Kickin' Chicken & Do Right Dumplings!

This is the perfect soul food meal to stick to your ribs. Ladies, the brothas like that and you do too. So do the kids, especially when they have a cold. Grandma knew this, so now I'm passing it along to you in case you've lost the recipe.


Kickin' Chicken

Place a 3 lb chicken into a large pot and cover with water, a teaspoon of salt and generous sprinkles of chicken seasoning made by companies like McCormick or Weber. If you don't have that, add a couple chicken bouillon cubes. If you like a slight onion taste, throw in one. If you want it spicy like I do, add black and/or red pepper.

Once it starts boiling, reduce to simmering. Check every 20 minutes or so to skim away any foam that forms in your pot. Simmer for at least an hour. Add a cup of rice (optional).

Taste broth to see if it's salty and seasoned enough for you, if not add more of what you like, and simmer under low light another 20 or 30 minutes, or until that baby is tender. Don't overcook.

Remove chicken from pot, and as soon as it's cool enough to work with, debone the breast, rib and thigh meat it into small pieces (like when you make chicken salad), but not the wings and drumsticks.

Give excess parts you don't want like the skin and fat to your dog or cat (mine gets the liver and gizzards), and toss out the bones.


Do Right Dumplings

You'll need:

2 Cups Flour (Grandma sifted hers but you don't have to)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
5 Tablespoons Butter
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Whole Milk or Butter Milk
1/2 Teaspoon of your chicken seasoning

Making dumplings are a breeze. Mix your flour, salt, egg, butter and milk until a ball forms.

You can either form your dumplings by rolling out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick on a cutting board and cut your dough into bite size pieces, or do it easy and make smaller bite-size dumpling balls by hand.

Optional: Grease the board with a thin coat of butter and roll each mini-ball around it. This will help keep your dumplings from sticking together once you boil them.

Get that chicken broth boiling again!

Here's the fun part I liked as a child and yours, if applicable, will love helping you with and listening to their giggles is worth it. Drop dumplings quickly into pot one at a time and dunk them because they will float.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook about 8 minutes.

Add chicken to pot until it's hot again (takes a minute or two), and wa-lah! Your Kickin' Chicken and Do Right Dumplings are ready!

Sounds like a lot of work, folks, but it isn't. My mama would have that dish whipped up in no time.

Now you and your fam or that fine bro or sis are ready to throw down! Enjoy!