Chicken and Dumplings

Surprised to see a hearty, warm you to the tips of your toes soup in July? It isn't very strange when you consider that we have had a fairly cold summer and I've had it on my menu since late spring and have just now gotten around to making it. Bite-sized chunks of chicken, doughy dumplings, and thick, salty gravy. Yum!

I thought this was going to be a lot harder than it was and easier is always a nice surprise. While the chicken and veggies were simmering, it was quick enough to mix up the dough for the dumplings. Add the soup to make a gravy base, drop the dumplings in, let cook for a few minutes, and then dish up and eat. It really can't get much easier than that. Enjoy!


Chicken and Dumplings
Source: Slightly adapted from Food Network - Paula Deen


Chicken Stew:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 pieces
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Ice water

Prepare House Seasoning in a small bowl. Place the chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon, and House Seasoning in a large pot. Add 2 quarts of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken until it is tender and the juices run clear. Remove the chicken from the pot, cool slightly, and tear/cut into bite size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.

Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, drizzle a small amount of ice water over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of ice water. Knead the dough and form it into ball.
Dust a good amount of flour onto a clean work surface. Roll out the dough (it will be firm), working from center to 1/8-inch thick. Let the dough relax for several minutes.

Add the cream of chicken soup to the pot with the chicken and simmer gently over medium-low heat.
Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces. Pull a piece in half and drop the halves into the simmering soup. Repeat. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently move the pot in a circular motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.

To serve, ladle chicken, gravy, and dumplings into warm bowls.

Note: If the chicken stew is too thin it can be thickened before the dumplings are added. Simply mix together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water then whisk this mixture into the stew.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Macaroni Salad

Summertime and sunny days always makes me long for a picnic. And who doesn't like macaroni salad at a picnic? This particular recipe has been with me for a long, long time. I have tried a few others over the years but this is always the one I come back to because it reminds me of all those years of enjoying macaroni salad as a kid. It has a subtle taste and I love the combination of the eggs, mayonnaise, and olives and the crunch of the pickles. Enjoy! 

Macaroni Salad
Makes about 10-12 servings

12 ounces elbow macaroni
4 eggs
4 medium-sized dill pickles, diced
black olives, chopped
mayonnaise

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions. Rinse with cool water.

Cook eggs until hard-boiled. Cool, peel, and chop.

Stir cooked macaroni, hard-boiled eggs, pickles, and black olives in a large bowl. Add enough mayonnaise to make the noodles moist. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Upon preparing to photograph this glorious bowl of soup I asked my husband what he thought would make it look its best. His reply, "There's nothing you can do. No matter what it is going to look like baby poop." All right. Thanks for that piece of insight.

I know that's just what you wanted to read at the beginning of a post on a food blog, but you know that's probably what you are thinking or will be thinking the more you study the picture. It really was a good bowl of soup. A bit bland, as all split pea soups are, but very hearty. And just so you know, my husband had two bowls of this soup that he referred to in the above manner, so there. Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup
2 quarts of water
2 cups of green split peas
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound of ham (shaved or cubed)
salt and pepper

Fill stock pot with 2 quarts of water; add green split peas, celery, carrot, onion, thyme, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and ham. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium (or a simmer) and boil slowly until peas are tender (at least 20 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve or puree in your blender.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

 

I have had this soup recipe in my recipe notebook for years and yet this is the first time I have ever made it. At my first job I participated in a Friday lunch bunch which entailed signing up for one Friday during the school year and preparing soup for the 25 to 30 people in the group. That one day was a bit of work, but not having to bring my lunch every Friday for the rest of the year made it all worthwhile!

One year someone had a brilliant idea to make a cookbook of all the soup recipes that we brought in for lunch. This recipe was one of those submitted and I have to say that I don�t know why I waited for so long to make it. My only excuse is that I don�t make soup all that often and when I find a recipe I usually make it exclusively. This soup will now be added to that repertoire because it tastes really great and is easy to make. Enjoy!  

