Not Around

Unfortunatly my computer is having problems, and I cannot get it to work. That is why there haven't been any posts lately. Please stick with me. I pormise to be back and better than ever soon! I already have a lot of new recipes to post, just no way to upload the pictures! Coming soon will be ....

Beer Cheese Fondue

Chocolate Caramel Fondue

White Chocolate Berry Fondue

Tomato Basil Fondue

Meatloaf Trifle

Philly Cheese Steak Garlic Bread Bowl

And many more, I'm sure!

Chicken and Dumplings

Let's see... I've also made homemade Chicken and Dumplings FROM SCRATCH! Yes, I know, people do this all the time, but I had not. I'm not a huge fan of chicken and dumplings, but for some reason I was having a serious craving for it! About that time I happened upon a blog post over at My Baking Adventures with an amazing sounding recipe! It turned out great! Here is the link to her recipe, and here it is again, but with all my tweaks!

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Stock

1 (3 to 3 ½ pound) whole organic chicken

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs thyme

4 to 5 black peppercorns

1 tbs. salt

Dumplings:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3 T All purpose seasoning

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons oil

2 carrots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1/2 cup heavy cream

Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish

Chopped chives, for garnish

For the stock:

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.

When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces – the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, seasoning and milk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.

For the sauce: 

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrots, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. The original recipe said that this would take about 15 mins, but it took mine close to 30-40 mins. Stir in the heavy cream. Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 7 to 9 minutes until they start to get puffy. Flip the dumplings and cook for an additional 7 to 9 minutes, or until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.

This was absolutely amazing! It took a little longer than I expected, but was well worth the time! 

Recipe catch up!

I have been a little behind on my blogging. I have cooked a lot of things recently that I haven't blogged about. So I'm going to try and write a few posts with all the recipes in them. Out of everything I've cooked lately only one thing didn't turn out as I planned, and that's the Cinnamon Bubble Bread I baked. I got the recipe out of a cookbook called The Best Casserole Book Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas. I honestly think that this bread would turn out perfect had I given it the chance, but sadly it was the last thing I baked that day. So I was exhausted and ready to get out of the kitchen. Here is the recipe. I urge you to try it and let me know your results! 

Cinnamon Bubble Bread

The “bubbles” in this loaf of bread are little rounds of dough, which are rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and then piled into a baking pan. The bread tastes a lot like cinnamon rolls, and is fun to serve for breakfast or brunch, or with coffee. Use two forks or a pair of tongs to pull apart the bubbles.

Serves 8 to 10

6 T butter, melted, divided, plus extra for the dish

1 C warm water (105 to 115°)

2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast

2 T plus 1 C sugar, divided

1 C milk, scalded and cooled, to lukewarm

2 t salt

4 ½ C all purpose flour, divided

2 T ground cinnamon

1. Generously butter a deep 2-quart casserole dish. Pour the warm water into a large bowl and stir in the yeast and the 2 T of sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the milk, salt, 4 T of the melted butter, 1 C of the flour, and ½ c sugar; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining flour to make a stiff, satiny, smooth dough.

3. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubles in size, about 45 minutes. Turn out the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into quarters again, to make 16 pieces. Cut each of the pieces in half to make 32 pieces total.

4. Pour the remaining 2 T melted butter into a small dish. In another small dish mix the remaining ½ c of sugar and the cinnamon. Roll each piece of dough first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar. Place the dough pieces in the buttered casserole in even layers. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, or until browned and a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the casserole for 5 minutes. Invert onto a serving dish and serve warm, pulling apart the pieces.

Wordless Wednesday

Over at My Kinda Rain they always have "Wordless Wednesday". Usually I have already posted something, so I never contribute. Today, however, I thought I would sneak it in at the last minute! These pictures are so priceless to me... Here's my family! 

(she looks so thrilled)

(our kitty sleeping)

Blog Hop Monday!

It'a time for the next blog hop! This week everyone is blogging a question, so that all their readers can answer!

My question is....

What is your favorite recipe? Why? 

When I first starting reading (and posting) cooking blogs, I noticed that everyone came up with these amazing recipes all on their own. So I told myself that I would come up with an amazing recipe all on my own, and below was the results. It is a very yummy (and pretty simple) dish!!!!

Chicken and Penne with Tomato Sauce

Pasta

12 oz Whole wheat penne

1 ½ T Extra virgin olive oil

2 T Garlic powder

Chicken

4 Chicken breasts

2 T extra virgin olive oil

¼ C. White cooking wine

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

3 T Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauce

20 oz tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 C salsa

½ C green pepper, diced

½ C sweet red pepper, diced

½ C onion, diced

1 T extra virgin olive oil

4 T Italian seasoning

1/8 C Green Chilies

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken: Trim excess fat off of chicken breasts. Score chicken 2-3 times across top. Place chicken, oil, wine, and spices in Ziploc bag and shake. Marinade in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Remove chicken from bag and place on heated grill. Cook thoroughly.

Pasta: Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain, add oil and garlic powder. Toss to coat.

Sauce: Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions, green peppers, and red peppers; Sauté till tender. Add remaining ingredients to pan and simmer for 10-15 mins.

Top the pasta with chicken and sauce.

Serves 4

I can't wait to read everyone's answers!!!! Happy Blog Hopping! 

My day in the kitchen

I have been inspired. The lady over at Life As A Mom cooked up a storm the other day. Putting all sorts of things away in the freezer. So today, I will get things done! Here is my list of things to work on... 

Pumpkin Pancakes

Herbed Tomato Sauce

Taco Seasoning Mix

Cinnamon Bubble Bread

Fast and Easy Whole Wheat Bread

Southern Biscuits

Strawberry Bread

Pumpkin Muffins

Basic Whole Wheat Pancakes

Fresh Strawberry muffins

Pimento Cheese spread

Chewy granola bars

Then here are my maybe's :) 

Apple Cider Donuts

White Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunchers

Cookie Dough Pie

I would also like to find some homemade mix recipes, such as, brownie mixes, cake mixes, ect... to make up and put away. 

Well, I'm off. I'll update as I get things finished... 

Late Night Chocolate Cravings

Last night I decided to download Google Chrome. Needless to say, it was love at first click!

But in the midst of my Chrome craze, I had that late night urge..... for chocolate! Now, if any of you have had this craving, then you know what I'm talking about. Nothing else will suffice. There is no subsitute for chocolate! Well, at least not in my book.

So, away I went, searching for the perfect peace of chocolate heaven. Only to find that I had nothing. Let me tell ya, it was a very sad night in my house.

Then out of the blue my fiance says, "How about those no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies you talked about making the other day?"

Ladies and gentlemen, my fiance is a genius!

This man has single-handedly restored my faith in the human race! No bake chocolate oatmeal cookies are super simple, and always cure that pesky late-night, chocolate craving!

So away I went to make some cookies!

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 c sugar

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 c Evaporated milk (or plain milk if your out)

2 1/2 T cocoa

1/2 c peanut butter

2 t vanilla

3 c quick cook oats

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and oats.

(I was out of milk and refused to go to the store, luckily I had some dry milk!)

Spoon out quickly onto wax paper or aluminum foil. Cookies will harden as they set.