Quick Chicken and Dumplings

In the continuation of using the chicken, it was time to try a chicken and dumplings recipe.  I was looking for one that called for already cooked cubed chicken and also one that was rather speedy for after work.  So I found this one.  Taste is very good and it was quite quick.  My only problem was that it didn't make near enough soup - not nearly four servings as it says.  Next time I would double the soup portion and leave the dumplings as is.  And it says use a 3 quart pot, I used my 3 and a 1/2 and it really does need that room for the simmering and the dumplings.

1 1/2

cups milk

1

cup frozen green peas and carrots

1

cup cut-up cooked chicken

1

can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup

1

cup Original Bisquick™ mix

1/3

cup milk

Paprika, if desired

• 1Heat 1 1/2 cups milk, the peas and carrots, chicken and soup to boiling in 3-quart saucepan, stirring frequently.
• 2Stir Bisquick mix and 1/3 cup milk until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 8 spoonfuls onto chicken mixture (do not drop directly into liquid). Sprinkle with paprika.
• 3Cook uncovered over low heat 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer.

Chicken Pot Pie

Since we have an abundance of chicken in the fridge, I was looking for recipes that called for cooked cubed chicken.  I don't remember enjoying the chicken pot pie I made last time as much as this time.  This one is a keeper!  I loved the way the flavors came out - but that might have been because I used more than a 1/3 cup of onion (just picked a small onion and used it all).  It didn't come out as pretty as the picture, but it tasted fabulous.  Also, I used different brands, but I copied the recipe as is.

Ingredients

Crust

1

box Pillsbury™ refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3

 cup butter or margarine

1/3 

cup chopped onion

1/3

 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 

teaspoon salt

1/4

 teaspoon pepper

1 3/4 

cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

1/2

 cup milk

2 1/2 

cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

2

 cups Green Giant™ Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.

2 In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

3 Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

4 Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Lanny's Egg Nog

In addition to Lanny's Famous Five Cheese Lasagna, the Cooperstown Graduate Program also gave us the recipe for his killer Egg Nog!

I remember having one sip in Social History class and thinking, "Oh my God, am I drunk?"  This stuff is strong!!!  (At least if you go by what Lanny meant by "to taste" when dumping in the alcohol!)

Lanny's Famous Five Cheese Lasagna

Chris and I went to Cooperstown this past weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our alma mater, the Cooperstown Graduate Program!  Pot lucks are a Thing at CGP, and when we were students we had a lot of Lanny's Famous Five Cheese Lasagna.

Tragically, Lanny died in a car accident several years ago. The Program was kind enough to provide us with his recipe:

We also got the recipe for Lanny's Egg Nog.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Stuffed Shells

This recipe is DIVINE.

I love anything with the flavors of chicken cordon bleu.  So when I saw this in the October 2014 issue of Woman's Day, I had to try it.

I made a few minor changes.  I used Swiss instead of Gruyere and 1/4 tsp of dried thyme instead of fresh tarragon.  I was lazy at the store and there was a long line at the deli, so I bought cubed cooked ham instead.  I think I would do that again.  It's perfect for this recipe.

Also, I fear the broiler, so I just uncovered it and kept baking it for about 5 minutes.

This recipe was in paragraph form, so I just typed it up that way too.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Stuffed Shells

Heat oven to 400.  Cook 16 jumbo shells (from a 12 oz box) according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.  Prepare the Bechamel and spread all but 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a large broiler proof baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup Bechamel with 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.  Toss with 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken.  Fold in 3/4 grated Gruyere cheese, 2 oz thinly sliced deli ham (cut into 1/2 inch pieces), 1/2 a small red onion (finely chopped), 1 Tbsp fresh tarragon (chopped), and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Spoon the mixture into the shells (about 1/4 cup each) and place on top of the sauce.  In a bowl combine 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs and 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.  Sprinkle over the shells.  Cover with foil and bake until the shells are heated through, 12-15 minutes.  Heat broiler.  Uncover and broil until the cheese begins to brown, 2-3 minutes.

Basic Bechamel

This sauce is the base for the Chicken Cordon Bleu Stuffed Shells.  It would work with any recipe.  And it's much easier than you'd think!

It comes from the October 2014 issue of Woman's Day.

Basic Bechamel

In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups whole milk, half of a medium onion, 3 large cloves garlic (smashed), and 10 peppercorns and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; remove from heat.

Melt 3 Tbsp unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Stir in 2 Tbsp flour.  Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the mixture is light golden brown, 3-5 minutes.

Strain the milk, discarding the solids, and gradually whisk it into the flour mixture (about 3/4 cup at a time) until smooth.  Simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 6-8 minutes.  Remove from heat and season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.

Chicken Kapama

The boyfriend saw this blog post about "the best chicken"and we thought it would make a good dinner, but we went for the original version found at this website.  Chicken Kapama is a cinnamon braised chicken, so the meat comes out nice and tender.  We didn't think the chicken itself tasted that much of cinnamon, but it was very aromatic.  The next time we try it, we'll try the Paltrow version.  We used the suggestion of bone-in chicken thighs (Paltrow's version calls for cutting up a whole chicken).

3-4 lbs. chicken pieces

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. butter

1 large onion, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups red wine

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2 cups crushed tomatoes

3 tbsp. brandy

3 tbsp. honey

1 cinnamon stick, (about 2 inches long)

3 whole cloves

2 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

Grated Kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese

Clean the chicken pieces, remove excess fat and pat dry with paper towels. Heat olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven. Add chicken pieces to the pot and brown (skin side down) over medium-high heat until nicely browned. You may need to do this in two batches depending upon the size of your pot. Remove chicken from the pot and transfer to a platter. I prefer to remove and discard the skin from the chicken pieces.

Using a large spoon, remove all but two tablespoons of the fat and oil. Add onions to pot and saute until tender. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add wine, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, brandy, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Allow sauce to come to a boil and then lower heat to a low simmer.

Return chicken to the pot (with juices) and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour. If the sauce appears to be too thin, you can simmer uncovered in the last 10 minutes of cooking to reduce it a bit. Stir occasionally to circulate the ingredients.

Serve over cooked pasta or orzo and sprinkle with grated cheese.