This week: Comfort Food, as we look forward to the Autumn. (And if anyone has a favorite and quicker Chicken and Dumpling recipe, I’d love to know of it.)
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-JT
Poetic. :)
Not chicken and dumplings but love both of these recipes, perfect for fall! & somewhat healthy :)
Chicken and Cavatelli Soup
•1 tbsp butter
•1 medium onion, sliced thin
•2 tbsp all purpose flour
•5 cups low sodium fat free chicken broth
•1 cup celery, sliced
•2 large carrots, sliced
•1 clove garlic, minced
•2 bay leaves
•salt and fresh pepper to taste
•10 skinless chicken thighs, all fat removed
•8 oz frozen ricotta cavatelli
Directions:
In a large pot, melt butter. Add onion and cook on low about 6 minutes, until onions are soft. Add flour and stir, cooking another minute.
Add chicken broth, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
Add chicken and bring to a boil, then partially cover, simmer on low 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook cavatelli in a pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain and add to soup when soup has cooked. Cook another minute or two. Remove bay leaves and divide in five bowls.
To reheat, you may need to add a little water.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
•1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
•2 cups water
•4 cups fat free milk
•1 large celery stalk, chopped
•1/2 medium chopped onion
•8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms
•2 chicken bouillons
•fresh ground pepper
•pinch of thyme
•10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
•2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
•16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
•salt
Directions:
Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
•2 tbsp butter, melted
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
•2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick
•3.5 oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (Cabot 50% reduced fat)
•2/3 cup fat free milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Melt butter in a small frying pan, add half the garlic and saute on low heat about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add parsley.
In a large bowl, combine biscuit mix, cheddar cheese, and remaining garlic. Stir in milk and mix (do not over mix). Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls (1.5 oz each) onto prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Brush or drizzle biscuits with melted butter. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.
Just made chicken pot pie a couple of weeks ago. My recipe’s similar to yours except that this time, I added a couple of diced potatoes that I had peeled and boiled. Wow! What a welcome addition.
I used to make chicken and dumplings when my kids were little quite often. I used my mother’s old Danish recipe for dumplings. I put them in everything - vegetable beef soup, chicken paprikash, and chicken and dumplings.
Your reminiscence about the end of summer evoked memories. I can throughly relate to it.
Of all the cooking shows I watch - LOTS - America’s Test Kitchen’s is the only one that has me taking notes to reproduce their stuff. Lots of technique/equipment gems to be mined from those folks. They tend to use 10X too many dishes on everything, but they have to for the recipe to sink in if you aren’t taking notes.
I love it when they cook Nostalgia, stuff from turn of the century through the 50s. Don’t like their tasting/audience poll segment.
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May try and make my own low-fat version again. Last time was a wash, not enough flavor over store bought low-fat.
I love the fluffy ball shaped dumplings. We always used the recipe on Bisquick. Around here the dumplings are the flat heavy rectangles.
My quickest comfort food for this cooler weather is creamy bone broth. Make your own beef or chicken broth using the carcass/bones and veggies etc.
I then can this in the pressure canner. Then I open a jar at a time, and pour it into my cup with a dash or two of real cream - heat and add sea salt/no salt mixture to taste.
I like to drink this before breakfast or lunch. In the evening I drink it for a bedtime snack.
Then it’s crockpot soup or homemade veggie soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. In winter, it’s casseroles and homemade bread - anything that can have the whole meal cooked in the oven and/or crockpot.
I forgot to thank you last week for the navy bean recipe. I was going to reply and got to doing something else and forgot. So thank you. ;^)