AWESOME Chicken-n-Dumplins

I saw somewhere that you could use canned biscuits for dumplings in Chicken-n-Dumplings.  I have been fighting a major cold lately and a good batch of C&D sounded perfect, so I tried it last night.  It is AWESOME!  This is by far the easiest and fastest recipe of chicken and dumplings I have ever made and they are REALLY good. Here is my recipe:

1 lb of chicken
1 tbsp of Salt
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 onion chopped. (I bought the prechopped onion in the little container at Pulix...I HATE chopping onion)
1 can of plain canned biscuits
1 box of chicken stock (I don't remember the ounces, but it is not the little can, but the box kind, you know what I mean?)

Boil chicken in water with the salt and then prepare however you prefer.  We like ours cut in small chunks.  Combine the soups, onion and chicken stock in a dutch oven or pot with a lid and bring to a boil.  Once it is boiling, flatten out the biscuts and cut them into strips.  I cut each biscuit into 4 strips and then cut those in half so that my dumplings are short and easier to eat.  Add the dumplings one at a time to the boiling soup.  Don't be alarmed when they puff up and float to the top!  Once they have all been added, reduce to a simmer and cover them.  Let them cook for at least 20 minutes.  The dumplings will get not puffy and become dumpling-ie (not a word...whatever) and it is really delicious.  Let me know if you try it.  I am telling you, REALLY easy, and REALLY good!

This one is for you Candi!

KEY LIME PIE

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 can 14oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice ( can substitute for 7 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lime juice.
• 8 or 9 inch graham cracker crust
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium bowl, with a electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until lemon colored. Blend in the condensed milk. Gradually add the lime juice. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly on a wire rack, but leave the oven on.
3. In a medium bowl with a electric mixer (clean beaters) beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread the egg whites over the pie making sure the meringue overlaps the crust all the way around to create a seal.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Let cool then refrigerate until chilled about 2 hours.

****We add 1 more tbsp of Lime Juice than it calls for, if you can't find keylime juice, which we never can. You can add a smidge of green food coloring if you want it to be green.

Easy Meal, Installment 3

Easy Chicken Parmigiana

• Ian’s Whole Wheat Panko bread crumbs
• Chicken Breast Fillets
• Angel Hair Pasta (We get the low-carb by Dreamfield---DELICIOUS!)
• Jar of your favorite marinara sauce (Again, we recommend Bertolli)
• Shredded cheese of your choice (we use Mozzarella, Provolone and Parmesan Reggiano)
• Little bit of butter
• Preheat oven to 400
• Smear butter all over the chicken breast fillets (it won’t stick really, but it will keep the chicken moist so that the Panko will stick to it)
• Mix Panko and Italian Seasoning (about 1 tbsp) and coat the chicken in it.
• Place chicken on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan sprayed with cooking spray
• Bake for 20-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. For regular boneless chicken breast, it can take the whole 35 minutes.
• Prepare your angel hair pasta while the chicken is baking.
• Approx 5 minutes before the chicken is done, place the cheese on top of the chicken and let it finish cooking.
• Spoon sauce on top and Voila, instant meal!
• This method of chicken works great for a really crunchy, fried chicken like, crispy crust on the chicken, without the unhealthy oil. It is also really good as a main dish with lemon pepper in it instead of Italian seasoning. It is super crispy and super Delicious. Ours is pictured below. I also toasted some deli sliced pepperoni in the oven for some crispy pepperoni chips. YUMMO!

Ciao!

Another quick, and easy, meal!

This is my Mom's recipe for Chicken Divan. It is a GREAT way to get your veggies. I am not a broccoli fan, neither is Kevin, but I can eat this until I make myself sick. It is SOOO yummy. Enjoy! Chicken Divan

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 package of chopped frozen broccoli
• Bread crumbs (or Panko)
• 1tsp Curry powder
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• Preheat oven to 375
• Boil chicken in water with a bit of salt until chicken is done and then drain and cube up the chicken
• In a separate bowl, mix Cream of Chicken soup, Mayonnaise, Lemon juice and curry powder and set aside.
• Place broccoli in the bottom of a Pyrex dish and spread evenly to cover the bottom of the dish. Place the diced chicken on top of the broccoli and top with shredded cheddar cheese (Approx 1 cup). Next spread the Soup mixture on top and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Sprinkle Bread crumbs (we prefer Panko) on top of the casserole.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, allow to stand for 3-5 minutes and serve.

We serve it over rice, it is supper yummy (and I am not a broccoli fan). Kevin says it is better the next day with hot sauce on it.

• Enjoy! Ciao!

A post a day (sorta) Installment 1

I am going to *TRY* to do 1 post per week day, notice I said try, for the month of March. Here is installment # 1.

• This is my recipe for Stromboli. It is SUPER easy and SUPER good. You can also use other pizza fillings in it as well. Kevin likes deli pepperoni, mushrooms and Italian sausage.

STROMBOLI

• 1lb of Publix Pizza Dough (in the bakery/deli section)
• 1 pound of chicken
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (Mozzarella works best)
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 bell pepper diced
• Italian seasoning
• 1 jar of marinara sauce (If we don’t make our own, we use Bertolli Marinara, it is a GREAT base sauce)
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Cube chicken and saute it in a little bit of olive oil and about ¼ Tsp of Italian Seasoning. When the chicken is almost done, add the onions and bell peppers and cook until the onions are beginning to go clear. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Follow the directions on the bag of Pizza dough as far as letting is sit and rise and come to room temperature. (We usually let ours sit on the counter for at least an hour before using it). Cut dough in half and Roll/Press dough out until it forms a oblong type shape.
• Once the Chicken mixture is no longer steaming hot (a little warm is OK, you just don’t want it to melt the cheese…Yet) Mix ¾ of the cheese with the chicken mixture that you have created.
• A little above center of the dough, spoon in some sauce (a good 2-3 tablespoons), spread it down the center of the dough, leaving about 1.5 inches of un-sauced dough on the edges. It should cover make a stripe about 2 inches wide. Take ½ of your chicken mixture and put it on top of the sauce, try to evenly distribute the chicken so that it will cook evenly. Fold the top edge of the dough over the top of the mixture, fold the sides in and then roll it up. Make sure that there isn’t any chicken exposed, it was cause a HUGE mess. When you put it on the pan try to put it seam side down, to help hold stuff in. Do the same thing with the other one. Place them on a cookie sheet with sides and bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.
• Serve with the remaining shredded cheese and sauce and enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Ok, so I have a confession, I do not like Pumpkin Pie. I know, completely un-American. I found this recipe 2 years ago and made it and LOVED IT! It is delicious! I thought that I would pass it on for all of you to try. It is wonderful!

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

• 1 Graham Cracker Crust
• 1 Can of Pumpkin Pie filling
• 2 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened for 15-20 secs in the microwave)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of Sugar (or 1/2 cup Splenda, 1/4 cup Sugar)
• 1tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp cloves)

Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese with a mixer until whipped and fluffy. Slowly add sugar mixture and continue to beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and Pumpkin Pie Spice and mix until combined. Stir in the Pumpkin pie filling until well combined. Pour mixture in pie crust and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center of the pie is almost set. Cool completely and refrigerate until cold.

We serve this with whipped cream on top and a dash of cinnamon. It is fabulous.

Enjoy!

Ciao!

***FYI: this recipe is on the back of the label on the graham cracker crust - don't remember the brand.

***The recipe for the cupcakes pictured above can be found HERE