Mix It Up Friday - November

from Kris B.

It's Mix It Up Food Friday, the Friday each month where we share our experiences with a few of the King Arthur Flour mixes.

Though I am a fan of almost anything chocolate, to me, desserts with spices seem more like Thanksgiving.  They complement the obligatory Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, I decided to try King Arthur's Iced Chai Latte Cake ($9.95 from King Arthur Flour).  I knew that my chai spice loving family would be glad to help me eat the cake over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

This cake mixes up easily and, according to the instructions on the box, can be baked in either a bundt pan or a 9x13 cake pan.  Wanting a "pretty" cake, I opted for the bundt pan.  The instructions did not specify a particular size of bundt pan so I used the one I always use, the only one I have.  As I poured the batter into the pan, it didn't look like enough, but I continued on, figuring that the cake must rise a lot.  The suggested cook time is 45-55 minutes.  Knowing that my oven usually requires a little more than  the minimum cooking times suggested for most items, I set the timer for 50 minutes.  When I took the cake from the oven, it was a beautiful golden brown, a short beautiful golden brown.  It did not rise to fill my pan all the way.  Maybe half way???

I let the cake cool and then made the included vanilla icing.  After mixing the required ingredients, the icing seemed very stiff.  There was no way that it was going to pour and drizzle nicely over the sides of the cake.  The instructions say to let the icing rest for 10 minutes before topping the cake.  I did that hoping that something magic would happen and it would morph into the right consistency.  The magic didn't happen.  The icing was still too stiff to pour, so I added about a tsp. more milk.  It was still fairly thick, but I hoped it would run down the sides.  When all was said and done, the cake looked OK.

I was a little disappointed when we actually tasted the Iced Chai Latte Cake.  For a recipe that uses three eggs and 12 TBS of butter, it was dry and not nearly as rich as I expected.  It wasn't bad, just not what I expected.  If you are wondering, it did get eaten.  This cake was best with a nice hot cup of coffee.

I am willing to concede some user error here.  The fact that my pan apparently was too big, which affected the cooking process and time, probably accounts for the cake being a bit dry.  In my defense, however, the box did not specify any particular bundt pan size.  I am going to buy a smaller pan and try this mix again.  The flavor is delicious and the cake is one that would make a perfect addition to brunch, lunch, or dinner.

I am thankful to have plenty in my life to nourish my body and my soul.  As we make our way through this holiday season, let us remember that there are many people who are cold, hungry, and feel unloved.  Our response to our thankfulness should be service to those that  have little or nothing for which to be thankful.  Do something kind for someone less fortunate than you - feed them, smile at them, have a conversation with them, hug them, pray for them, let them know you care.

May joy surround you and those you love!


from Tracey G.

The mix of choice for me to try this week, was the Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix from the King Arthur Flour Essential Goodness line of mixes. Where I live, it's rare to find their products other than a few basics and their signature flours, the last trip to my in-law's this past month though, allowed me to find this mix (and a couple more for future testing!) at Target! (my closest Target is 2 hours away, so I only get there when visiting downstate!) And they had a really good selection of the Essential Goodness mixes to boot. I was so happy! Usually I just order straight from the King Arthur Flour website, so this was a nice little bonus to find them "in-person".

This mix was sinfully easy to put together. I mean it - I had cookie dough ready to go in mere minutes. The only required ingredients were: one stick of butter and one egg. That's it. Before I knew it, I had my cookies scooped, on the cookie sheet and in the oven. I don't think it could get any easier, lol.

Ok, so now that they were so easy, how were they going to taste? I must admit, they could seriously pass for homemade. Easily. There are some "variations" on the package for customizing your cookie texture. If you want chewy, add brown sugar. Do you prefer crunchy? That can be arranged too - add regular granulated sugar. The last variation offered was for a more cakey-texture, to achieve that you add some milk. I went with the crunchy version, although, I'm one who prefers chewy, the rest of my household likes a crunchy cookie, so, I obliged them this go around, lol. And they were perfect. The texture was perfect, everyone was happy - even I, the chewy-cookie lover, thoroughly enjoyed them! Yes!! The ONLY complaint I heard, was that there just weren't enough, lol! I'll take that kind of complaint any day! There's even ideas for using the mix on their Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix product detail page - always fun to have more ideas for a product I think.

