Chicken & Dumplings

This recipe is a hybrid of busy day--meets--chicken soup and old world dumplings. Want to know how to make them?

Suz's Chicken & Dumplings
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Ground Thyme (optional)
6-8 Pieces of frozen chicken tenders (un-breaded)
2-4 C water (It's soup, so to taste.)
1 packet Chicken of Lipton "Noodle" soup
1-2 Cans Green Beans (1 if you want it more like stew)
2-3 T Chicken bouillon

In a large soup pan (the stock pot) add 1 T olive oil, 2-3 grinds of black pepper and the chicken to brown. When the chicken is done remove to a plate and cut into bite sizes. Add the chicken back to the pan and add some water (about 1/2 C) to deglaze the pan. Add the green beans (with the juice from the can), the remaining water, the soup packet and bouillon (to taste). Add 2 shakes of ground Thyme, simmer and move on to the dumplings!

While cooking I noticed a pink glow coming from the windows. You're looking at the Oquirrh Mountains at sunset.

Does the photo-cropping help make it look less "processed?" Drat! You can still see the boxes.

Bisquick Dumplings
2 1/4 C Original Bisquick
2/3 C milk

Stir together...

If the dough looks like this, add a "splash" or two of milk until the dry is mixed with the wet. (A "splash" being approximately 2-4 T of milk at a time). Bring the soup to a boil.

Woah there Tex! That's some perfectly good soup! What are you droppin' in there? Don't panic! Drop the dough by spoonfuls into the soup (careful not to splash - use 2 spoons like with drop cookies). When the dough sinks a little once added to the soup keep the faith. Do not stir the soup.

Once all of the dumplings have been added reduce the heat to medium. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, then cover and cook for 10 more minutes.

These are freshly cooked dumplings.

Here's what they look like when they are cut open and you add butter. Now they look edible. It's just another way to get your carbs. Serve with butter. Really. And Kosher salt. Yum!

Happy Halloween!

Suz

Light Holiday Reading...

In this issue of the "Food Network Magazine" they're featuring a pumpkin mousse, which is something I usually make this time of year--they've "kicked it up a notch" with a ginger snap crust. In "Bon Appetit" magazine there's a friendly "Halloween Bark" that looks like a lot of fun to make with peanut butter cups, orange and yellow M&M's, and buttery toffee!

In the "spirit" of the Halloween season, I wanted to share a funny little book that I found at Barnes & Noble called "Horrorscopes: A Little Book of Misfortunes." It's one of those books you can pick up, thumb to any page, and read something funny. Here's today's "horrorscope:"

October 3
"Possessing a tempting blend of literary and culinary abilities, you should find success by authoring cookbooks. But use caution when editing your work. Accidentally calling for half a cup of arsenic instead of Asiago could leave many readers with a bad taste in their mouths."

Hope you're enjoying the Harvest/Halloween season!

Suz