Comfort food

     I made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner.  Yum!  We love them. They remind me of growing up.  It is my mother's recipe and she used to make them for us.  I actually only learned to make them last summer.  I had asked her several times before, but never written it down so never could remember the recipe. I use a roasted chicken from Costco that is $5 and much quicker and easier then boiling my own.  Mmmm. 

Here is her recipe, if you are interested.

1 whole chicken, deboned and left in various size chunks

(can use 4 breasts if you want)

2 cans chicken broth

Dumplings:  2 cups flour

                     salt and pepper to taste

                     1 cup broth, added slowly to make a sort of sticky dough

Roll out the dough on a floured  sheet of parchment or cutting board.  You want it less then 1/4 inch thick.  Use a pizza cutter to crisscross cut into small 1inch squares. Bring chicken and rest of broth to low boil on the stove. You may need to add a little water or some more broth to cover the chicken.  Slowly add dumplings one at a time, spreading them out, stretching them slightly before you drop them in (not sure why, but mom said you have to do this).  Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. (no peeking)  Remove the lid and slowly stir in a little thickening of 1/4 cup flour and water shaken in a small jar.  Stir quickly as you add, you may not need all of it.  Serve alone or over mashed potatoes.

     Now, I'm not going to ask you what foods you remember from childhood, instead I'm going to encourage you to get your mother to write down some that you love, preferably hand written by her. They will conjure up wonderful memories everytime you make them.

(Alright, so I had to include a picture of this cutie. 
Don't you just want to kiss those chubby cheeks.)