So, if you need to make some cookies quick or in a no-fuss way, I highly recommend the Essential Goodness Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix by King Arthur Flour!! You can't go wrong, well, unless you burn them or drop them or something like that, LOL.

Happy EASY baking!!

 

FOOD FRIDAY - Simple Pasta Salads

from Kris B.

I trust that I am not alone in having those nights where you wander through the kitchen looking in the fridge, rummaging through the pantry, and checking the spice cabinet hoping that there are some ingredients that will work together and magically become dinner.  If I am alone in this, please keep that fact to yourself!  Often these meals that I have scrounged together in desperation become some of my favorites.  This Tortellini Salad is one such creation.

As I recall, I had the three cheese tortellini and that sounded good for dinner, but didn't have the necessary ingredients to make a traditional pasta sauce.  I had broccoli that needed to be eaten.  Actually, I always have broccoli that needs to be eaten because it is my favorite green vegetable.  I am happy to eat it in, on, or with just about anything.  Because I was trying to come up with a meal rather than just a side of pasta, I wanted some meat to add to the tortellini and broccoli.  I had a few pieces of bacon that also were on the "need to eat soon" list.  I always have some kind of cheese on hand.  This particular night, Parmesan was the cheese of choice.  Throw a little red onion and some grape tomatoes into the mix and the dinner potential was becoming real.  Still, however, I had no sauce.

The easy solution would have been to pour some bottled salad dressing over the whole shebang and call it done.  All I had was Asian Sesame.  As much as I like that on certain salads, it didn't sound good with this.  I decided that I would start with a more or less traditional macaroni salad dressing and go from there.  

When all was said and done, this turned out to be really good.  This is probably because this salad contains most of my favorite food things.  It's filling but not too heavy, flexible, and better for you than some things!

INGREDIENTS
1 19 oz bag frozen three cheese tortellini
1/2 lb bacon
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

For the Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 mayonnaise
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the broccoli and dice the onion.  Grate the Parmesan cheese.

Cut the bacon into pieces and cook it.  Remove the cooked back to a paper towel to drain and cool.  While the bacon cooks, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  In its last minute of cooking, drop the chopped broccoli into the pasta water.  This will cook it just slightly.  Drain the pasta and broccoli and let cool in a large bowl.

While the pasta cools, in a medium bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.  I prefer the dressing to lightly coat rather than drench the other ingredients.  If you prefer a "wet" salad, you may want to double the dressing proportions. 

Once the pasta has cooled, add the bacon, onion, and Parmesan cheese to the pasta and broccoli.  Add the dressing and toss the salad until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  As is the case with almost anything that has a dressing or sauce, allowing the ingredients to mingle for several hours makes for better flavor.

This recipe is simple and quite forgiving.  Don't have broccoli and tomatoes?  Add another vegetable.  Squash is nice.  Prefer different spices?  By all means, go for it.  Don't like cheese tortellini?  Substitute your favorite pasta.  Have some leftover ham fro Easter?  Use that instead of bacon.  Make it your own.  Create Your Favorites Tortellini Salad!

Some days my cooking and my photography are guided by the same principles - both need to be quick and easy.  I quickly made this salad for our lunches today and needed to get the photo done quickly as I was leaving the house at noon and wouldn't be home again until almost 10 pm.  During my time away from the house, and more importantly my computer, I did have a little down time.  I decided that I would take today's photo with my phone and do any necessary editing on my iPad.

I shot the photo of the pasta on our outdoor kitchen cement counter with the resident camera on my iPhone.  The concrete added just a little bit of texture to the frame.  I then added the text and a frame using the Rhonna Designs app and I was done.  

