onion, celery, bay leaf & parsley into the pot. Reduce heat to a simmer & cook the chicken uncovered for 2 hours. The chicken liquid will reduce by about 1/3rd. (I used my crock pot and it worked very well).
2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot & set aside to cool. Strain the stock to remove the veggies & floating scum, what you have left is the stock & chicken. I saved the celery and carrots and put them back into the broth. Discard all else.
3. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock in a smaller pot (save the balance for another use & it can be frozen). Add pepper, the remaining salt, & the lemon juice. Reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplins.
4. Combine flour and ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well till smooth, then let dough rest for about 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Dough is very wet and sticky. Add extra flour as needed to roll it out.
5. Cut dough into 1/2 inch squares & drop each into the simmering chicken stock. As the pot gets crowded, move dumplins out of the way with a wooden spoon as you carefully drop the rest of the dumplins into the simmering broth. Use all the squares. The dumplins will swell at first & then slowly shrink in size as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock to a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes till thick. STIR OFTEN.
6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones & remove the skin. Cut the meat into bite size pieces & drop it into the pot. Discard the skin & bones. Continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, do not stir vigorously or the chicken will shred & fall apart. We want to strive for big Chunks at the completion of our recipe.
7. When the thickened soup has reached the desired consistency, serve hot.

water, chicken broth, salt, onion, stalks celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, ground black pepper, lemon juice, dumplins, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, milk

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/slow-simmer-chicken-and-dumplins-364847 (may not work)