Chicken and dumplings

This happens to be a family favorite around here. I've made it for my parents and brother as well and the next day my dad and brother fought over the left overs! My dad is a finicky leftover eater...it has to be darn good for him to eat the left overs. Here it is June and I'm making this, but like I said, its a favorite around here...we just have to deal with the summer heat from using the stove to cook it ;-) This recipe is like many, it came to me from someone else and then I modified it to suit my families needs/taste. Oh, and keep in mind that when I make this for my family I have to double it. 1 chicken stewed and removed from bone(I'll be honest, I rarely do this with a whole chicken, I usually use 4-6 chicken breasts and cook them in the crockpot and then chunk them up in bite size pieces) broth or water 4 carrots-sliced 4 stalks celercy-sliced/diced 1 onion chopped/diced Poultry seasoning(this is my secret ingredient) salt and pepper to taste add chopped veggies and chicken to pot and cover with water/broth. simmer until tender. skim 2 cups of liquid from the pot and whisk in about 3/4-1 cup of flour and then incorporate back into the pot with all the good stuff. bring back to a boil and cook until slightly thickened. Now to make the dumplings! In a bowl: 3 TBS butter, 1 cup flour, 1 TBS parsley flakes, 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt, 1 cup of milk. I have never found a good way to mix this except with my fingers. I use cold butter and really smoosh(ya like that?) it with my fingers to fully incorporate. I find that if I use soft butter my dumplings are too runny. Drop by spoonfuls into the hot chicken liquid and cook uncovered for 10 mins. Then cover and cook at least 10 more mins, your dumplings will be done with they feel firm on top. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.