Creamy Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken:
1 (2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 carrot sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 box or can of chicken stock

Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 tsp pepper ( to taste )
Buttermilk (regular milk or water will work also)


Directions
Place the chicken, celery, onion, carrot,  chicken stock, salt and pepper in a large pot. Add 4 quarts of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken until it is tender and the thigh juices run clear, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and, when it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones. Return the chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.

To prepare the dumplings: Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, add a small amount of buttermilk over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of buttermilk. Knead the dough and form it into ball or leave loose in bowl for spoon drop dumplings.

Let the dough sit for a few minutes.You can roll out the dough and cut into pieces if you like.  We like spoon dropped dumplings.  (Spoon drop:  you just take a spoon full of dumplings and drop them into you simmering juices and let simmer.)

Add the cream of chicken soup to the pot with the chicken and simmer gently over medium-low heat.

Cut the dough into pieces or use spoon and drop into the simmering soup. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently flip dumplings with spoon so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Plate and serve.  Warm, filling, wonderful.  

Angel