Mary's Chicken and Dumplings

For the chicken:

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

For the dumplings:

• Use a separate bowl to combine flour, salt and baking powder.
• Add milk and oil to the bowl 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.

Tips + Tricks:

• 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.