Homemade Chicken Soup or Broth With Gravy And Dumpling Recipes

I wrote this blog months ago on another blog, but have some additional ideas. When I make this chicken soup recipe, it is more than just chicken soup. I add all kinds of goodies to it while it is cooking. Some of the things I add are, lima beans (add during the start of cooking), rice, noodles (add last hour), small pasta, kale, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, snowpeas, and peas.

Here is an recipe for dumplings that I found originally in my old Betty Crocker cook book. I also found the recipe on the internet. I would make the dumplings during the last hour because when Betty Crocker was writing this recipe, she had never seen a slow cooker yet, and had no idea how long it might take for the dumplings to finish cooking. I would also turn the knob on high for the last hour if you are making dumplings. If you are adding brown rice, add that either in the beginning or middle of the cooking time, as brown rice takes a long time to cook.

This is the Betty
Crocker cookbook
I have. My mom
bought it for me
when I was engaged
with S & H
Greenstamps

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour (Use any brand of flour.

 If you can find organic, that is the best kind)

1 tablespoon parsley flakes, if desired

2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix flour, parsley, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut

in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until

mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by

spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew (do not drop 

directly into liquid). Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 

10 minutes longer.

Note: I do drop directly into liquid. I am not sure how you can avoid doing that!
The directions above are for stovetop dumplings, but I am sure I have made them
in the slow cooker. Just take into consideration the time factor, as the temperature
on the slow cooker is lower than a stove top.

Betty Crocker Recipe For Dumplings

Recipe for gravy

1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Dissolve cornstarch in water, and add to broth. Cook on medium high heat and stir 
periodically. Cook until mixture thickens and just starts to boil. 

You can take the following recipe, and just use it as soup. Make it a meal by adding some 
of the additions at the top of this page. *************************************************************************
Simple Recipe for Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

1 whole chicken (it can be cut up or whole)
3-4 cups water
1 bay leaf
2-3 carrots
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk
Garlic salt
Seasonings (I use a French type of seasoning) to taste

   Grease the inside of a slow cooker with softened butter or oil. You can also use a stove top pot to cook this in, but cooking time will be shorter and you will have to tend to the pot more often. If you have the insides of the chicken, like the liver and kidneys, throw them in the pot as well. Pour water over the chicken and in a food processor chop up the carrots, celery, and onion and place those in the slow cooker or pot along with the bay leaf, salt, and seasonings, if using. Set the slow cooker on low for about 6-8 hours, or longer. If cooking on the stove, cook on simmer or low boil for a couple of hours until the meat falls off the bones.
   Take the meat off the bones, after the meat has cooled off. Eat immediately or store meat and broth.
  You could use cut up turkey parts instead of chicken. You can use the broth to make soup or gravy to use in other recipes. Store leftover broth and meat in Mason jars and freeze. Broth and meat can be frozen together, or separately. If storing separately, add some broth to the chicken so it doesn't get freezer burn.
Some suggestions for chicken and broth:
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken rice soup
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie
Chicken and gravy
Chicken stew
Chicken and dumplings
Chicken and rice
Chicken and noodles
Chicken ala king