SOMETHING NEW ABOUT MAKING DUMPLINGS

After making my son-in-law a kettle of dumplings enough to feed a homecoming, lol. I thought I would post what I had seen on a cooking show about making dumplings.
 I have made them for years but guess it is never to late to learn something new.
 After you get the dumplings cut out with a pizza cutter and start to put them in the kettle, have a bowl of flour beside them and put them in the flour and then swirl around with your hand and then take them out and put in the kettle one by one. The chef said that they would not stick together. I tried this and it seems to work.
 I always try to make more than I  should really and sometimes they want to stick together. Always have
 plenty of broth so you will not crowd the dumplings. If they get to thick when you re-warm them up take some out of the kettle and put in a smaller kettle and add some water to them and then re-warm. Watch and don't let them burn on the bottom.
People don't realize how long it takes to make a big kettle of dumplings for a homecoming. So when at one eat them all and don't throw any away. Most times it takes at least 2 hours or longer. My aunt is our noted dumpling maker for our homecoming and she mades one of the big canners full most times. So it takes her around 4 hours to make them.
I learned the hard way to never put your chicken in your dumplings until they are all made and you have turned them off. Gently stir it in the kettle.
Then put the chicken in. If putting it in while cooking it will go to shreds most of the time.
Also have a tube of yellow food coloring on hand to make them look like you killed a fresh chicken. lol. Just take a toothpick and get a little on it and swirl around in the chicken broth. If using the liquid use around 3 drops. Don't use to much or it sure will look fake and don't be like me be in a hurry and get out the red food coloring like I did  for a church homecoming and have you a big kettle of bright red dumplings. They have never let me live this down. All my time wasted and no big pot of dumplings. lol.
My hubby ask me how do I get them so yellow so I just had to tell him my secret. He sure knew I didn't have any fresh chickens. He could not believe I used food coloring in them. More power to all of us cooks.
 I have a new nickname for my son-in-law, Little Dumpling. lol.