"... the chicken is WAY better." The Chicken and Dumplings Excursion

Project "Woo Brent with Chicken and Dumplings" was a SUCCESS!  If you read the post prior to this you'll see that he said if I could make chicken and dumplings as good as his mom and grandma's he'd have to marry me.  He said it was pretty darn close to what his mom and grandma made, but "the chicken is way better."  

I win! *happy dance*

for the soup

• 1 large chicken, cut up (I don't recommend doing this - I won't next time)
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 4 carrots, peeled, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
• water

• for the dumplings

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 4 tbsp oil

• for southern style dumplings (heavier and chewier)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 beaten eggs



just hangin' out in the sink, poor guy has no idea what's coming for him


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I never imagined it'd be so difficult to chop a damn chicken apart.. Frickin' bones.

Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, broth, parsley, bullion, salt and pepper into a large pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to cover chicken.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours, or until chicken is done.

In the meantime, eat a cake flavored rice krispie bar that you made the day earlier after you'd found the recipe on Pinterest.

Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.  I actually didn't even have to wait, it basically fell off the bone when I pulled it out of the soup

Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones.  Like I said, it practically fell off the bone.  Take care in searching for those pesky little bones that may be hiding in that big meaty pile.

Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.

Careful... There may be some sneaky, little bones hiding out in there.

Add more salt and pepper if desired.  Return soup to simmer.

In mixing bowl combine ingredients and mix well into stiff dough.  I mixed it with a hand mixer and once it was pretty well combined I finished mixing the smaller bits and left overs by hand, kneading it a little bit.

Drop by tablespoons into simmering soup, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  I took my tablespoon measuring spoon and rolled the dumplings into balls before I dropped them into the soup.

Yummm!  Big, poofy dumplings!!

Brent really liked it - I'm excited it turned out so well and I really didn't expect it to be so easy.  I'm definitely going to be making this during the fall/winter again...  Not on the hottest day of the year ;)

Chicken and Dumplings

YIELD

 4-6 servings

CATEGORIES

 dinner

• for the soup

  • 1 large chicken, cut up (I don't recommend cutting the chicken up, it leaves bits of bone in the mix)
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 4 carrots, peeled, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
  • water

• for the dumplings

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 4 tbsp oil

• for southern style dumplings (heavier and chewier)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 beaten eggs

• 1. Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, broth, parsley, bullion, salt and pepper into a large pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to cover chicken.
  2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours, or until chicken is done.
  3. Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.
  4. Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones.
  5. Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.
  6. Add more salt and pepper if desired.
  7. Return soup to simmer.
  8. In mixing bowl combine ingredients and mix well into stiff dough.
  9. Drop by tablespoons into simmering soup, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Recipe for "Cake Batter" Rice Krispie Bars

Make bars according to typical recipe, but while melting your butter and marshmallows together mix in 1/3 cup of yellow cake mix (dry) into the mixture.  Mix cereal and mixture together well, making sure everything is coated.  I then put some colorful sprinkles in them, stirring it well and then topping with more sprinkles after pressing into the pan.  :)

This just in....

"I will have to marry you if you can make it..."


Those are the exact quotes from Mr. Brent Sanden after I told him I was going to make chicken and dumplings and I could make it as good as Mom and Gramma.


Game.  On.  


Chicken and dumplings recipe to follow here within the next week!

Peach Curry Chicken

• I had this recipe for quite some time and I never got around to making it until a few days ago!  I realized after I made it that it was delis and I should have taken pictures throughout the process.  Oh well.

I actually quartered this recipe because it's just Brent and I and we've taken to watching what we eat and our portion sizes so we don't need much at all.

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• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp curry powder, or to taste
• 4 peaches, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 to 2 tbsp corn starch

**I also added some red chili powder to give it a little kick - add to your liking.

I sliced the peaches really thin and I didn't peel them (I'm lazy like that, besides, do you really notice the skin?)  I used two peaches and sliced them into eighths.  I laid some of them down at the bottom of the pan. 

We actually got two really large chicken breasts and I halved them (like filleted it). I then laid the four pieces on top of those peaches.  I sprinkled half of the sugar/curry mixture over the chicken and then I laid the rest of the peach slices of the peaches on top and then sprinkled the rest of the curry on it.

Feel free to experiment, it was amazing!  Plus, with the chicken cut thinner like that it cooked faster ;)

I steamed up some jasmine rice and poured some of the juices over top of the chicken, peaches and rice.  MMMMM - MMMMMMMMMMM!

1. Pre-heat oven to 350˚F.
2. Coat 9x13 pan with spray and put chicken in single layer on pan.
3. Mix brown sugar and curry powder with a fork and sprinkle about half of the mixture on top of the chicken.
4. Place peaches on top and sprinkle with remaining sugar/curry mixture.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. Just after removing from the oven squirt the lemon juice all over the chicken and peaches.
7. Pour off pan drippings and mix with cornstarch to desired thickness.