Mary's Chicken and Dumplings

Place chicken in a roasting pan or dutch oven with water half way covering chicken; add salt. Heat to boiling; cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until tender, about 2 hours. Remove chicken, cool slightly and remove from bones. Tear into medium-size pieces. Strain broth and return to pan with boned chicken. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper.

For dumplings, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add milk and oil to make a soft dough. Bring broth and chicken to a simmer; drop dumpling mixture onto chicken 1 teaspoon at a time. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until dumplings are set. You may then stir to mix together, if desired.

Note: You may use 2 large chicken breast quarters to equal 3 pounds instead of a whole chicken. Cook only until the juices are clear near the bone, 25 to 30 minutes. *This will reduce cooking time for the recipe to 45 minutes.