Cut up chicken. Put in large pan and cover with water to about two inches above the chicken. Add 1-2 teaspoons salt. If desired, add poultry seasoning. Bring to boil and simmer chicken until very tender (about 45 minutes). The flesh should be falling off the bones. Remove chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon or tongs. Place in a bowl to cool. When cool, remove meat from bones. You may also want to remove skin.
Put 2 cups of Bisquick in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of milk. Stir. Add just enough of remaining milk to make dough stick together. Place on floured board, wax paper or cabinet. Sprinkle flour on top. Flour hands and pat down. Knead by folding dough over and pushing down with knuckles about 10 times adding more flour as needed. Pat dough out and roll very thin with a glass or rolling pin. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. Use a knife to cut into 1-2 inch strips.
Bring broth to a boil over high heat. Drop in dumplings quickly and push down with a spoon. Return to boil as quickly as possible. Cover pan and turn heat down to medium. Boil for 10-15 minutes until dumplings are done. Leave pan covered as much as possible, but be sure the dumplings do not stick. When done, return chicken to pan and stir gently. When chicken is hot, remove from heat. If you’re really in a hurry, you can make this recipe by buying chicken parts already cup up and use flattened and cut-up canned biscuits for the dumplings.
If you would like to make dumplings like our mother did instead of using Bisquick, do the following. Combine 2 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cut in 4 tablespoons shortening with two table knives moving the knives crisscross through the dough until it has a mealy texture. Siir 3/4 cup of milk into the dough. Add as little of an additional 1/4 cup of milk as possible to get the dough to hold together. Roll and cut the dough as described earlier.
© 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 Portia Isaacson Bass and Veta Leigh. All rights reserved.