Tag: cooking

Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a recipe that I used to complete my goal of cooking dinner 4 times in 4 weeks. (Don’t judge, I have to start somewhere!) This was one of my husband’s favorite meals so in order to learn exactly how to make it, I asked his mom to come over and cook it with me for the first time. It turned out so good that I decided to make it again today, only a couple of weeks later.

Ingredients: Chicken
1-2 pounds of chicken tenders (or whatever kind of chicken you like)
1 cup Bisquick
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil
1 26-ounce can cream of chicken soup

Ingredients: Dumplings
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk

1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Wash your hands too. You don’t want to get salmonella, do you?

2. Mix 1 cup of Bisquick with the salt, paprika, and pepper. Put it all in a large Ziploc bag and add the chicken a few pieces at a time. Now it’s time to shake it up!

See how much fun I’m having?

3. Heat up some vegetable oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken. If you notice it getting a little dry, just add some more oil. Drain off the excess fat. Feel free to feed it to your chubby dog Cleo.

Don’t forget to flip ’em!

4. Add the entire can of cream of chicken soup to the chicken. I know it seems like a lot, but trust me those dumplings will soak it up, and you’ll want the extra gravy! Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Make sure it’s still bubbling a little bit. Cook it until the chicken is fork tender. With tenderloins it only takes about an hour.

The chicken’s under there somewhere!

5. Prepare the dough for the dumplings by mixing another 2 1/4 cup Bisquick and milk in a bowl until it’s nice and squishy.

Yum…just how I like it.

6. Drop the dough by large spoonfuls into the hot chicken. If your skillet isn’t large enough (like mine), just take some chicken out and put it on a plate. You’ll add it back in later.

7. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, then cover and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Those dumplings swelled up quick, kind of like my stomach after eating them.

Now just serve it up, add a side dish of your choice, and enjoy!

August 7, 2009
Honey Mustard Chicken

As far as homemaking goes, I may be a little behind the curve.

Strengths: cleaning, organization, scrapbooking, getting the bills paid on time, and taking care of you if you’re sick.

“Growth areas” (this is therapy speak): sewing, gardening, decorating, and COOKING.

I am completely inexperienced with cooking, which at times makes me feel like less of a woman, or something. (I’m exaggerating, people.) Anyway, I know I’m not going to go from newbie to chef extraordinaire overnight, so I’m starting slow. Hence my goal #2, cook dinner once a week for a month.

This is the meal I cooked on Friday, and hopefully I can follow it up for the next three Fridays to complete the goal.

Honey Mustard Chicken (from my friend Ellen)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased baking dish.

3. In a small bowl combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika and parsley. Mix well. (I used a whisk.)

4. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture.

6. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes and serve.

My notes:
I made the full recipe so that we would have leftovers, but I have also cut it in half before and it was just as good. I made Rice-a-roni to go with it, and I’m so proud of myself for also making green beans! Neither David nor I particularly like vegetables, so it’s hard to get each other to eat them. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, this did sort of stain my pan yellow. So you might want to stay away from using any pans you bake brownies in.

Verdict:
The meal turned out nicely and David liked it too even though he doesn’t really like chicken. He said there was so much good sauce that he barely noticed the chicken flavor. I’ll definitely make this one again. Remember, if I can make it, you definitely can!

July 6, 2009
Pita Pizza

I’ve been trying to eat healthier for about 6 weeks now. And even though I’d like to be, I am not a cook. I just haven’t had the time to get in to that yet. But sometimes it’s really helpful to make things myself: for the variety, because it can be cheaper, and healthier too. So I’m going to give you a recipe now, but since this is the first time I’ve done this I’m going to make some caveats which will hold for all future recipes (if, indeed, there are any to follow):

a) This won’t be fancy, but when I do give you a recipe it’s going to be quick, easy, good, and healthy. At least in my opinion.
b) I’m not married, and usually only have to provide a meal for myself or 1-2 others. I have no idea about cooking for an entire family.
c) The measurements may not be exact, because I estimate a lot. Sometimes I won’t even give you measurements, because I think you can figure it out for yourself, like I did.

Pita Pizza

Whole wheat pita bread
Pizza sauce
Low fat mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cover the pita in pizza sauce
3. Add a layer of cheese
4. Place on top shelf of oven
5. Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted

And that’s it! Oh, and you can add meat if you want, but I prefer plain cheese. If you want to keep it healthy though, stick with lean meat.

September 1, 2007