My Version of Aunt Ethel's Chicken Mull

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in the south many of us love chicken & dumplings. Though I do like chicken & dumplings I just am not particularly fond of the dumplings. Just too doughy (is that a real word?) for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong I would sure eat them if someone had some to serve, but I prefer a dish that my aunt Ethel used to make. I used to love to go to my Aunt Ethel & Uncle Ed’s house around lunch or supper time. My Aunt Ethel cooked like she was cooking for an army! Especially when she had company at the house. She would have every pot, pan, dish and bowl in the kitchen filled with food. One of my favorite things that she made was a dish that she called chicken mull. Now don’t go snarling up your nose at the name of the dish! Well, snarl if you want to but let me tell you it is some good stuff. Just to make it sound more appetizing I sometimes call it chicken stew, something about the word "mull" just doesn't sound very appetizing to some folks! This is one of my favorites on a cool day.

I don’t really measure anything when I cook this. There really isn’t much to it so you should be able to “wing it” if need be! Just taste as you go! A simple dish but very hearty!

So this is more like basic instructions or directions instead of a recipe as I learned to make it as I watched her as she prepared this dish. I have looked for her written recipe in some of my cookbooks but haven't been able to find it. I don't really think she had it written down any where. She just cooked it. She used a whole chicken, but I use boneless chicken breasts.

3 - 4 Large boneless chicken breasts or you can used chicken on the bone if you would like. Cook these in a large pot with enough water to cover the chicken well. Add a little salt and pepper when you cook the chicken. Once the chicken is done I take it out of the pot and let it cool enough for me to handle it. Then I shred the chicken up into pieces. It might look prettier if you cut it up into little chunks, but to me it just tastes better if you just shred it with your fingers as you pull it apart. If you have a lot of water left in the pot you can pour off some of the water. I add a can or maybe two cans of chicken broth and about a half a stick of butter to the pot and add the chicken back in. Next I add a can of evaporated milk and some whole milk to the pot. My aunt Ethel usually used whole milk to make this. I really don’t know how many cups to tell you but you are making a pot of this so just pour some in and add more if you need more. If you want just milk and no evaporated milk, that is fine too. Just do whatever you prefer. Me, I like it rich tasting! Next take a stack of saltine crackers and break them up but don't add to the pot yet. Don’t crush, just break them up a bit. Now, bring the pot to a rolling boil and add your broken crackers to the pot. Turn down the heat and simmer on low for a few minutes stirring occasionally and let the crackers soften up and absorb some of the liquids and the mixture will thicken a bit. If you want it thicker add more crackers and if you want it thinner add more milk or chicken broth or even a little water. This is very forgiving. Season as you like with salt and pepper. Taste first because the crackers add a good bit of salt themselves.

Talk about comfort food on a cold winter day. Mmmmmmm. Gooooood!

If you decide to give it a try let me know how you like it!