Chicken and Dumplings

Despite what it may look like, I do cook regular food type meals not just TWD delicacies! Though these pictures were taken the first time I made this, I have made it several times since then. It has become one of our favorites.

I remember chicken and dumplings being one of my mom's favorites so it was something we ate often in my house growing up. I know you don't think of a stew being something you want to make in the summer but this one comes together very quickly and using fresh summer vegetables makes it appealing 12 months of the year. I find it to be a great comfort food when I want to relax.

I have to give props to Rachael Ray because we really love this variation. I do want to make my own chicken stock but that I will save for a winter day! I've learned to double this so we have leftovers too.


1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders (Remember to COOK them first)
1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced (skin can be on or off, we've done both)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped (I use my microplane to get all the flavor and none of the texture)
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container, preferred brand Kitchen Basics
1 small box biscuit mix(preferred brand Jiffy Mix) (I use Bisquick)
1/2 cup warm water
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.

Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

VTV: Yellow Summer Squash

While my in laws were visiting for Easter, we had a conversation about the vegetables that Jake has learned to like, while the list is very short; his mom was very impressed. I believe she said, "Wow, he never used to eat any vegetables as a kid!"

So, I was really excited when my friend, Nina started a new blog, Vindicate the Vegetable. While I enjoy eating many different vegetables, my husband does not. We have been working very hard at introducing new vegetables into our diet. I was glad the first week was a vegetable that we both already like, yellow summer squash. This recipe is one of our favorites ways to eat squash. In the past, we've also used eggplant in this. Today, I decided to top them with some lime zest. It was amazing! (Thanks Mom#2 for the microplane!)

(don't worry, I took the picture mid-cooking, the chicken was fully cooked before we ate it!)

Fajitas
(Source and Photos: my kitchen)

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
2 small yellow summer squash
4 small red potatoes
1 lime
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
non-fat sour cream
reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
tortilla shells



Directions

Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Grill until almost fully cooked then slice and add to the vegetables to finish cooking together.

While the chicken is grilling, I microwaved the potatoes in order to cook them faster. I chopped the squash, added it to the wok and seasoned it. Once the potatoes were cooking, I chopped them, added them to the wok and season them as well. (Note: if you don't precook the potatoes, don't add the squash till the end. It will cook very quickly and turn to mush.)

Let everything finish cooking together. Warm the tortilla shells for 30 seconds in the microwave or toast them in the oven. Layer the chicken and vegetables on the bottom. Add a little non-fat sour cream, shredded cheese and the zest of a lime. Yum!

Husband Rating: A+ He ate all this vegetables tonight and thought the lime zest was a great addition.

Wife: A+ A favorite that we haven't had in a while and it was so refreshing and guilt free, no oil or butter!

Roasted Red Potatoes

This recipe came from Amber's Delectable Delights. It was a great side dish to our turkey burgers. They were awesome!

Roasted Red Potatoes
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights )

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes (we used regular potatoes since that was what was in the pantry)
2 tablespoon bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Your choice of seasonings (I used garlic power, onion powder, and parsley)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Slice potatoes into wedges and place into medium bowl. Season with all the remaining ingredients and place into preheated oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are done to your desired crispness.

Potato Soup

What a better way to enjoy a cold, winter evening than with your husband, a movie and a bowl of comforting potato soup! It was perfect except for the fact that we ate too much of it so we both felt logy later on in the evening. It was just so good!

Ingredients

2 cups potatoes, chopped
2 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
small onion, chopped (we didn't have one!)
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup ham, cooked and chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese

Directions
Cook potatoes in a large soup pot with water until fork tender. Drain potatoes, reserving 1 cup of the water.
While potatoes drain, melt butter in the bottom of the pot and saute onions, whisking in flour to make a roux.
Return potatoes and reserved water to the pot. Add milk, sugar and ham. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer and thicken for about 30-40 minutes.
Add cheese and let it melt through.
Serve with crusty bread.

Note: The thing to remember is that potatoes don't have a lot of flavor on their own so be generous with the salt and pepper. We also used skim milk and it was nice and creamy without too much fat. We doubled the recipe so that we had leftovers for lunch this week.

Recipe from 101 Potato Recipes
Picture from my kitchen!

Husband and Wife Rating: A++

Elsa's Cider Beef with Smashed Cheddar Potatoes

My new claim to fame is that I met Rachael Ray! She has just come out with a new cookbook and kicked off her book tour this past Friday night at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. She did a Q&A session and then a book signing. It was a long wait but totally worth it. She personalized our book by saying, "Jake and Beth, Keep your pots hot! Rachael Ray" Well that's exactly what we did. We chose a new recipe from her book to kick off our week and it was great!


Ingredients

2 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons butter
2 pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
salt and black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 pound turnips, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups good-quality apple cider-go dark and cloudy
1 (15-ounce) can of beef stock
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped or snipped chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425.

Place a large stew pot or Dutch-oven with lid over medium-high heat. Add EVOO and butter. When the butter melts, season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Brown on all sides, 7-8 minutes total. Add onions, carrots and turnips and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and stir to combine and coat, 1 minute. Stir in apple cider and the beef stock, bring to boil, cover the pan, and transfer to the over. Braise the beef for 45 minutes.

Once the beef has been in the oven for about 15 minutes, place the potatoes in a large sauce pot with water to cover by at least 1 to 2 inches. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat a bit, add some salt, and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes.

When the potatoes are tender, drain them and return them to the pot. Add the milk, sour cream and cheese. Use a potato masher to smash them to your preferred consistency. Season with salt and pepper and add the chives. Cover and keep warm until the beef it done.


To serve, ladle the stew into sallow serving bowls. Make a well in the center and fill with the potatoes. (It should be noted, however, that there are members of our family-like my brother-who would fill a bowl with potatoes instead, leaving a small well in the center to hold a few bites of stew.)

My tips: We eliminated the turnips, something we've never tried and we weren't daring enough tonight. My husband doesn't like white cheddar so we used regular sharp cheddar. We also forgot to buy the chives at the grocery store. We both enjoy a good amount of spice and felt this was lacking some spice. Note: This is one of her 60-minute meals and it serves 4.

Husband Rating: A+ He says it needs to be well seasoned when cooking but over all he enjoyed.

Wife Rating: A+ I really liked the cider, it adds a sweetness to an otherwise regular beef stew. I didn't love the onions but they add good flavor. We also opted to fill the bowl with potatoes and then pour the stew over top like Rachael's brother. I won't lie the potatoes are why I chose the recipe and they were amazing!

Recipe from: just in time! All-new 30-minute meal, plus super-fast 15 minute meals and slow-it-down 60 minute meals by Rachael Ray
Picture take by me