Chicken and Dumplings

Did you know that if you make homemade chicken and dumplings from scratch that you will instantly become the most interesting person in your entire house? Last night I slowly cooked chicken broth overnight from a leftover roasted chicken I had made over the weekend. I thought a good batch of homemade chicken soup would make my daughter feel much better. The house smelled heavenly when we woke up.  I noticed that I had quite an entourage follow me to the kitchen as I went to get my morning cup of coffee. My furry friends were quite interested in every move I made.  Despite the fact that I told the doodle doggies and puppies many times that the soup was in fact for the human residents of this house, they refused to believe me. If I raised my arm, they raised their heads with intense longing. Every move I made was instantly mirrored by the dogs. Straining the soup almost made for audible "mmmmmmmms" coming from my furry companions.  From time to time I will make homemade stock for the doggies so the dogs continued to be convinced that I was making a birthday dinner for them. I have not been left alone the entire day.  Trips to the basement....doggy companions. Trips to the garden....doggy companions.  Trips to the bathroom....yes you guessed it... a bathroom full of four legged friends.  My chicken stock perfume must be heavenly. I even had company when I took my son to cross country practice.  And if the furry gratitude wasn't praise enough - the human members of my family were also following me around wondering when the soup would be ready. I think the longest 20 minutes of the day came after I rolled out the dumplings and added them to the pot.  No sneaking a peek. No lifting the lid. Just plain waiting. The end result.....mmmmmmm. It made everyone's tummy happy and even made my daughter feel tons better. Sadly for the doggies, the chicken and dumplings were so delicious that not one drop remained for them.  I guess next time I will have to make the doggy version.  From the looks I have been getting this evening, I think I better make a batch soon!