* 3 quarts Chicken stock
* 4½ pounds Chicken thighs
* 5 stalks of Celery, three chopped, two finely Diced
* 5 Carrots, three chopped, two finely Diced
* 2 Onions, both peeled. One quartered, and one finely Diced.
* 2½ teaspoons Black pepper
* '''Dumplings'''
* 3 cups Flour
* ¾ teaspoon Baking soda
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 4½ tablespoons Crisco shorting
* 1¼ cups Buttermilk

===Method===
* '''Broth & Chicken'''
* Place Chicken thighs in a large Dutch oven. Add Chicken Broth, the quartered Onion , three chopped Celery Stocks, three chopped Carrots and 2 teaspoons Salt. Bring to a Boil. Reduce heat to a Simmer, cook covered for one hour.
* Remove the cooked Chicken to cool. Strain the Broth and discard the solids, at this point the Onion/Celery/Carrots have given up all of their flavour in the Broth. When the Chicken is cool, debone and shred the chicken.
* Add the two finely Diced Carrots, two finely Diced Celery Stocks and the finely diced Onion back to the Strained Broth. Cook Broth at a low Simmer for 30 minutes.
* '''Dumplings'''
* While the Broth is Simmering, in a bowl, combine the Flour, Baking soda, and Salt. Cut in the Shortening. Add the Buttermilk, stirring with a fork until moistened. Knead the Dough 4 to 5 times, and stop. Do not over work the Dough! You are not making Bread. Over worked dough makes tough Dumplings. The dough should be loose and sticky.
* You'll need a Rolling pin and something to cut the Dumplings with. I like to use a Pastry cutter, but a sharp knife works also. I also use a spatula/turner to lift the Dumplings off the cutting surface.
* On a heavily Floured work surface, roll the Dough out thin, about ⅛″ thick with a Floured Rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the Dumplings in to strips about ½″ x 2″. It's okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
* Use the floured spatula/turner to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of Dumplings.
* To cook the Dumplings, bring the Broth to a Boil. Drop the Dumplings in a few at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra Flour on them will Help thicken the Broth. Cook the dumplings for about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the Black pepper and cooked Chicken, and then serve.
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