Sometimes I feel like relying solely on my phone and its editing apps are cheating somehow.  Then there are the days where I know that it is the responsible way to use what little time I have.  When I got to the end of the day, I had a decent meal and an acceptable photo so I consider my day a success. Lol!


from Tracey G

I love using Food Fridays as a reason to experiment and try new recipes. Probably not the best thing, because if it doesn't turn out I'm stuck with it and can only report that it was awful, lol. But I've, for the most part, yet to have that happen. I've ran into some difficulties in the execution of the recipe, but it's always something I know that another run-through would iron out. This one was rather humorous as I was trying to get it together. I mean, come on, how hard can a macaroni salad be - really!? Well, it helps if on the day you're making it you have all the ingredients in the proper amounts that you need. I miscalculated my mayo supply, thinking I had much more than I actually did, and ended up having to make a half a batch of it. Then, trying to get the pickle juice into the bowl, I tipped the jar a bit too far and spilled some all over my recipe and island, lol. I was not having a good day! But I must say, all the trials and tribulations were totally worth it, I absolutely loved this recipe! And it's another one of those you can customize to your tastes, very easily I might add too.

I discovered it in my newest Taste Of Home magazine as I was flipping through. I've been on the hunt for a new macaroni salad. I love the version with tuna and peas etc, but I was getting really bored with it, and just wanted something different. This is the first one that caught my eye, maybe because it reminded me of deviled egg ingredients to a certain extent or something. Not sure, but I am glad I gave it a try, it's wonderful in my opinion, and as I told Kris, I likely could have eaten the whole batch myself, lol.

Now, I have to be honest here, the original name is NOT "Grandma's Macaroni Salad", it's "Judy's Macaroni Salad". But, I don't know a Judy or even the Judy. And to be even more honest, I never knew any of my grandparents, my maternal grandmother passed away when I was 6 months and my other grandparents passed away well before I was born. So, I can't even say I knew WHAT my grandma's macaroni salad was like - but this is what I IMAGINE a grandma's macaroni salad would taste like. It seems like a nice vintage mac salad recipe that a grandma WOULD make, so that's my reasoning and I hope everyone and Judy will forgive me! I will include the link to the original recipe of course!  

It involves simple ingredients that I think are a great combination: Elbow macaroni, hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper - extremely uncomplicated. That's probably why it works as well as it does.

So, here's the recipe:

Grandma's Macaroni Salad

courtesy of Taste Of Home as Judy's Macaroni Salad
Serves 12, 3/4 cup each

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

6 hard-cooked large eggs, chopped

6 sweet pickles, chopped

1) Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain macaroni; rinse with cold water and drain well.

2) In a small** bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, eggs and pickles. Add macaroni; toss gently to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or until chilled.

** The original recipe as I've put here, calls for  a "small" bowl - but I used a medium sized bowl as due to the fact after you mix the ingredients in it, you then toss in the macaroni and I don't see how a small bowl would work very well for that and mixing the ingredients all together! :-) 

Food Friday - Awesome Sauce!

from Kris B.

My mom was a chocoholic; she liked any kind of chocolate, by M&Ms and Breyers ice cream covered in chocolate sauce were her favorites.  Though every now and then I remember seeing a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in the refrigerator, most of the time she made her own sauce.  As it turns out, it is super easy to make!

I am not an ice cream fan.  I'm not sure why that is; it's just one of those weird personality traits.  I do, however, really like this chocolate sauce.  It is thick and when it starts to cool becomes almost chewy like fudge.  I had to fins a way to enjoy it other than on ice cream.  My preference is to eat it swirled in with a bit of coffee flavored yogurt; not frozen yogurt, just plain ol' yogurt.  If your world is in a sad state and you have no coffee flavored yogurt, vanilla is an acceptable substitute.

Because of its thickness, this sauce also works well for dipping.  Some of my favorite dipping devices are animal crackers, pretzels, cinnamon covered tortilla chips, fruit, and this time of year, Girl Scout Trefoil cookies.  Don't judge me!  I am admitting my bad habits here and now.  Lol!  If your cupboard is bare a spoon, spatula, or a finger will do in a pinch!

INGREDIENTS
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.  Heat over medium heat stirring continuously.   Once mixture boils, reduce heat to low and continue to stir until until the chocolate is completely melted and thoroughly integrated.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Reheat either on the stove top over low heat or in the microwave for a minute and half at about 50% power.  YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST MICROWAVE TIMES AND SETTINGS BASED ON YOUR MICROWAVE.  Do not leave the chocolate sauce unattended until you are sure of the behavior of your microwave.


from Tracey G.

