Moco's Meals

Ingredients:

• up to 8 pcs of chicken (about 2 lbs max)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 rib celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 leeks (white part and 1 inch green), well-rinsed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup milk

Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Combine pepper, paprika and salt and rub the mixture onto the chicken. Head the oil in a pan, and cook the chicken over high heat until browned (about 10 minutes). Pour off the fat from the pan. Move chicken to a pot, and add broth, leeks, onion, carrots, and celery. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes just until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken and veggies to a plate and keep warm. Drop the dumplings (see below) into the broth, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until they are puffed and cooked through. To serve, arrange the chicken, vegetables, and dumplings in shallow bowls. Ladle broth into each bowl, and you’re done!

Dumplings:

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, pepper, and parsley. Using fingertips, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk, stirring just until the mixture is moistened. Gather the dough into a ball, knead it a few times, then separate it into 12 pieces.

Notes:

• I used chicken breasts for this recipe. It originally calls for an entire chicken, but I’d advise against that.
• I rolled the cut-up dumplings into oblong shapes
• DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE CONSISTENCY OF THE BROTH. It is a clear broth at first, but, after cooking the dumplings, the broth will be thicker.
• I’d advise stirring the dumplings several times over the 15+ minutes they are cooking, as it will help the broth thicken.
• You may want to cook the dumplings longer than 15 minutes, though this is entirely up to you.
• Interestingly enough, it is actually the dumplings that thicken the broth. The dumplings will puff up MASSIVELY in the first few minutes of cooking. This is actually supposed to happen, as that outside layer is what goes into thickening the broth, and isn’t really a part of the dumpling itself (if that makes any sense).
• You can use dried parsley flakes instead of the fresh parsley, but they dont always get tender (or taste as good), so I’d recommend the fresh parsley