Chicken and Dumplings

This was a recipe given to me by classmate Shari McCloud Wiley. It was her Grandma Bonnie's recipe.
In the past I have attempted to make chicken and dumplings, but they did not meet our expectations. However, when Shari shared this recipe with me...it worked. My husband and boys love chicken and dumplings. When I make this for my hungry boys, I double the recipe and then they have some for lunch the next day too.

Granny's Chicken and Dumplings

Bring 3 cans of chicken broth to a boil.

While broth is boiling mix together:

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp pepper

2 TBSP milk

Add 2 Cups flour and 1 cup of boiling broth and stir until mixed.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead it until it forms a ball.

(sometimes my dough doesn't need kneading and will ball up in the bowl as I'm stirring)

Roll it thin with a rolling pin and cut into thin strips.

(I cut this with my pizza cutter)

Drop strips of dough into a kettle of boiling broth.

Add about 8 oz. of cooked chicken

(I eyeball this- I try to keep bags of chopped up chicken in the freezer ready for recipes like this)

Cook for about 10-15 minutes until dumplings are cooked.

(Granny always boiled and shredded her chicken but Shari uses canned white meat chicken and it tastes the same---I use cooked chicken like Granny, because I'm too cheap to buy canned chicken. :-)

Mix 1 TBSP flour and a few drops of milk to make a paste.

Stir paste into dumplings to thicken.

(Sometimes, I don't do the last step....it just depends on if I've used a lot of chicken or if I have lowered the initial amount of broth)

Bistro Soup/Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

From my brother Paul in Virginia. A soup recipe he shared with me via facebook.

Bistro Soup
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 big can of tomato sauce(then fill it up and add a can of water
2 cans of French onion soup
1 jar of salsa(whatever you like-hot medium etc.)
3 bags of mixed vegetables
1 lb.-Kilbasa sausage -sliced
Heat and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

(Shared by another friend, Beth Davenport)

MIX together:

1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 1/2 cups veg. Oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

MIX together in a separate bowl:
3 c flour
2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

MIX dry ingredients into wet ingredients

Stir in 1-12 oz package choc chips and chopped pecans if desired.

Makes 24 large muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min. YUMMY!

Crock Pot Pizza Soup

So it's been too long since Katy or I have posted, but we'll try to get back into the swing of things. This is a recipe I have NOT made yet, but a friend shared it with me and loved it. The season of soup is upon us and the Nebraska Knipps have soup once a week during the fall and winter.

So, here's to the kick-off of soup season! :D

Crockpot Pizza Soup

15 oz can pizza sauce plus 3 cans water
1 sm green pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
16 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 lb Italian sausage cooked and drained
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 cup sm pasta - Cook and reserve
Place all in pot, cook on low all day. Add pasta at end to heat.
Serve with shredded mozzerella cheese and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Pie

Ellie's Awesome Amazingly Delicious Strawberry pie
(Named by my cousin's daughter Ellie, who gave us the recipe)

Makes 2 pies
1 and 1/2 tubs cool whip
1 and 1/2 bars of cream cheese (softened)
1 and 1/2 cups confectionary sugar
6 tbs. cornstarch
6 tbs. strawberry jello powder
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 tub strawberries
2 pie shells. (I like graham cracker but my daughter likes to make her own crusts
with crushed pretzels, butter and sugar.)

Mix cream cheese and sugar together with a mixer then add cool whip.
Stir cornstarch, jello and water in a saucepan on med heat until it comes to a boil. Continue until the jello looks almost translucent.
Spread cream cheese mixture in crust. When jello has cooled down some stir in your chopped strawberries. Pour Jello on top of the cream cheese mixture. Cool in fridge, serve when cooled.
Katy

Italian Wedding Soup

This is a relatively new recipe to me. I had this soup at a ladies meeting in Southern Ohio last November. It was delicious. This is not that exact recipe, but a combination of one I found on the internet. It's another eye ball recipe. My daughter Maddie loves this soup. I love this soup. I love that it has "green" in it. It makes me think it's healthy. LOL :-D

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs-I buy the frozen bag at Sam's, but you could make your own homemade meatballs. (Maybe someday I will try that)
8 cups chicken or beef broth
2 Cups of escarole or spinach chopped (I use the Pampered Chef chopper and really chop it up because of my picky family, but you could leave it in bigger pieces to wilt into the soup.
1/3 C. grated carrot
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

Heat broth...add meatballs and heat through. Then add the rest of the ingredients except orzo. Let flavors mingle together over heat. Bring to a boil and cook orzo. Cook until it's al dente. The orzo will continue to cook from the heat of the soup. Stir frequently.

You could add some chopped up chicken to this too. I've done that before. Just experiement!
Enjoy!

Tuscan Soup/ Cabbage Soup

Tuscan Soup/ Cabbage Soup

So our friend from high school band, is following our blog, and we are following her blog. :-D
She recently posted some excellent and yummy soup recipes. We have gained permission to post them here. Enjoy!

Tuscan Soup
2 lbs. sausage chunks
Diced potatoes and carrots
Beef broth
Minced celery and onion
Can of cream corn
Garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

TIP-When our friend, Michelle made this recently she sauteed the ingredients in some left over from breakfast bacon grease (more flavor)

Another TIP from Michelle: You can mix a slurry to thicken the soup or use her secret ingredient: flaked instant potatoes. They work perfect for any chowder type soups. This gives a creamy texture.

Cabbage Soup

1 head of cabbage diced
2 boxes of beef broth
2-3 cans of tomato soup
2 lbs. ground sausage (She recommends 1 lb spicy, 1 lb. mild)-browned and drained
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
chopped celery and onion to taste

Put in crock pot and cook all day long until cabbage is tender. Season with garlic and parsley.



Thanks Michelle, for letting us post these great soup recipes!

Panko Chicken

I love this recipe and so do all of my kids and Mickey. Mickey is not a big chicken eater, so when I find a chicken recipe that he likes, it's like kicking the winning field goal for me. :-)
This is one of those recipes that I eyeball. I have adapted it over the years of making it. Experiment with it.

Panko bread crumbs are Japanese bread crumbs. Panko is made from bread without crusts, thus it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine. I buy my Panko crumbs at our Air Force commissary. Any ethnic store should carry them, and I just recently saw that Progresso has their own line of Panko crumbs. (Although, I bet the Japanese ones are the best) :-D
When we eat chicken we prefer thighs. I buy boneless skin-less thighs because they are so much more moist than chicken breast. Last night I made panko chicken and threw in some breast tenderloins and it just wasn't as moist. So definately use thighs! :-D

Here goes:
Ingredients:
Panko crumbs
2 1/2 to 3 lbs. Chicken pieces (we always use thighs)
Butter (1 or 2 sticks)
garlic (I mince two or three or even four cloves)
1 pkg. panko crumbs
parsley flakes (eyeball it... they are more for color than flavor)
1/3 to 1/2 Cup parmesean cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (I'd use about 1 tbsp. salt to 1 tsp. pepper)


Melt butter and put the minced garlic in with it.
In another dish, mix panko crumbs, parm cheese, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes.....the last three ingredients are just, well...to your taste.
Then you dip the chicken pieces into the butter/garlic mixture, then into the panko mixture. Place these on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes @ 350. (Our chicken is always boneless)
That's it, I think. It's very easy, but yummy, I mean....anything with butter and garlic has got to be good. :-)