Chicken and Dumplings

Yield

8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (2 1/2-pound) whole chicken, cut up
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 2 teaspoons bacon drippings
• 1 cup milk

Preparation

Cover chicken with water, and bring to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and next 3 ingredients; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven; cool chicken. Skim fat from broth; bring to a simmer.

Skin, bone, and coarsely chop chicken. Add chicken, bouillon, and remaining salt and pepper to broth. Return to simmer.

Combine flour and poultry seasoning in a bowl. Cut in shortening and bacon drippings with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1-inch pieces.

Bring broth mixture to a boil. Drop dumplings, a few at a time, into boiling broth, stirring gently. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring often, for 25 minutes.

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2001

**I added the veggies - veggies are good - even if they're from a can! I also chopped up a couple pieces of bacon really fine and put that in there too.

Shepherd's Pie

This is a favorite here! We usually eat it for lunch the next day too. The leftovers are really really good. I'm so not a leftover eater but these almost taste better the next day. ENJOY!

Sautee one small onion and brown 1 lb meat.

In a casserole dish, put 2 tbls butter and one can of corn (or 1 cup frozen)

Next layer the beef and onion (mixed)

Layer mashed potatoes (we use instant) about 1 1/2 c

Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Tomato-Basil Soup

Perfect for an easy weekend lunch served with your favorite bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 large medium diced yellow onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

2 two pound cans of diced or whole tomatoes (Can also use Italian blend)

1 small can tomato paste

2 c water or chicken stock

1-2 c whipping cream (optional)½ c fresh basil (or 2 T dried basil)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:

Sauté onion in olive oil on high heat until translucent (about five minutes). Add garlic and tomatoes with juice. Add tomato paste. Add water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.At this point it should be chunky and starting to thicken up. Remove from heat and puree in blender in half batches. You can also use a stick blender and puree the whole batch.Return to a low heat and add cream and fresh basil. Bring back to a boil for three minutes. Add seasoning to taste. Serve.
Yield: About 8 cups

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken Dinner

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken

Recipe prepared by Rachel Higginson, Central Utah Clinic Dietitian

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup canola or olive oil
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp dried Thyme
1 Tbsp dried Rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cloves of garlic
4 chicken breasts (aprox 3-3/12 ounces each)
PREPARATION:Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a blender and blend well. After blending pour 3/4 of mixture over chicken breasts and let them marinate for 4-8 hours. Save remaining mixture for later. To cook, grill chicken breasts until done. Heat the remaining marinade in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then drizzle over chicken just before serving.
Nutrition Facts:Serving Size 1 chicken breast Servings per Recipe about 4 Calories: 300 Total Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 73mg Sodium: 328mg Total Carbohydrates: 21g Dietary Fiber: 0g Protein: 26g
Nutrition information totals could be less depending on the amount of marinade used on chicken.


Couscous Pilaf

INGREDIENTS:
1 box couscous
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped green onions
PREPARATION:Prepare couscous according to directions on box with a few modifications: Do not use oil or butter. Use chicken broth instead of water. Add lemon juice and chopped onions to chicken broth. After couscous has cooked add in dried cranberries.
Nutrition Facts:Serving Size: 1/2 cup pilafServings per Recipe: about 4Calories: 126 Total Fat: less than 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 275mg Total Carbohydrates: 26g Dietary Fiber: 1g Protein: 4g



Green Beans Almondine

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup roasted, sliced almonds
PREPARATION:Mince garlic and place in frying pan with olive oil and green beans. Cook on medium heat until green beans become tender (I like them tender, but slightly crisp). Add roasted almonds and salt just before serving.
Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings per Recipe about 4 Calories: 81 Total Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 150mg Total Carbohydrates: 6g Dietary Fiber: 3g Protein: 2g

Old classic with a secret....

Boil spaghetti and brown beef or mild italian sausage. Add secret family sauce recipe to meat and simmer.

*ignore the Prego bottle in the background. It was....uh.....from....breakfast.*
Add Texas Toast Garlic Bread
Add secret ingredient of looooove.....
And enjoy!

An eXpLanAtiOn....

I feel I should explain a couple things about this blog.
First - ANYONE can contribute anything (food-wise) to this blog. If you plan on posting a bunch on here let me know and I'll email you the info so you can just log in and do it. Otherwise, feel free to just send it to me and I'll be HAPPY to put it up for you. I also think we should just put any RECIPE on here wether fat-free or not. We all need a little INDULGENCE every once in awhile!

Second - I was on VICODINE when I came up with names for the site and your "mafia" names. Forgive me. :) But I'm leaving them unless someone complains!

Share the LOVE with everyone so we can get a wide variety of recipes on here.