Dumplings!!

I made a pot of chicken soup the other night to use up the rest of the chicken I had bought before it spoiled and it'd been sitting in the fridge until last night when I was so cold after walking home from the bus stop because there's no gas around my area at all and my Jeep's been sitting parked by my house for 2 days now and I'm taking the train to work.. it's just what I've gotta do for now.

.......But anyway... the chicken soup..

I went and heated up the soup last night, picked out the bones and thought to myself this soup need Dumplings... so I headed to the recipe box...

Dumplings:

1 Cup All Purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
1/2 C Milk


1. Stir together Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar & Salt in a medium size bowl.  Cut in butter until mealy and stir in milk until you've got a soft dough

2. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup/stew/broth cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Do not take off the lid while it's cooking!


Soft fluffy dumplings :)

Mmm Chicken & Dumplings

One of my very favorite comfort foods is Chicken & Dumplings. Today we're in for a whopper of a snowstorm that went from an estimated 3-5" on Friday up to 6-10" last night and then just a little while ago when flipping through the channels saw that it's gone up to 8-14" I've had enough of winter already.

Anyway, on to the Chicken & Dumplings

I don't like to just toss chicken in a pot with water and very rarely do I use bouillon, so what I do is I take the skin off all the chicken, toss it into a Zipper bag and season it really well with salt, pepper, sage and paprika then I roast it in a 425°f oven for 25 minutes


I then put the chicken into my trusty stock pot and cover it with 2 quarts of water, 1 small onion, sliced, 2 cloves garlic, smashed and then let it go for about an hour. After the hour is up I add in a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables, check the seasoning and adjust it to my liking and then it's time for the dumplings.

I will confess here, I don't go all out rolling dough for dumplings.. I make Bisquick dumplings. There is nothing like the little fluffy clouds of dumplings that you get from Bisquick, that's how my grandma made 'em and that's how I do it too. (Pancakes too, but that's another day) Bisquick dumplings are so easy! 2 1/4 cups Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk, mix in a bowl until doughy and add to hot liquid. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, cover and cook another 10 and you're good to go!

Yummy!!!

Chicken & Dumplings.. my way.

It wasn't cold by any means yesterday, actually it was one of the most gorgeous fall days, blue sky, warm sun and temperatures in the mid 70's it was amazing (and we're in for that all week, yay!) I had my sights set on Chicken and dumplings, I didn't want to really do it on the stove though.. I wanted to be outside taking care of my garden and enjoying this beautiful weather.. so my compromise? I did it in the crock pot :) and, no matter what kind of dumpling recipe I try I always find myself going back to my old standby Bisquik, because they are the most delicious dumplings in soup or stew (or just plain broth when you just want some dumplings, lol)

Chicken & Dumplings

6-8 Chicken thighs, skin removed (boneless if you've got them)
Italian seasoning
crazy salt
paprika
3-4 red potatoes (cut into cubes)
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cups water
1 large chicken bullion (I use Knorr)

Dumplings:
1 Cup Bisquik
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning (optional)

Wash and cut up potatoes (I leave the skin on), Peel and chop the carrots and toss them into the (lined) crock pot (I use Reynolds Crock pot liners, if they're unavailable I use Reynolds Oven Bags in the large size, they work just as well) place the chicken on top of the veggies and season well (I don't bother to measure here, I just kind of eyeball it to how we like it) Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Add water and bullion, cover and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Mix together bisquick, herbs and milk to make a sticky dough and drop by tablespoons over the hot liquid. Cover and cook an additional 20-30 minutes.

(I didn't say it was fast.. but it sure is Delicious :) )

Dinner tonight, care of Ah Law Kitchen

I was exhausted by the time I picked P. up from camp tonight.. I've been having really bad insomnia and haven't had a full nights sleep all week, I'm getting maybe 4-5 hours (and I generally need at least 7 to be properly functioning, lol) so before we got back on the bus I called our order in because I'm just really too tired to stand in the kitchen and cook (and by that time it was already 6:45) so one order of steamed pork dumplings, one order of cold noodles with sesame sauce and one order of Cheese won ton's (OMG they are sooooo good!)

The dumplings were for me

They are filled perfectly with seasoned pork and steamed to perfection and they come with the most delicious sesame soy dipping sauce.

the sesame noodles were for P

This is really a heaping helping for only $4! It's spicy and sweet and absolutely delicious!

and we shared the cheese won ton's

These are won ton's that are stuffed with cream cheese, scallions and possibly carrot? I'm not too sure what the orange bits are, but it's all good! P. tasted this when they first started making them, the owner gave him a sample and it was love at first bite.

One of the main reasons I go to this place is that none of their food is greasy, you don't feel absolutely horrible after eating it.. just full and happy :) Their prices are great too, we got this all for $13.