Pioneer Woman Chicken and Dumplings

This was recently posted on Pioneer Woman. Best comfort food ever in my Southern opinion. I will never make dumplings without cornmeal again. If you like chicken and dumplings, this will not disappoint.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 C. all-Purpose Flour
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces (I used three large boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it was fine)
Salt and pepper
1/2 C. finely diced carrots (1 large or 2 small carrots)
1/2 C. finely diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 medium onion finely diced
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1/4 tsp. ground tumeric (not essential but suggested)
6 C. low sodium chicken broth
1/2 C. apple Cider (also not essential but suggested for a richer flavor)
1/2 C. heavy cream
Salt to taste

Dumplings

1 and 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. yellow corn meal
1 heaping Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 and 1/2 C. half-and-half (whole milk or a mixture of milk and heavy cream works, too)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley (optional - I didn't use it and I didn't miss it)

Directions

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Melt butter and olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides and remove to a plate. (The chicken will not be cooked through yet.)

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat until slightly softened. Stir in the thyme and tumeric. Add chicken broth and apple cider. Return chicken to the pot. Bring to a slight boil then turn down heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, make the dumplings. Sift together all the dry ingredients then add half-and-half. Stir gently til combine (it will be a little sticky). Set aside.

Remove the chicken from the pot and shred. Replace and add the heavy cream. Stir to combine.

Drop tablespoons (I went a little smaller) of dumpling mix into the simmering pot. (I ended up using only about 3/4 of the dumpling mixture). Cover pot halfway and simmer for 15 minutes.

Check seasonings. Add salt if needed (I found that it was needed, but not much). Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Tortellini with Primavera Cream Sauce

I got this from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe book. One of our favorites. It's fancy without being too difficult. Makes about 4 servings.

1 C. sliced mushrooms
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 10 oz. package chopped spinach, thawed and very well drained
1 8 oz. container cream cheese, softened
1 medium tomato, chopped (I use 2 Roma)
1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 - 9 oz. fresh or frozen tortellini, cooked and drained

Cook tortellini according to directions.

Saute the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in the butter in a large skillet. Add all remaining ingridients except the tortellini. Mix well and cook until it just begins to boil, stirring occasionally.

Stir in tortellini; cook until heated through.

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

This soup was very easy to make, delicious and cheap! As an added bonus, W1 will eat anything if I tell him it has peanut butter in it, so even he had a bowl.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Mix in the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrot, and continue to cook and stir about 5 minutes.
2. Pour water or broth into the saucepan, and season the mixture with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
3. Remove the soup mixture from heat. In a food processor or blender, blend the soup and peanuts until almost smooth. Return to the saucepan. Whisk in the peanut butter, and cook until heated through. Serve warm topped with fresh cilantro.

I skipped the blending step and just mashed it up a bit with my potato masher, so it was still nice and chunky. And don't leave out the cilantro!

Chicken Makhani

Posting this for the same reason April posted her marinade. I'm tired of always having to look for it. This is my absolute favorite dish that I can cook. I think the recipe originally came from Rebecca Rampton.

2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1 tsp. cumin seeds (crushed)
1/4 tsp. cloves (crushed)
1 Tbsp. cilantro
1 C. canned tomato sauce
1" cubed fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
1 C. heavy cream
1 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. salt
1 fresh green chili (sliced)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 stick butter
cashews (optional, I never use them)

Cook chicken breasts. Shred and set aside. Crush the cumin and cloves in a mortar (I suppose you could use already crushed, but I've never actually tried it). In a bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ginger, cream, garam masala, salt, green chili, red pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, and crushed spices.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add ingredients from the bowl to the hot butter. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for one minute. Add chicken, stirring to coat, and cook til reheated. Top with cashews if desired. Serve over rice.

Fajita Marinade

I got this from Allie Smith several years ago. When I had to dig around in my recipe binder to find it, I knew it was time to post it here to avoid future searches.

4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (if I don't have one I use an onion)
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. each kosher salt and pepper
juice of two limes (I do about a 1/3 cup of the bottled stuff)
juice of one orange (about 1/2 cup of refrigerated orange juice)
1/2 cup olive oil

Put everything in a large container with lid or gallon size baggie and shake well to combine. Add meat (we use a flank steak or 4 chicken breasts). Marinate 3-8 hours and grill. Slice into thin strips and serve with fajita fixings.

Lime Squares with Strawberries

I got this from The Tasty Kitchen. They are really yummy and pretty easy, especially if you replace the homemade crust with a store-bought one.

