Oh, how I love Chicken N' Dumplins! It's one of those foods that for me conjures specific memories of nights at the kitchen table. My C n' D turned out great tonight. Lucy wasn't a fan, but dutifully ate her two bites. Lily loved the broth, but I'm not sure she took any bites with chicken or dumplins in them. I wonder if my girls will some day cook C n' D for their own kids and think back fondly on nights at the dining room table? Probably not Lucy!
Chicken N' Dumplins (as prepared tonight by me)
1/2 a large stock pot full of water (I'm going to guess it was a 3 1/2 quart pot, probably about 1 3/4 - 2 quarts)
3 large chicken breasts
Simmer chicken until cooked through. Remove from broth, skim nasty stuff from broth, cut chicken into bite sized pieces and return to broth.
Combine 1/2 cup flour with water until it is a thin paste. Add slowly to broth. Broth will become very cloudy, almost opaque) Bring broth to a boil.
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
Combine Bisquick and milk until it makes a sticky dough. Drop by spoonfuls into broth, cook UNCOVERED for ten minutes. COVER and cook another 10 minutes. Dumplins should be fluffy and float at the top.
There is also a fantastic easy recipe for shortcake on the Bisquick box. I made that during the twenty minutes I was waiting for the dumplins to cook. Consider pairing the C n' D with strawberry shortcake for dessert.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Not Yo Mamma's Banana Pudding!
That's because it's MY Mamma's banana pudding! The stuff is so good that Matthew and I have single-handedly eaten a 9x13 dish of it in about 3 days. I had it for dinner Saturday night.
Disclaimer: I may be about to post the recipe from the side of th Nilla Wafer box, but as far as I am concerned it is my mother's recipe b/c it came to me by way of the notebook of family recipes and childhood favorites that she made for me when I got married.
MIX #1
1 package of vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
MIX #2
1 can Eagle brand milk
8oz Cool Whip
Mix the two mixes together
Layer Nilla Wafers, bananas, and pudding mix.
Chill and Serve.
Word to the wise -- if you do this in a 9x13 dish it'll work out better if you don't try to totally cover the bottom with cookies. I ran out before the top layer of cookies and had to open another box! I think I would've preferred it with fewer cookies. It was still darn good, though!
Also, I made this on the super cheap. I had a coupon for the Nilla wafers, and the box I got had a coupon on it for up to .55 off of bananas (more than a pound at the day's price at Publix). 88 cents for store brand cool whip, a can of Eagle milk in my cabinet, milk in the fridge, and 50 cents for a box of pudding.
Disclaimer: I may be about to post the recipe from the side of th Nilla Wafer box, but as far as I am concerned it is my mother's recipe b/c it came to me by way of the notebook of family recipes and childhood favorites that she made for me when I got married.
MIX #1
1 package of vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
MIX #2
1 can Eagle brand milk
8oz Cool Whip
Mix the two mixes together
Layer Nilla Wafers, bananas, and pudding mix.
Chill and Serve.
Word to the wise -- if you do this in a 9x13 dish it'll work out better if you don't try to totally cover the bottom with cookies. I ran out before the top layer of cookies and had to open another box! I think I would've preferred it with fewer cookies. It was still darn good, though!
Also, I made this on the super cheap. I had a coupon for the Nilla wafers, and the box I got had a coupon on it for up to .55 off of bananas (more than a pound at the day's price at Publix). 88 cents for store brand cool whip, a can of Eagle milk in my cabinet, milk in the fridge, and 50 cents for a box of pudding.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Lobster, not so much
Well, that was fun, but I don't think I'm going to do it again. $13 (after my coupon) for 3 tiny lobster tails that I have to cook is just a little too much for me to handle! Had I known, and I should have, how little meat it would really be, I would've passed in the first place. Oh well, lesson learned.
One good thing did come of it. The girls like lobster! As we were coaxing Lucy into taking the first bite, Lily said, "Lucy, there is a chicken in the lobster shell!" So I suppose there is truth to the saying "it tastes like chicken". lol Lucy took that first bite and started nodding her head as though it was ok. Later on, when offered a second bite, Lily smiled real big and said YES. Lucy took a second bite (big bite) too.