Chicken Tortellini Soup
1 pound chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
46 ounces chicken broth
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper


1 cup dried cheese-filled tortellini, uncooked
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons snipped parsley

Cook chicken over medium heat 5-7 minutes until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients, except parsley. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover; reduce heat.

Simmer over medium-low heat 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Makes 6 servings

Three Apple Salad

 

I think this post might be more about photos than about food. Let me just say that my photo of the finished product does not look like the professional photo at all! In fact, you could more aptly name mine the "Ghost of the Three Apple Salad". I guess you'd have to see the professional photo to know and compare (it is from a recipe card I picked up many years ago), and since you can't see it I will try to describe it to you. 

In the professional photo there is a lovely dark blue plate with some green leaf lettuce as the salad base. All the different apple colors are shown in their glory, red, green, and yellow all peeking out (hence the three apple salad). The cheddar cubes pop, as do the walnuts and carefully placed dried cranberries. And the dressing looks as though it is strategically painted on a few apples here and a few cheese cubes there. Seriously. 

Now look back at my photo. White background, white plate, GREEN leafy lettuce, and pasty white ghost salad. In my defense, you could see the different colors much better before I mixed the dressing up with the other ingredients. And again, one more reason why I am not paid for my photography skills or lack thereof. Enjoy!

Three Apple Salad

3 apples (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green), diced to measure 2 cups

3 ounces swiss, cheddar, or gouda cheese, diced to measure 3/4 cup

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion

1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans

Dressing:

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon frozen apple juice concentrate

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 lettuce leaves (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine apples, cheese, celery, cherries, green onions, and nuts.

For dressing, in a small bowl stir together yogurt, mayonnaise, apple juice concentrate, and lemon juice. Toss gently with salad. Serve on lettuce leaves, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

Oh my goodness! This has to be one of the best soups I've ever eaten. It is thick, rich, creamy, and flavorful. I ended up making it late one night so that we could eat it for lunch the next day but it smelled so good that we had to have a spoonful. Next thing we know we are eating a bowlful even though it was 9pm and we had already eaten dinner and were getting ready for bed. It is so good!

I adapted the recipe, and there are many other ways to adapt. You can see comments left at the original recipe site for ideas. Personally, when I get done using the chicken bouillon granules in my cupboard I am going to replace the water and bouillon with stock. Enjoy!

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup
Source: Food.com


3 1/2 cups of potatoes, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup ham, diced
1 cup ham, shaved
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, ham, and water in stockpot and bring to a boil. Then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. (This took about 10-15 minutes.) Stir in the chicken bouillon and and pepper. (You can choose to add salt to taste (no more than 1/2 teaspoon) but I chose not to because the ham and bouillon are both salted.)

In separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly until thick. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form and all milk is added. Continue to stir until thick (4-5 minutes). Add in cheese and stir until melted.

Stir the cheese mixture into the stockpot and cook until heated through.

Apple and Banana Salad

A simple, but delicious fruit and yogurt salad. My son always thinks we are eating an ice cream type dessert because I like to serve this in our parfait glasses with breakfast! Enjoy!

Side Note: This recipe serves 10 to 12 people, so I usually halve it for 4 people with a bit left over. The leftovers keep okay for about a day but after that they become pretty mushy and browned. Also, plan to make it right before you plan to serve it since it doesn't refrigerate well.

Apple-Banana Salad
Makes 10 to 12 servings

5 crisp apples (I like Braeburn)
5 bananas
1-8oz. vanilla yogurt
sprinkle of cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg

Optional:
1/4 cup (2 oz. pure maple syrup)

Chop apples and slice bananas. Mix all ingredients (also maple syrup, if you are including). Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Serve immediately.

