Chicken Dumpling Soup

I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I actually made this recipe so often that my husband got to the point where he couldn't eat it for few months. But, I laid off and now we can enjoy it once again. The best part of this soup is - you can make it whatever you want! Today for instance, we have leftover turkey from our  Thanksgiving yesterday and so instead of chicken, we are going with the turkey. My sister-in-law has even mentioned to me that they have used leftover shredded beef before too and it was great (just use a matching broth) Plus, you can use any vegetable you have on hand!

1 Rotisserie chicken
8 c. Chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
1/2 Yellow onion, finely diced
3 Carrots, peeled and cubed
3 stalks of celery - diced
2 small red potatoes - washed and cubed
1 1/2 C. Green Beans, ends removed
Salt & Pepper
1 T. Basil
2 Bay leaves
3 Eggs
1-2 C. four

In a large stock pot, saute the onions with a small amount of oil or a spritz of cooking spray until translucent. Add in the carrots, celery, potatoes and green beans. Add in the broth, canned tomatoes and seasonings. Boil over high heat until the vegetables are tender (if you are in a hurry, cut them smaller).

Meanwhile, pick apart the chicken, removing all gristle parts and bones. Add the chicken to the soup.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a dash of salt and pepper. Slowly add in the flour - you want this to get to the consistency of drop biscuit dough. (The amount of flour you add will be different every time since egg sizes are not consistent). Using a large metal spoon, drop the dough into the boiling soup (see below). Continue to boil until the dumplings are cooked through - about 5 more minutes. Enjoy.

To drop in the dumplings:

Start by submerging your spoon in the boiling soup to get the spoon hot. Next scrape the side edge of the spoon on the top of the dough and up against the edge of the bowl to get a long, thinner portion of dough on the spoon.(this probably makes no sense, but you want the dough to be on the edge of the spoon, it should look like you are scraping the bottom of the bowl and you can only get a little bit... )then submerge it into the boiling soup, the dumpling will fall off on its own.  Then start again.

Dumpling pics:

This is what the dumpling should look like before you submerge it.

Leave your spoon in the hot soup until the dumpling detaches itself.