Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

Fall is in full swing around here!  Today is cold, rainy, and super WINDY!  We're supposed to see wind speeds over 50 MPH.  That's a little nuts, isn't it?

What better thing to do on a day like this than make some nice, warm comfort food.  And since this meal cooks in the crockpot, that means your oven is free to bake some bread or goodies.  Doesn't that sound nice?  It sure does to me!

This recipe is adapted from HERE and we absolutely LOVED it!  I loved the shortcut of using canned biscuit dough for the dumplings.  It was so simple and so delicious!  Brilliant really.

Here's what you'll need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I doubled the recipe since we were cooking for extras and I only had three chicken breasts.  It worked out great though.)

2 Tbsp. butter

2  (10.5 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

1/2 onion, diced OR you can use 2 Tbsp. dried, diced onion

1 Tbsp. dried parsley

4 Grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Place chicken in crockpot.  Plop the butter on the chicken.

Then scoop the cream of chicken soup on that (since I doubled this recipe, I only had 3 cans of cream of chicken soup, so I added a can of cream of mushroom soup).

Pour the chicken broth over all.

Add the diced onion and dried parsley.

Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours or Low for 8-9 hours.

After the chicken is cooked, shred it and put it back into the soup.

Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces.

(Remember that I doubled mine, that's why there are more than 4.)

Stir gently into the soup.  Cover and turn the crockpot to High and cook for another hour.

After an hour, stir it up and this is what you'll get.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

When I co-hosted last year's cookie exchange, my friend Kolette brought this soup for lunch.  I couldn't believe how good it was when I took my first bite.  OH, IT WAS AMAZING!!  Everyone else that was there thought the same thing.  I'm pretty sure everyone had seconds and some even had thirds.  It was so good.

Now, this soup takes a little time to make, but it's worth it in the end.  When my 8 year old tried this, he said, "This is the best soup that's ever gone in my mouth!"  It's that good!

Here's what you'll need:

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth

2 C. water (use the liquid from the veggies for some of this)

1/2 C. butter

1/2 C. flour (heaping)

2 C. half and half

1-3 tsp. salt

1/2 - 1 tsp. pepper

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (fast cook 5 minute recipe)

2-4 chicken breasts

1-2 C. diced carrots

1-2 C. diced celery

diced onion (optional)

Cook rice according to package directions.

Steam vegetables in about 1-2 cups of water.  To steam, I put my chopped veggies and water in a microwavable bowl and cover it.  Then microwave it for about 8 minutes, or until tender.  

Make sure to reserve the water that's left.

Cook chicken in the bottom of a kettle or pot.  Remove and cut up.  Melt butter in the pot, add flour and seasonings.

Make a white sauce using the broth and reserved vegetable juice (adding enough water to equal 2 cups).

Bring to a boil.  Stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute.  Add half and half, veggies, rice, and chicken.  Heat until well heated through.  Do not boil or scorch the bottom.  Stir often until ready to serve.

Serve with a slice of homemade bread, or rolls, or breadsticks, or crusty french bread.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy new year, everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and some fun for new year's.  We sure did!  But, I've missed blogging and I'm so happy to be back.

With it being a new year, I've made some goals and plans for my food blog.  What I'm most excited about is to introduce you to my friend Nicole.  I've mentioned her in several past posts, but I really wanted you to get to know her.

Nicole and I were best friends all through high school and roommates our freshman year of college.  We did EVERYTHING together!  We both got married just a few months apart and our lives separated us by where we lived, but as time has proven, nothing has come between the fact that we are soul sisters and always will be.

Nicole has gotten into photography over the years and she is good.  REALLY good!  Check out her PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG HERE.  She has so graciously agreed to take some pictures of some of my recipes since my pictures are somewhat lacking in comparison to her amazing pictures.  She really captures the beauty of cooking and delicious food!

So, please join me in welcoming my very good friend, Nicole!!  And please enjoy some of her gorgeous photography!

Here's what you'll need:

3 (15 oz.) cans chicken broth or about 4 C. homemade chicken broth
2 T. dried onion OR 1 C. onion, diced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 3/4 - 2 C. thick and chunky salsa
1 C. frozen petite white corn
1 can black beans
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
Tortilla strips or tortilla chips

Garnish for topping: cilantro, sour cream, avocado, lime juice, shredded cheese

Combine the first six ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes.

Add chicken and heat through.  Serve with tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips in the soup.  Top with garnishes of your choice.

Simple and delicious!  Enjoy this warm bowl of soup sometime this cold winter.  And, thank you, Nicole, for the fabulous pictures!!!

Baked Beans

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is called, "Original Ranch House Baked Beans" in my new cookbook. Now, I've never heard of Ranch House before, but by looking at the ingredients, I thought this recipe sounded good. Well, it was. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!! It has such a wonderful flavor to it and is very hearty. Served with my breadsticks, it's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.