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the hard shell chocolate sauces, and now my child does too, along with me! It always kind of irked me that it comes in such a small bottle for what you were paying, but it's fun, so I made sure we had it around! Then one day I ran across this recipe for homemade "Magic Shell", and I filed it away under "to make someday". I'd finally went out and gotten the ingredients necessary, but still, hadn't made it. A Food Friday post seemed like as good of an excuse as any to finally give it a whirl and am I glad I did! It turned out better than I could've ever expected, and it introduced me to working with coconut oil. It worked just like it should and I was rather impressed at how easy it was to make a large batch of chocolate hard shell topping for my ice cream at home - the secret is in the coconut oil - it hardens as it cools.

I have to say, though, that it got strange and mixed reviews from my guys - big and little, which made me laugh. Harry at first loved it, was great, then it was "blah" to him. Jeremy said it tasted like chocolate chips - um well, yeah, that's because that's what it is! But when Harry saw me give my "photo prop" serving to Daddy, he had a fit - so I think it wasn't as blah to him as he'd previously stated!! LOL! Me personally? I loved it - it tasted perfect to me and I was super giddy I could make as much as I wanted whenever I wanted! After chatting with Jeremy, I did decide it would be fun to try and experiment with different chocolates, maybe mix some milk with the semi-sweet chips or whatever, you could have fun combining and trying different chocolates for whatever tasted you're going for.

The method and recipe is so easy it's almost embarrassing, lol. Here it is:

12 oz package chocolate chips - about 2 cups

4 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all in a large microwavable bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and blended. . Let cool slightly, then spoon over ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 month.

For gift giving (and using directions even if not gifting!): Divide among jars and instruct the receivers to microwave the chocolate sauce, uncovered and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

That's it! It was scary simple for such a fun treat to be able to make at home, whenever you like for a fraction of the cost of the commercial variety!! 

Food Friday - Christmas Brunch

from Tracey G

I love this dish - and I'm sure most people have some kind of version of a "ring" in their bag of recipe tricks, lol. It uses the refrigerated crescent roll dough to make it pretty. My mom found this particular recipe years ago, and I know she's added a few tweaks here and there and I've even made my own on the fly with it. I discovered that what's written in my book is different from what she had written down, lol. So I made my version this time, but I know we've made hers more, lol. She called for shredded Colby Jack, I used shredded Swiss, so you can go with whichever you like - or change it up each time you make it. Sometimes ham and Swiss is what you after - so go for it, as I did!

 I also upped the Dijon mustard amount - I go by taste, so I start with the 2 tbsp called for and go from there. I think in this particular go, I added a couple more extra (could even have been 3 extra for a total of 5, lol) - I love the flavor it adds. It also calls for chopped/minced onion and since Harry is not a big fan, I used some onion powder (to taste). Although, since it has broccoli in it, my hopes of him eating it were dashed. But I did decide it would be good without the broccoli, lol.

The longest part of the recipe, for me is arranging the crescent roll dough in an even pinwheel - I'm so particular I arrange and rearrange more times than I can count so I can get if fairly even. You really don't have to be too particular because once it bakes it looks pretty anyway. ;-) It's also one of those recipes that tastes better the next day - so leftovers, if there are any, are really good if not better than the day before!

Broccoli Ham Ring

Preheat oven to 375°

2 - 8 oz. tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 ½ c shredded Monterey Jack cheese with Colby (Colby Jack)

¼ lb fully-cooked ham, diced (1/2 c)

2 ¼ c finely chopped broccoli

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp Dijon mustard (more to taste)

1 tsp lemon juice

Unroll crescent roll dough and place triangles on 12” pizza pan (or large cookie sheet), forming a ring with pointed ends facing outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. Press wide ends together.

Combine remaining ingredients; spoon evenly over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over (towards center of pan) and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

from Kris B.

First let me apologize for my uninspired photo of this week's recipe.   This poor shot has nothing to do with the fact that I am behind with everything and am not yet fully feeling the Christmas spirit.  It is much more traumatic than that!  My tripod, with camera attached, tipped over and my lens took the brunt of the fall.  Thankfully, despite the fact that for some reason I had taken my UV filter off of it, the glass didn't break.  The plastic ring around the edge, however, is another story.