Spinach Salad

For some reason, as of late, salad recipes have been jumping out at me from my recipe pages. Is it that my cookbooks are trying to tell me something, is my psyche sending subliminal messages, or is my body just craving more fresh veggies. Who knows! I do know that I have a huge amount of salad recipes and was all set to try a few out, even going so far as to put them on my breakfast menu, and this is about as far as I've gotten. No matter how good I want to be (usually in the evening after consuming a few m&m's) it is hard to actually put it into practice. I tend to fall back on my comfort foods, especially for breakfast, and seem to come up with plenty of excuses why I can't get chopping on those fresh fruits and veggies.

So, back to the spinach salad. The recipe calls this a crowd pleaser for a potluck so you'll have to adjust the amounts based on how much you and your eating partners would like to consume. Enjoy!

Spinach Salad
Serves potluck portions

8-9 ounces of fresh spinach or baby spinach
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans recommended)
1/4 cup finely chopped or grated onion (Vidalia or red onion recommended)
2-3 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup dressing (raspberry-walnut vinaigrette recommended)

Always rinse the spinach before preparing the salad. Dump the spinach into a large colander, rinse, drain, and dry gently with a towel. Transfer to a serving dish. Toss the spinach with the dried cranberries, nuts, and onion. When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad and toss. Add crumbled bleu cheese.

Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Bisque

 
I haven't tried a new soup recipe in a long time. For some reason, even though I enjoy soup the recipes don't usually stand out to me when I'm flipping through cookbooks. This soup did catch my eye though, partly because I'm visual and it looked delicious but also because it had artichoke in it and I'm a fan of artichoke.

My husband and I both give this bisque two thumbs up. It was even great reheated the next day and the next. We enjoyed ours with a side of pugliese bread which offset the burning lips from the roasted red pepper. Seriously though, I usually am not a fan of hot or spicy foods and I was able to eat this soup just fine. Also, I know that looking at the recipe and ingredient list you might say, "No way, there's too many things going in there", but remember that it does serve 8 to 10 (and it really does) and it is worth it and you can always halve it. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Bisque
Makes 8-10 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, minced
2 stalks celery, minced (1/2 cup)
1 large carrot, minced (1/2 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 ounces butter
1 cup flour
3 14-ounce cans chicken broth
1 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, pureed
2 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken-flavor bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup dry sherry (I didn't have it)
8 ounces marinated artichokes, minced
shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese

In a large saucepan, combine olive oil, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic (you can mince garlic and vegetables in a food processor). Cook over low heat until soft. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper.

Increase the heat to medium, add butter and melt. Stir in flour and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes.  (If I recall correctly, I had to immediately add the chicken broth and such because once I added the butter and flour it clumped up all together so I couldn't cook it for 3-4 minutes.)

Add chicken broth, roasted red pepper puree, water and chicken bouillon and stir until thickened. (I believe I used a whisk to break it up a bit better since the flour and butter created clumps.)

Simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, adding water or broth as needed.

Stir in cream, sherry, and artichokes and heat for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with shredded Parmesan or Asiago.

Pasta Salad

I love a good pasta salad! They are great for potlucks, a hot summer evening, when you really don't feel like cooking, or just to munch on along with some crisp, crusty bread. There are so many different ingredients that you can add or substitute so feel free to mix it up with other stuff. Enjoy!

Pasta Salad

1 pound spiral tri-color noodles
small can of sliced olives
cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered or halved
marinated artichokes, chopped
provolone cheese, cubed
pepperoni slices, halved
Italian dressing
Parmesan cheese

Boil the noodles according to package directions. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Mix together all ingredients, adding Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve.

Cranberry Pecan Salad

Cranberry pecan salad is a great partner to many different main dishes. The unfortunate thing is that I like to use candied pecans and we only get them during the local street fair in the spring or around Christmas time. We have learned to stock up when these events happen, but it is a sad day when we get to the end of our stash and we still have to wait until the next opportunity comes around to buy more.

Side note: The salad above is pictured without the blue cheese dressing.

Cranberry Pecan Salad
(adjust ingredient amounts based on your preference)

green leaf lettuce
diced apple
dried cranberries
candied pecans
blue cheese dressing