Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is pure southern comfort food (goes well with biscuits!). Today has been a wonderfully rainy Monday and this meal takes little preparation if you have fresh chicken stock on hand. I made a whole chicken, but you can easily cook a few breast to shred for the meal. My amounts will look larger than what the recipe calls for because I doubled it. Company for dinner! (If doubling the recipe, use 18 cups of broth)

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or a whole chicken, from making stock)
8 cups Chicken Broth
1/2tsp Salt & 1 1/4tsp Salt
1tsp Pepper
1Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Cups of AP flour
1Tbsp Baking Powder
1 1/8 Cup of Milk


1. Heat stock and and add pepper, salt, and lemon juice




2. In medium bowl, mix together 1 1/4tsp salt, baking powder, Flour, and Milk, mixing until "smooth" ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. It's going to be a bit sticky still.



3. On well floured surface, roll out, and cut into bite sized shapes. Most prefer squares, I have this cute little circle. For kids, you can even let them help by using small cookie cutters! *Make sure your hands are floured. Otherwise, it's sticky!
A. Drop on floured surface:


B. Roll out to a quarter of an inch to a half an inch thickness, depending on how thick you want them to be.


C. Cut out!



4. Add to stock pot, cooking for 25 minutes. The dumplings will swell and the pot will seem to be too thick with dumplings. Don't worry, it's fine. Just stir occasionally to keep from sticking.



5. Shred your chicken into bite sized pieces. Not too large, not too small. I call this "Matt's job". Add them to your pot, let cook for 10 more minutes.



6. Add to bowls and serve hot

Bowtie Festival

My husband has fallen in love with this recipe. I am "ordered" to make it for all of his holidays. Fathers Day, birthdays, Panthers season openers, every time the Panthers win... (So, maybe not that often!)

I got the idea from Johnny Carinos Bowtie Festival, which is wonderful. Dear Husband says mine tastes better.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Bacon
1/4 Cup Red Onion
1 Garlic Clove
2Tbsp Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Asiago Cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes (those oval shaped tomatoes)
Alfredo Sauce
1/8tsp Garlic Salt
Pepper
1 Pat of Butter

1. Melt 1 pat of butter in saute pan, along with 1/8tsp of Garlic Salt



2. Cut fat and skin from two chicken breast



3. Slice breasts into thing strips (you will have more than this. I snapped a photo of this small amount so you could see size)



4. Add to saute pan, sprinkle with fresh pepper, cook on medium heat, till done




5. Dice 1/4 cup of Red Onion



6. Dice 2 Roma Tomatoes



7. Mince Garlic



8. Cut up strips of Bacon, remove fat. Should equal 1/4 cup (It took 3 strips for me)



9. Add Ingredients chopped in steps 5-7 to cooked chicken. Saute until onions are translucent and bacon is cooked



10. Turn down heat to medium low, add 2Tbsp Heavy Cream and Asiago cheese. Stir until mixed well. Turn down to low heat.



11. Cook 1 box of Bowtie Pasta, drain, add back to pot



12. Toss together Bowtie Pasta with chicken mixture and Alfredo sauce



13. Serve hot with fresh bread!

Crock-Pot Beef Stew

This is the type of meal you eat when you are hungry. What southern grandmothers call a "rib stickin' " meal. Perfect for rainy or cold days.

Ingredients:
2 packages of stew meat (beef cut into 1in pieces)
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 and 1/4tsp Paprika
Oil for browning
2 Cups Beef Broth
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
6 Medium Potatoes
3 Carrots
2 Garlic cloves
1 Bay Leaf



1. In crock-pot, pour together beef broth, wine, and Worcestershire sauce.



2. Mix together flour with 1/4tsp of paprika



3. Rinse and dry beef



4. Throw beef into flour, cover with lid, and shake, until all pieces are lightly floured



5. Heat oil in skillet, and brown beef on each side



6. Add beef to crock-pot

7. Chop potatoes and carrots, adding to crock pot



8. Mince garlic, add to crock pot along with Bay Leaf and 1tsp of paprika


9. Crack fresh pepper for flavor

10. Stir together, set on low for 4 hours, making sure to stir occasionally



11. Serve over egg noodles!

Sour Cream Enchiladas

2 Chicken Breast
1 Small Onion
2 Poblano Pepper
2 Jalepeno Pepper
2Tbsp Oil
16oz Sour Cream (separated)
10 Corn/Flour Tortillas
16oz Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese (separated)
1 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Flour

OPTIONAL
Chipotle Seasoning
Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Boil chicken for 45 minutes with salt, pepper, and chipotle seasonings, drain, cool, and shred.



3. Dice your peppers into large pile



4. Dice Onion



5. Saute 2/3 of the peppers with onion



6. Mix sauted peppers and onions with chicken



7. Mix in 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 1/2 cups of cheese with chicken and peppers.



8. Lay Flour/corn tortilla flat, and spoon in mixture. (I used a white corn as well as a flour tortilla. I prefer the taste of flour. The corn is smaller)




9. Roll up and place seam side down in large baking dish

Corn Tortilla:


Flour Tortilla:



10. In saute pan, use a whisk to stir together remaining peppers, 1cup milk, and 2Tbsp of flour.




11. Add in remaining sour cream and cheese, stirring until smooth
(sadly, I forgot to take a picture of this step. However, you will see the look of the sauce in the next photos)


12. Pour over each Enchilada



13. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly

Corn Tortilla


Flour Tortilla:



15. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving! Now, with mine, I neglected to save some sauce to pour on after they cooked, however, I recommend that you do this!

Sauteed Mushrooms

One of my personal favorite side dishes

Ingredients
Fresh Whole Mushrooms
1 stick of butter
3-4tsp Minced Garlic (Fresh or pre-minced)

1. Wash and dry mushrooms



2. Slice into "stems and pieces"



3. Melt butter with minced garlic (I used pre-minced tonight!)



4. Add in mushrooms and saute on medium high heat for 15 minutes, until a light brown. Make sure to stir them around in the saute pan, so they cook evenly



Hope you enjoy them like I do! You can also use the baby button mushrooms if you like. They tend to be on the more expensive side, so I used regulars more often.