I logged on to the Nikon website to see what the procedure was for sending it in for repair.  Surprisingly, it was an easy process, not often the case these days.  I was presented with a multiple choice menu from which to identify the nature of my problem.   #2 "Dropped or Impact Damage". I guess I am not the only unfortunate person to have such a problem.  Once all of the pertinent information was supplied,  I was given an estimate of the cost of repair.  Mind you, it is only an estimate; but, I had to provide payment information at that point in order to proceed.  The good news is that the estimate is a great deal less than the cost of replacing the lens.  The bad news is that this lens is the most expensive one that I own.  So after school this afternoon, I'll make my way to UPS with all those who are trying frantically to get holiday gifts shipped and send my lens on its way.  Hopefully it will not get lost in the Christmas rush!

Once Nikon receives the lens and assesses the damage first hand, they will send a specific cost of repair and I will again have an opportunity to decide how to proceed.   Until then, I will be forced to use some of the lenses in my bag that I haven't used much lately.  That is a good thing, I think.  I have been kind of lazy and have been relying on my "workhorse" lens rather than pushing myself to be a little more creative with some of my other options.  We'll see what happens...

Back to breakfast...

Despite what the photo looks like, this egg dish with a southwest touch is really good!  The recipe was given to me by a friend several years ago.  I believe she got it when she was working as a substitute innkeeper for a bed and breakfast.  I wish that back then I had been more diligent about making note of such details.

Because my older daughter is a vegetarian, our Christmas morning main course is always meatless.  (The rest of us have bacon or sausage on the side.).   And truthfully, the "protein dish" is never what anyone in my family looks forward to.  For the last ten years, said vegetarian daughter has made homemade cinnamon rolls by the dozens for Christmas morning.  (Leftovers are a must!). These are the part of the morning feast that we all anticipate!  But, I insist on something with protein during the morning to help mediate the sugar and caffeine high on which we all find ourselves.  Hyper adults on Christmas  are not nearly as cute as sugared up excited children. Lol!

INGREDIENTS

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

12 corn tortillas, taco sized cut into pieces

2 4 oz. cans diced green chilies

2 Cups Mexican blend cheese

4 eggs

2 Cups buttermilk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

Dash of cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I make this is an cast iron skillet, but it can be made in a 2 quart casserole dish as well.  Coat the pan or dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until browned.

In the cooking pan, layer half of the tortillas, all of the onion mixture, half of the green chilies, and half of the cheese.  Continue layering with the remaining tortillas, chilies, and cheese.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and spices.  Pour the egg mixture over the layered ingredients.

Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for ten minutes.

This dish is good just like this, but can also be topped with sour cream, extra cheese, and/or diced fresh tomatoes.

I'm f you haven't yet settled on your Christmas morning menu, I hope you'll add this one to the list of contenders.

During this hectic and crazy time of year,  make sure to give yourself the gift of a few moments of peace in every day!

Food Friday - Family Favorites

from Kris B.

It is hard to believe that the holiday season is here!  It's that time of year where my life is made possible only by the many lists that have diligently created - lists of social obligations, Christmas gifts to buy, chores to be done, and of course, meal planning tasks.

Sometimes I wonder why planning Thanksgiving dinner is that difficult since it is a meal of tradition; everyone has their favorite dish and it is my job to make sure that all those favorites end up on the holiday table. In my family, we don't have generations of traditions by which to abide when it comes to our holiday meals, but I know many families that have had the same dishes as part of their Thanksgiving celebrations for years and years and years.  And often when they stop and think about it, they realize that some of the things that are still being served were a favorite of someone who is no longer living and no one now even likes "that" dish.  This scenario reminded me of a funny song that I sang with a chorus several years back, "Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise."  If you need a little bit of comic relief during these hectic days, click here.

We don't have any Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise at our house, but we do have some foods that are fast becoming holiday traditions.  One such food is pumpkin butter.  A former friend and I used to make it every year for our church's Christmas bazaar.  It quickly became a favorite of my then toddler second child.  Over the past twenty years, I have tweaked the recipe a little here and there to try and make it the best it can be and to add my own personal touch.  A jar of pumpkin butter used to be the standard holiday gift for my girls' teachers, as well as for many of my friends.

