Made By Melissa

So while it seems like the rest of the world is embracing Spring with open arms, we are STILL getting snow! We have had more snow this year then I can ever remember. I know we have gotten at least 100 inches and broken a couple records.  I am more than ready for spring, but if I have to deal with the snow at least I am going to make something warm and comforting to eat!

I had been wanting to make chicken and dumplings all winter, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Then I saw Chelley’s recipe over at Sugar and Spice. What I like about this recipe is that it used ingredients I already had on hand and other then some prep work, it was pretty much a hands off recipe. I made a few minor changes noted below. This dinner was very good and hit the spot on a cold, snowy day. I can’t wait to make it again in November with some turkey.

Chicken and Dumplings

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced (Nate does not like celery and would not have touched this if he even saw a hint of it)
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 of a large onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup milk

Place chicken breasts in a pot, cover with water, and boil until fully cooked.

While chicken is boiling, melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot (I used a 5 qt saute pan). Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and vegetables are soft. If you see that they are getting too hot, reduce heat to medium low.

Add chicken broth and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 30 minutes.

At this point you can add a slurry of flour and broth if the mixture is too thin for your likeness. I ended up using approximately 1/4 cup of flour, but would recommend adding 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired thickness. I find the best method for doing this is to ladle a scoop of broth out of the pot and into a separate cup. In that cup, whisk in the flour until smooth, and then whisk that mixture back into the pot. This keeps large clumps of flour from forming in your pot! Keep in mind your soup will thicken some more when your dumplings!

When chicken has finished cooking, let it cool long enough to handle. Shred the chicken and add it to the broth and vegetables, along with the peas and corn. Cover and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes. I only simmered another 10 minutes or so, just long enough for the frozen veggies to cook.

To prepare dumplings, mix together the Bisquick and milk, until a soft dough forms. Drop by rounded tablespoons into the chicken mixture (makes about 16 dumplings - I got exactly this many using my medium scoop from Pampered Chef). Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, uncovered. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the dumplings are done. The dumplings were cooked after the 20 minutes, and I was starving, so I served then. Be careful when you stir and serve the chicken and dumplings, as the dumplings are somewhat fragile and will break up into the soup.

I love the Zuppa Toscana Soup at Olive Garden, it is my favorite soup to get when we go out. Since it is STILL winter and we are STILL getting snow, I made this along with garlic swirl bread for a warm, comforting meal. This is another recipe from allrecipes.com, written as I made it, following some of the tips from reviewers.

Zuppa Toscana

• 1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage (I used a 1lb roll of Jimmy Dean light sausage) 
• 2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
• 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
• 1 quart water (I used 2 cups of chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups of water)
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Place the sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 -inch slices. I just cooked/crumbled the sausage in a frying pan, drained and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until slightly crispy. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and set aside. Add onions to the pan and cook until almost clear. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, chicken broth and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.

Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes (I let it simmer about minutes to soften the kale) and serve.

There are several versions of chicken taco soup out there, but I decided to make this one from Melissa’s blog.  I love that you can throw the ingredients in the crock-pot in the morning and have a warm, delicious, hearty soup for dinner. Original recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (I used kidney beans)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained (I used frozen)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.