FOR THE TOPPING:
1 cup Fresh Strawberries, Sliced
1 Tablespoon Sugar

FOR THE CRUST:
⅔ cups Blanched Almonds (I used regular ol' almonds)
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs (about 4 Oz. or one package)
¼ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lime Zest ( I didn't have any, so I left this out)
½ sticks Unsalted Butter, Melted And Cooled (I used salted butter)

FOR THE FILLING:
2 whole Egg Yolks
1 can Sweet Condensed Milk, (14 Ounces)
½ cups Fresh Lime Juice (I didn't use fresh juice)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with melted butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. (If you don’t have parchment paper, use aluminum foil and butter the foil.)

Hull and slice strawberries, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries, stir, cover and refrigerate until needed.

In a food processor (or blender), finely grind blanched almonds with graham-cracker crumbs, sugar, and zest. Blend in butter. Press mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool crust, 30 minutes.

To make the filling: in a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add lime juice; whisk until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.

Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack; *top with strawberries, patting excess juices off, then chill at least 1 hour before serving. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift it out of the pan, and transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut into squares, wiping knife with a damp kitchen towel between each cut. To store in the refrigerator, cover with plastic wrap.

*I would wait until you're ready to serve it before you put the strawberries on. The juice from the strawberries can make the crust soggy.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

This is the roll recipe that I make when I run out of fancy things like butter and honey :). Also, it is dairy free.

1 1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
4 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp yeast

Mix the yeast, warm water and 1 tbsp of the sugar and let sit until bubbles form. Then add the rest of the ingredients, leaving the flour until the end. After kneading, the dough should be moist but not sticky. I usually end up adding a bit more flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise for an hour or so, until doubled.

Punch down the dough, and divide. This will make 12 big rolls (hamburger bun size) or 18-24 small rolls. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Cook at 350 for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Banana Cookies

Banana Cookies

2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
2 ¼ cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)
(I also tried them with chocolate chips)
Beat the shortening until creamy and add the sugar. Add the banana and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Mix them into the other bowl. Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 11-12 minutes. (I say only 10-11 minutes...)

These are our favorite cookies. The recipe is Sarah's and it is a sure fire winner. We always add lots of chocolate chips.

This is the yummy salad that we ate at last year's Relief Society Dinner. I love it and had to track the recipe down from the owner so now I want to post it so I can always find it.

Sarah Silva Salad

1-2 heads romaine lettuce

1 avocado

4 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed

1 15 oz can corn, drained

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 bunch green onion, chopped

cilantro

Dressing:

¾ cup white vinegar

½ cup oil (I use vegetable)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Boil all ingredients together and cool before serving. The dressing makes a lot, so I usually only make half the recipe. Serve with homemade rolls

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I got this off of recipezaar.com and used some of the modifications suggested in the comments. It is the quick, lazy way to make this dish and it makes about four to five servings.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (red works, too)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (undrained)
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 package Sazon Goya without annato (substitution I used: 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. chicken boullion, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (you can use cooking wine, too)
2 cups cooked white rice
pre-cooked ham steak (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in a medium sauce pan, sauté onion,green pepper, and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Add in remaining ingredients and stir until boiling, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced, about 20 minutes. You can smash some of the beans to add to the flavor. Serve over white rice.

In order to make this more of a main dish, I diced a dinner ham steak and tossed it in.

Pear Crisp

I got this from Pioneer Woman and it is amazing. The pecans make the dish. I took a picture of it before I put it in the oven, but umm...I took a giant bite out of it before I realized I had forgotten to take an "after the oven" picture. So I used Pioneer Woman's photo as well.

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
4 whole (to 5) Large Pears (Bosc Work Well)
⅔ cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
_____
Topping Ingredients
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Sugar
⅓ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Pecans, Very Finely Chopped
1 stick Butter, Melted

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, core, and dice pears. Place into a bowl and stir together with 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Stir together. Drizzle melted butter gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.

Pour pears into a baking dish/pie pan; top with crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Place pan on top rack of oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Crockpot Chicken

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 14oz can of black beans-undrained
1 cup of salsa
1 cup of frozen corn
8 oz cream cheese-cubed

Place chicken, undrained black beans, salsa and corn in a crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Shred chicken and dump cubed cream cheese in crock pot. Cook another 45 minutes-1 hour on high. Stir until cream cheese is blended with chicken mixture.
You can use this as a dip with chips or as a filling for enchiladas or quesadillas.