The side items were a big hit, too. I did crisp tender carrots in dill butter and roasted red potatoes with olive oil and herbs. Joel loved the potatoes. He kept yelling as I was breaking them down into smaller bites for him, and he grabbed them and shoved them in his mouth as quick as he could.
Overall it was a good meal, just not affordable or practical.
Tonight is ravioli and meat sauce! Yum!
Crisp Tender Dill Carrots
1 lb carrots, boiled in just enough water to cover carrots until "crisp tender"
(a bag of baby carrots is recommended, but I used whole carrots and cut them down to small pieces)
toss carrots while hot with 1/2 tsp dill weed (or 1 tsp fresh dill tips if you have it) and 1/2 stick of butter or margarine. EAT!!
One good thing did come of it. The girls like lobster! As we were coaxing Lucy into taking the first bite, Lily said, "Lucy, there is a chicken in the lobster shell!" So I suppose there is truth to the saying "it tastes like chicken". lol Lucy took that first bite and started nodding her head as though it was ok. Later on, when offered a second bite, Lily smiled real big and said YES. Lucy took a second bite (big bite) too.
The side items were a big hit, too. I did crisp tender carrots in dill butter and roasted red potatoes with olive oil and herbs. Joel loved the potatoes. He kept yelling as I was breaking them down into smaller bites for him, and he grabbed them and shoved them in his mouth as quick as he could.
Overall it was a good meal, just not affordable or practical.
Tonight is ravioli and meat sauce! Yum!
Crisp Tender Dill Carrots
1 lb carrots, boiled in just enough water to cover carrots until "crisp tender"
(a bag of baby carrots is recommended, but I used whole carrots and cut them down to small pieces)
toss carrots while hot with 1/2 tsp dill weed (or 1 tsp fresh dill tips if you have it) and 1/2 stick of butter or margarine. EAT!!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What to do in a pinch
So I bought all the goods I needed for well-constructed $6 meals, as well as all the goods I needed to feed my family an incredible lobster dinner......then I tried to go to the DCA consignment presale. It seemed like a good idea at the time. How was I to know it would take over 10 minutes just getting in and out of the parking lot? How was I to know that there would be a wreck and a traffic light out between me and the interstate? Instead of being back to pick up the kids at 6, it was more like 6:30. When I called Matthew and asked him to cut the potatoes for dinner he said, "You're going to do all that and cook and eat all before you have to play tennis at 7:30?" Oh yeah, that. So when I got home and he suggested we get Jet's pizza, I thought about trying to talk him out of it in favor of some easy pasta. Then the phone rang. "Where is Carrie?" Apparently I was supposed to play at 7 and the other 3 ladies were waiting on me (it was 7:10). Suffice it to say, we had pizza. But the $13 pizza will make at least 2 meals, so I guess that fits in the plan, right?! Jet's pizza always seems to be our fall-back plan in a pinch, so I guess I better make it fit!
Now that I've been to the store, had one night of dinner plans hijacked, and had a little time to reflect, here is my menu plan for the rest of the week:
Tonight: broiled lobster, with oven-roasted red potatoes and brown sugar glazed carrots
Thursday: ravioli with meat sauce and garlic bread
Friday: sandwiches (may change to a garden pasta dish)
Saturday: steak fajitas (yes, for under $6, and I'll probably have leftovers, too)
Sunday: pork tenderloin with rice and vegetables
We used all of the leftover chicken from the one I made earlier in stir-fry meals for lunch on Sunday and dinner on Monday. so I've decided to wait on the chicken and dumplings. There is no really good sale on chicken this week, and I have plenty of other options available.
Now that I've been to the store, had one night of dinner plans hijacked, and had a little time to reflect, here is my menu plan for the rest of the week:
Tonight: broiled lobster, with oven-roasted red potatoes and brown sugar glazed carrots
Thursday: ravioli with meat sauce and garlic bread
Friday: sandwiches (may change to a garden pasta dish)
Saturday: steak fajitas (yes, for under $6, and I'll probably have leftovers, too)
Sunday: pork tenderloin with rice and vegetables
We used all of the leftover chicken from the one I made earlier in stir-fry meals for lunch on Sunday and dinner on Monday. so I've decided to wait on the chicken and dumplings. There is no really good sale on chicken this week, and I have plenty of other options available.
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