Here's what you'll need:

2 (16 oz) cans pork and beans
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (16 oz) can butter beans, drained
1 C. ketchup
1 C. brown sugar
1 T. liquid smoke
3 scant T. vinegar
1/2 onion, chopped OR 4 T. dried, chopped onion
1 lb. bacon
1 lb. hamburger

Brown hamburger, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder (a few shakes of each). Cook bacon; cut into 1 inch chunks. Drain all grease. Mix all ingredients together in a pot. Simmer for 1 hour (I only had 30 minutes and it was still great). Or use a crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours.

You really should try this. Especially if you live in Southeast Idaho where it's snowing right now. This will warm you right up!!

Taco Soup

My friend, Mandy, that I go walking with, told me this morning that she likes to check my blog to get ideas of what to make for dinner. So that has inspired me to post some yummy dinner recipes this week.

One of our family's favorite soups is taco soup. I got this recipe from my oldest sister and I LOVE this recipe because it is so easy and really good too!!

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef, browned with minced dried onion, garlic powder, and salt for seasoning
1 can corn with liquid
1 can kidney beans with liquid
1 can stewed diced tomatoes with liquid (you can get the diced tomatoes with chilies for more of a kick)
1 can tomato sauce
1 corn can of water
1 packet of taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients, not draining any of the cans, and cook on medium high until hot; simmer until ready to eat. Top with sour cream and shredded cheese and eat with corn chips. You can crush corn chips or Fritos and sprinkle them in your soup. Or you can eat your soup with those corn chip scoops or Fritos scoops - that's our favorite! Yummy, easy, and quick - perfect for those cold winter nights!!

You can also use this recipe as a freezer meal.  Just combine all of the ingredients into a gallon freezer bag and freeze.  To serve, thaw and heat through.

Corn Chowder

Growing up, my mom made this frequently and it's one of those things that make you feel warm and cozy inside. While she was here visiting, I asked her to make it, since she hasn't ever written down her recipe. After she made the chowder, she wrote down what she did. And now that I have a real recipe, I'm sharing it with you!

Just a note - my mom never made with with green chilies while I was growing up, but she likes to add them now for more flavor. Unfortunately for me, I didn't know that green chilies upset my stomach (now that I'm expecting) until I had some soup. So the next time I make this, I will be leaving the green chilies out.

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled - reserve the drippings

7-8 large potatoes, peeled, diced, cooked, and drained

2 T. dried onion

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 C. milk

1 can evaporated milk

2 cans corn, with liquid

grated cheese

1 can chopped green chilies (opt.)

Mash potatoes with 1/4 cup butter, salt and pepper to taste. In a microwavable bowl, combine 2 Tablespoons of dried onion, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 cup of milk. Microwave for 2 minutes on High. Add that mixture to the mashed potatoes along with the crumbled bacon. Then add 1/4 - 1/2 cup bacon drippings, evaporated milk, corn with liquid, green chilies (if desired). Add more milk until you reach your desired thickness. Heat through to blend flavors, being careful not to burn it. Serve, topped with grated cheese.

Mmmm, perfect for those cold winter days!!

Chili

The cooler weather is starting to set in. Fall is definitely here. Whenever this time of year comes around, I LOVE to make food that warms and fills you up. Today's recipe is one that I got from one of my sisters-in-law. It is so easy and really good! So one of these chilly days, you have got to try this super easy chili!

Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs. hamburger
1-2 T. dried onion
Salt & Pepper
2 Cans tomato sauce
2 cans pork & beans
1 pkg. chili seasoning

Brown the hamburger with the dried onion and salt and pepper. Mix all other ingredients together in a pot or a crockpot.

Add the cooked hamburger and cook on Medium-High until bubbly, then simmer until ready to eat. (The longer it simmers, the better the flavors combine. I would let it simmer for a good 30 to 45 mins.) Or if cooking in a crockpot, cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Eat with shredded cheese and saltine crackers, french bread, or breadsticks. YUM!!

Do you see that breadstick? That's coming up next. Be very excited!!

New Potatoes and Peas

Here is another recipe that was passed on to me from my mother-in-law. New Potatoes and Peas is one of my husband's favorite meals and one that he was raised on, being raised on a potato farm. Now this dish is not one of my favorites - I like it, but it's just not a FAVORITE. (I think this favorite dish of my hubby's is like one of my favorite dishes, bread and milk. It's a favorite because it was something we were raised on.) But I wanted to include this recipe so that others can get a taste of Idaho culture.

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes

Milk

1/2 C. (1 cube) butter, diced

Salt & Pepper

3 T. cornstarch

3 T. water
1/2 (1 lb) bag of frozen peas

Cover potatoes, in a pot, with water and boil for 20 minutes.

Drain water. Pour milk until you can see only some potatoes. Add diced butter and salt and pepper to taste.

In a small dish, mix together 3 T. cornstarch and 3 T. water. (If you want to try a cool science experiment, combine 3 T. cornstarch and 2 T. water. If you slowly put your finger in the mixture, it is a liquid. But if you quickly hit the mixture, it acts as a solid. Kind of CRAZY!!) When milk is hot, pour in starch mixture. Stir and allow to thicken. If too thick, add more milk until desired consistency. Pour in frozen peas. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste again.

The last time I made this, I added some leftover ham chunks and it was really yummy like that if that's something you'd like to do. If you try this, just think, you're getting a good taste of Idaho.