Family Favorite Cure All - Chicken Dumpling Soup

I warn you now.....I am a creative cook so measurements are not exact, and actually....except for the dumplings (the secret ingredient in this recipe) ..... this recipe is adapable to any familys particular tastes. I encourage you all checking this recipe out to let your adventurous side free. Make the recipe in a single serving size or for a big group by varying the amount of water and chicken and other ingredients. Do not be afraid to experiment a little. If times are tight.....add a little more water and really pick those bones clean so you have some extra to freeze for the week you are short of extra cash. This recipe freezes nicely and is wonderful reheated. It's also a great recipe to let your inner cook come out. Recipes were meant to be adapted....to carry your own signature. Have fun..... you might be suprised at how successful you can be and at that adventurous soul you have been hiding inside yourself for so long.

A few words before the ingredients. Just like in the rest of this recipe I encourage you to be adaptable and creative with this part. I generally separate the backs and necks from any full size fryer or roaster chicken that I am going to cook for a meal in our family, refreezing them for using in a future soup base. Or I use the carcass of a chicken we recently cooked for making a soup base....there is always lots of scrap left on any carcass so you will have plenty of little chicken snibbles to use. You can even add some chopped up chicken or turkey lunch meat you might have left over to vary the taste. In the "old days" we used to keep a pot of "soup" on the back burner of the stove to make use of any leftovers and the name of the soup just changed with the most recent additions. The soup was always there for any visitor or family member at a moments notice.

The recipe begins with my basic instructions for creating the "soup".


CHICKEN SOUP BASE


If you use fresh uncooked parts your base will take a bit longer to make. I generally begin with a large pot of water....around 4 to 6 quarts..... and the back parts from one larger fryer or two small fryers. Fresh parts should be simmered for at least a couple hours until the meat is falling off the bones easily.

ADD to the water with the Chicken Parts:

1 large or 2 medium chopped onions
6 to 8 oz of chopped fresh mushrooms
1 to 1.5 cups of sliced carrots
Chicken Bouillon paste - 3 to 4 tablespoons
(NOTE: I use the variety whose first ingredient on the jar reads "chicken" and I have an adversion to msg so it cannot have that in it either. My grandmother made her bouillon, but I am not quite that dedicated.)
Season to taste.
(I use salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, shallot pepper, frozen chives, parsley)


Simmer base for 2 hours or more until meat flakes off bones. This will only take an hour or less if you are using a precooked carcass instead of fresh parts.
Remove the bones and spoon off any grease on the top of the soup base.
You now have your base nearly ready. At this point I generally add a bit more water to replace the removed bones and bring the pot to about 2 to 2.5" below full.
Now to prepare the secret ingredient......the dumplings!

FARINA DUMPLINGS
BASIC RECIPE (double or triple for a large pot)

1 cup Milk
pinch of salt to taste
1 tablespoon butter
Heat & add 1/2 cup Farina (Also known as "Cream of Wheat "- found in the hot cereal section of your grocery) & cook until thick
Cool slightly & add 2 beaten eggs
Allow to cool (you can refrigerate) until just before serving

Add by tablespoons to hot soup base that has been simmering lightly.
Cook covered simmering moderately 30 to 45 mins. Dumplings will rise to the surface as seen in the next picture. SERVE and ENJOY!

This soup is of course better the next day. The longer it sets the more time the flavors have to blend.

VARIATIONS
Our family though the years has adapted this recipe to be used with all kinds of fowl. One of our favorites is an older pheasant....yes, it is great for old wild field birds! Turkey is also popular and a squab or cornish game hen left over in the freezer has been known to work fine too. The light weight of the dumplings gives a satifying fullness to this soup, so add a sandwich to your menu or serve it as a full meal. On occasion, depending on what I have on hand I have added corn, and peas and even zuchinni to the pot along with the dumplings. Be creative.....this is a recipe you can have fun with and make into your own family favorite. We never fail to feel better than ever after ingesting a pot! And of course it cures any ailment including the common cold. ENJOY!

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