Bea's Chicken & Dumplings

INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 fryer (whole chicken), cut into pieces
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2-3 tablespoons butter or margarine, optional

DIRECTIONS - DUMPLINGS

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, blending together.
2. Add ice water and stir to form a soft dough, adding additional ice water if needed to make a soft dough that can be rolled into a ball.
3. Place dough on a floured surface, and roll to coat in flour. Place on freezer paper or floured surface. Roll dough very thin, 1/8- to1/16-inch thickness.
4. Let dough rest 30 minutes; cut into 1-inch strips.
5. Place dough strips on wax paper-lined cookie sheet in layers. Freeze. (If freezing longer than a couple of days, store in plastic freezer bags.)

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

1. Fill a 6- to 8-quart pot two-thirds full with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken one piece at a time to the boiling water. Return to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 45-60 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
3. Remove chicken from broth, reserving broth.
4. Cool chicken; remove skin and bones, and cut into bite-size pieces. Return chopped chicken to broth, along with bouillon cubes and cream of chicken soup, stirring until blended.
5. Add enough hot water to fill the pot back to two-thirds full. Bring to a boil over medium heat, adding butter or margarine if needed to make a rich broth.
6. Break frozen dumplings into pieces about 4 inches long and drop into boiling broth a few at a time, not stirring but gently moving dumplings with a slotted spoon to make room for all.
7. Cover and cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Turn off heat, and let pot sit with lid on about 10 minutes before serving.