Because of the craziness in my life at the end of last year, I did not make any holiday pumpkin butter. in 2014  Though life still hectic this year as well, I managed to get the first batch of pumpkin butter made this week.  (Yes, Erin.  You may have a jar now.)  As I was making it, I was reminded of just how good pumpkin butter is.  I will definitely be making a few more batches over the coming weeks!

INGREDIENTS

2 15oz. cans of pumpkin puree

1 1.75oz package of pectin

1 TBS pumpkin pie spice

3 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 TBS vanilla

Stir pumpkin puree and pectic together in a good sized heavy pot.  (You want a pot that is big enough so that once you add the sugar, the mixture will not boil over or "spit" hot pumpkin butter over the top.)  Continue to stir regularly while bringing this mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, add all of the sugar at once, the pumpkin pie spice, and the vanilla.  While stirring constantly, again bring the mixture to a boil.  Allow to boil for two minutes.  Remove from heat.

The pumpkin butter can be canned using standard canning procedures; or, it can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Pumpkin butter is fantastic on your morning toast or English muffin, on crackers as an after school snack, or as filling for your holiday thumbprint cookies.  And, as members of my family will tell you, it is also good on a spoon right out of the jar.

by Tracey G.

Thanksgiving has never been a time for sticking with tradition for me, I don't know why, but I've never felt obligated to one certain dish. I've always been very open-minded about my menu. I have made turkeys the majority of the time because I like the sides that go with it, lol. And I like to make turkey noodle soup with the left-overs! But I'm always willing to add in things, omit things and whatnot.

I've been looking for a recipe for the Thanksgiving morning, something simple that could maybe pave the way for a "tradition" of sorts and this recipe came along at the right time so I thought I'd give it a try. I mean seriously this sounded pretty straight-forward yummy, lol. And it is - it's really good. Harry loved it and will go perfect with coffee at any time of the day! I must thank Taste of Home for coming through for me once again!

Down East Blueberry Buckle

courtesy of Taste Of Home Magazine

2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

3/4 c 2% milk

1/4 c butter, melted

2 c fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 c  butter, softened

1) Preheat oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk egg, milk and melted butter until blended. Add to flour mixture, stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking pan.

2) For topping, in a small bowl, mix sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork, stir in softened butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

3) Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (do not overbake) Cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Food Friday: Chicken and Dumplings Duel

by Tracey G

Kris and I were wanting to do another "how do you make your (fill in the blank)?" post, and actually this one came up pretty easily. And even better was the fact that we do the different dumplings - a win-win because I've been wanting a noodle-style dumpling recipe for years and have never found one I really like so I'm pretty excited about this one!!

Mine came together from a few sources, I can't even remember anymore where all I pulled from. My "dumplings" happen to be my favorite biscuit recipe - so it can be chicken and biscuits if you don't want to cook them on top of the chicken "stew" part, lol. But it's a very easy recipe, I use as many shortcuts as I can, so it's not a super-time consuming endeavor, lol. Now this is pretty true comfort food - not a low-cal version by any means, lol. I have been known to scale the butter amount back - depends on my mood I suppose, lol.

I have used a few sources of chicken - I've cooked up a few boneless skinless chicken breasts when I've had them to use, I've used a couple large cans of canned chicken and as in this version pictured, I bought a deli rotisserie chicken to use. I usually buy a large 32 ounce carton of broth/stock and one 14 oz can and that usually works out just right for the "5 cups of stock" the recipe calls for. I do mine on the stove and finish it in the oven, but I imagine you could do the whole thing on top of the stove from start to finish.

Here's the recipe - and it would also make a great pot pie filling as well, just use pastry and finish it that way!

Chicken and Dumplings (or Biscuits)

Cooked Chicken: 3 cooked chicken breasts, chopped; or meat from one rotisserie chicken, or 2 large cans of canned chicken

1 pkg frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables works well too (can also use canned vegetables as well!)

