Chicken and Dumplings

I love chicken and dumplings. Especially the dumplings. To me, it is comfort food at its best: easy, nourishing and delicious. I thought Spring was coming yesterday because it got up to 55°F and the sky was sunny and blue. It was not to be though, because when I woke up this morning and peeked out the window, it was blindingly white as snow was falling and continued to coat the land with 5 inches of snow. Bah Humbug! The upside to cold weather is that we get to eat more hearty comfort foods. Enter this yummy dish:

Pin It

Chicken and Dumplings

serves 4 (2 adults and 2 children)

Ingredients:

For the chicken base:

2 cups veggies (corn, peas and chopped carrots)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I removed the bitty chicken bits in ours)
1 chicken breast, boiled and chopped/shredded (about 1 cup)
1.5 c milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the dumplings:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (use aluminum free)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Boil and chop or shred your chicken breast. Set aside. In a large pot, mix the can of cream of chicken soup, milk, veggies, and salt and pepper. Add the chicken and bring to a boil. Stir constantly to avoid sticking. Reduce heat and cover. Prepare the dumpling dough.

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter until coarse and crumbly. Add the milk and stir until a stiff dough has formed. You can either pull of bits dough and just plop it in the pot, or you can form dumpling balls and place them neatly spaced. I did a little of both. Either way, once the dumplings are in the pot, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Insert a toothpick into one of the dumplings to be sure they are cooked through.

Serve and enjoy!

chicken base inspired by this recipe. dumpling recipe credit here.

Natural Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff was one of my favorite meals as a kid, but once I found out there was mustard in the sauce, I could never bring myself to make it- I just couldn't see mustard, wine and sour cream working together. Needless to say, when I made it without the mustard, something was missing- duh! It was that "stroganoff" taste. This time, I added the mustard back in, and used strips of beef instead of ground beef. I also made my own "cream of mushroom soup" instead of using the canned, and it was absolutely delicious! I will be making this again and again, and hope you enjoy it too! 

Pin It

Natural Beef Stroganoff

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 1 pound beef chuck roast, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1. 5 cups condensed beef broth (canned or bouillon made)
• 1 teaspoon prepared french mustard
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup white wine

(serve with egg noodles or rice)

Directions:

Remove any fat from the beef and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick by 2 inches long. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper. 
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the beef strips quickly, then add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Whisk in the flour making sure there are no lumps. 
Lower the heat and stir in the mustard and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. Five minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream, as well as any additional salt and pepper to taste. Best served with hot egg noodles. Enjoy!

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a perfectly baked chocolate chip cookie? Well, I'll admit that I'm pretty picky when it comes to cookies, and I've tried at least 4 other recipes for chocolate chip cookies that have left me disappointed. Short of using shortening, I thought I would never find a recipe for a crispy AND chewy home-baked-with-butter recipe. Turns out, this recipe is just that. The secret is in the addition of baking soda and water. Try it, you won't regret it. These buggers are keepers! :)

Pin It

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe credit: Dora/Allrecipes

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Directions:

• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Shape a teaspoonful (or tablespoon, depending on your preference) into a ball, then place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. 
• Bake for 7-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
• Makes 2 dozen.

Easy Copycat Breadsticks

The question is, which restaurant are they copycatting? I'll leave that up to you to decide. Word around the internet is Olive Garden, but David and I think they are much more like Pat and Oscar's. If you're from anywhere other than Southern California, you probably won't recognize Pat and Oscar's, but their breadsticks are CA famous! In fact, they are my absolute favorite breadsticks, hands down. These are very similar- they are fresh baked, chewy with a crisp edge and have the perfect amount of butter, salt and garlic. They need to rise for about 45 minutes, so start them before the rest of dinner, then pop them in the oven right before you're about to sit down to eat. Enjoy!!

Pin It


Easy Copycat Breadsticks
inspired by various recipes from around the internet

Ingredients:

Sticks:

4 cups unbleached white flour, plus more for kneading
2.5 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 cups very warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (equal to one packet)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Garlic Butter:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
1.5 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

If you live in a cold climate, turn your oven to 200°F. Turn it off once it has pre-heated.
Mix the sugar and yeast in the water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Combine flour and salt, then add to the yeast mixture. Add the melted butter and mix.
Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, adding more flour by the tablespoon until the dough is stretchy and no longer sticking to your hands.
Roll out into a log, then cut into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into the size of stick you desire, about 8-10 inches long. Place 6 of them on a baking sheet and place in the warm oven. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, then pre-heat to 400°.
While the oven is pre-heating, combine the melted butter, garlic powder and sea salt. (don't brush them yet!)
Bake sticks for 5-7 minutes, until they are nearly done, then remove from the oven and brush with the garlic butter. Bake for an additional 2-4 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and resist the urge to bite the edge off of a burning hot bread stick. (it hurts!) Serve with your favorite Italian dish and salad and enjoy!!

PS. basket & liner can be found here.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

I have always loved coffee cake. My favorite flavor is traditional cinnamon swirl. This recipe makes a fluffy yet slightly dense cake and the swirl adds a delicate cinnamon infused sweetness. The only downside to this recipe is that while it was very good right out of the oven, it is at least 10 times better the next day. I will be making this again and again, but will need to plan ahead and hide it from David and James while it settles over-night, otherwise, half of it will be gone before morning. 

Pin It

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

inspired by and adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

• For the batter:
• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

For the topping and swirl:

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F (175°C). Lightly grease and flour an 8x8 inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together the sugars and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugars. Combine egg, milk, and oil; add to flour mixture. Mix well.

Pour half of the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half of the reserved cinnamon & sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon & sugar mixture. Gently draw a knife or toothpick through batter to marble.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with foil and let sit overnight before slicing. 


Serve with love and hot coffee. Enjoy!