Dinner tonight: Halloween Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings are obviously not limited to Halloween night. They're a warm and satisfying "winter-time" meal that is easier to make than you think. My mom makes Chicken and Dumplings every year on Halloween because she's a pro at making them and it's a feast that can feed several people. Here's her recipe, I hope you'll try it out!

Easy Chicken and Dumplings
Cook and prep time appx 4 hours.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 package of Mary B's brand frozen dumpling strips
* 1 whole, fresh chicken, insides removed (there's a little bag inside the chicken with the gizzards and stuff you just remove it and throw it out! Unless you are wanting to eat the gizzards and in that case you're on your own there!)
* salt and pepper
* water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the entire chicken in a big ol' pot and cover with water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat down to med-low, and let the chicken cook down for a couple hours.

2. About two hours before dinner time, take the chicken out of the water and start removing the meat from the bone. It should come apart easily. Throw the meat back into the pot of water and discard the bones. Bring to a boil again, aka turn the heat back up.

3. Separate each frozen dumpling strip and throw them into the pot of chicken meat and water. Your water should be straight up chicken broth by now. Test the flavor of the broth to see if you need to add more salt or pepper. Let the water come back to a boil and then turn the heat back down to low. (I know, there's a lot of turning the heat up and down, but you don't want the dumplings to get mushy.)

4. Let the dumplings cook in the broth for those two hours or so until dinner time. Serve and enjoy!

Mary B's brand is available at Wal-Mart.

When we were kiddos, my Mom would make the dumpling strips from scratch. According to my mom, Mary B's dumpling strips are just as good if not BETTER than the homemade ones. They're also a lot less messy and time consuming.

Does your Mom have a "tried and true" family gathering recipe? Please share!

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I'll be featuring recipes on Tuesdays that will work as either side dishes for your holiday meal or main course dishes that aren't your average cooked Turkey. I'd love to hear some recipes from you guys too!