5 c chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon  cubes, or 2 tsp granulated/powdered bouillon

12 tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks)

2 c chopped onion, about 2 onions

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c flour

1/4 c heavy cream

1/4 tsp pepper

Dumpling dough (recipe to follow)

1) Preheat oven to 400°F

2) In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions, over medium-low     

heat, until translucent. Add the garlic, cook and stir a couple minutes more.

3) Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the  bouillon. Simmer over low heat, stirring until thick.

4)  Add 1/2 tsp pepper, heavy cream, chicken and vegetables.

5) While this is coming up to a simmer, make the biscuits. Once the filling is simmering steady, drop the dumplings onto the hot chicken mixture by tablespoons. Cover the pot and bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops of the dumplings are dry - then remove the lid to cook a while longer to lightly brown the tops if desired. Let stand a few minutes and then serve.

Dumpling/Biscuit Dough: 

(this is the original amount recipe, for my Dutch oven, I usually  make a double batch, then just bake off the rest of the dough that might not make it on top of the chicken mixture, if baking them by themselves, drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake off at 450°F for 10-12 minutes.)

2 c flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (I've made it without before when I didn't have any around and it was fine)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c shortening or butter

1 c milk

In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in shortening or butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center; add milk all at once. Stir just until dough clings together. 


from Kris B.

Despite the fact that chicken and dumplings is a regional favorite in Delaware, where my parents grew up, it was not a meal that showed up on our dinner table when I was a child.  I only came to appreciate the soothing nature this comfort food as an adult.  

And here is an important question related to that discovery.  Which came first, the chicken or the dumpling?  For me, it was the dumpling.

I began my love affair with dumplings by eating lima beans and dumplings in chicken broth.  The only dumplings I knew were slippery dumplings because that is what my grandmother made.  Lima beans and dumplings were a summertime favorite.  I made my way to chicken and dumplings when I wanted a wintertime vehicle for those delicious dumplings.  I polled various family members (not my mother) and began experimenting with various recipes and combinations thereof.  Really, they weren’t that different from one another.  

I was surprised to see chicken and dumplings show up on restaurant menus in Texas.  In a moment of weakness one day, I decided to order them while eating out though I knew deep in my heart they couldn't possibly be as good as the homemade kind.  When my meal arrived, I was a little surprised to see my bowl topped with biscuits.  Little did I know that in addition to slippery dumplings, there were also something called fluffy dumplings.  They looked like biscuits.  I like biscuits, but in my mind, what I was looking at was not chicken and dumplings!.  It seemed strange to find them on top of my chicken.  Over time I have relaxed my definition of chicken and dumplings and have an appreciation for the fluffy dumplings because, well, biscuits are good.  Admittedly though, I still prefer slippery dumplings.

I got a good chuckle when Tracey and I started talking about this post and she said that she made her chicken and dumplings with "fluffy" dumplings.   And, since I was late getting my act together this weekend, I chuckled even more when I read her post as I was adding this to the bottom.  Though we do talk a lot about what to make and so on, we don’t know exactly what each other is going to write in the narrative.  At least she says up front that she is making biscuits.  Lol!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken

4 stalks of celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 TBS chicken bouillon granules 

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS shortening

^enough hot broth to make the dough feel “right”

To a large stew pot or dutch oven, add the celery, onion and chicken.  Cover the chicken with water.  Add the poultry season, bouillon, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat.  Cook until the chicken is falling off the bone.  A good rule of thumb is twenty minutes for every pound of chicken.  Once the chicken is done, remove it from the broth and set the chicken aside.  Remove one cup of broth to be used in the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, in a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter.  Then, “add enough of the reserved broth to make the dough feel right.”  (This is the way the recipe was given to me.)  What that means is that the dough will feel slightly sticky but can be handled and rolled.  On a floured board, roll out the dough to 1/16” thickness.  Then cut dumplings into 2” squares.

Bring the remaining broth to a boil.  (If you want more broth, more water can be added.)  Drop the dumplings into the broth one at a time until all are added.  Cook them for fifteen minutes in the boiling broth. 

In the meantime, de-bone the chicken and cut it into bite sized pieces.  Once the dumplings are thoroughly cooked, add the chicken back to the broth.  Gently combine.

Enjoy!

This is another of those recipes that tastes much better than it photographs.  LOL!