Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings

Don't ask me why we decided to make hot soup when it has been over 90 degrees here, but we did. And I am so glad that we did! Even though this recipe was delicious and well-worth it, I won't blame you all for waiting until fall to try this one. The only good thing about making this recipe in the summer is that we got to make use of the Slow-Cooker which doesn't seem to heat up the kitchen at all, and you get a bread without baking int he oven. It's a win, win.

This is one of those slow-cooker recipes that actually turned out as well as the recipe claimed it would. The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen book  "Slow-Cooker Revolution". If you have never tried an America's Test Kitchen recipe you should know that they sometimes take a little more time, but they test the recipes over and over again so that they come out consistently. This is one of those, consistent recipes. Also, for a slow-cooker recipe, this ones takes a little bit of prep, but what I have learned is that a little bit of prep at the beginning of a slow-cooker meal often means better flavor and texture. The veggies in the recipe were cooked to perfection with just a little bite left to them, (I am no fan of mushy veg!) and the chicken was a perfect shredding consistency, and the sauce tasted better than I think any other slow-cooker sauce I've ever tried.

One little note: Ethan and I tend to prefer soup to thick stews, so we will probably be adding another cup of water to thin this stew out next time. Just a warning depending on where you fall int he soup versus stew spectrum. 

STEW INGREDIENTS
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (we used mixed pieces)
Salt and Pepper
3 Tbsp, Olive oil
2 large onions, minced
3 celery ribs, diced 1/4 inch
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/3 cup flour
4 1/2 cups low-sodium Chicken Broth (I used 5-6 cups water and 7 bouillon cubes. Next time I think I might even add another cup of water to make it a little more soupy.)
4 carrots, pealed and sliced 1/4 thick
2 Bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas (I forgot these and it was fine without...)
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in skillet and brown chicken on both sides. 5-8 mins. If you are using bouillon cubes like I did, you will probably want to leave the chicken unsalted here because the bouillon cubes have enough salt. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Place the chick with all of it's juices in the Slow-cooker.

Heat remaining oil over medium-high heat in skillet. Add onions, celery, garlic and thyme and cook until veggies are softened and lightly browned. 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of stock (or one bouillon cube and one cup water). Slowly whisk and pick up browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Smooth out any lumps; transfer to slow-cooker.

Stir in remaining stock, carrots, and bay leaves into slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low until chicken is tender. 4-6 hours.

Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred into bite-size pieces. (I skipped dirtying a board and just shredded the chicken in the cooker.) Discard Bay leaves.

DUMPLINGS INGREDIENTS (half recipe for smaller crock pot)

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Note: Ethan and I have a large slow-cooker, but with all the dumplings the entire top was covered in dumplings. If you have a smaller pot, or don't love dumplings as much I would suggest that you halve the dumpling recipe. 

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Leave out milk and butter to room temperature, or microwave until warm. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Stir milk and butter mixture into dry ingredients until just incorporated and smooth.

Drop golf ball-size dumplings into stew about 1/4 inch between dumplings. Cover and cook until dumplings are doubled in size, 25-35 minutes. Serve.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen "Slow-Cooker Revolution". The recipes in here are amazing.

Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light Slushy

Final new post for today. With summer coming on strong, I thought that I would share this fun slushy recipe. Since I am lactose-intolerant, I am always looking for fun ways to stay cool int he summer that won't make me sick.  Not only is this recipe yummy, it is also super easy which means you can whip up a quick batch and be out to the pool in a jiffy. I also think these would make amazing popsicles for those of you with kids. I hope you can all sit back and enjoy a batch of these.

Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light Slushy

Ingredients
2 Cups of Ice
1 Packet of Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light
1 Cup of Frozen Raspberries

Directions:
Make packet of Crystal Light as instructed with water.
Pour ice, frozen raspberries and then crystal light drink into blender, blend and enjoy!

Ciabatta Pizza Dough

Ethan and I love PIZZA. We seriously make some kind of pizza recipe once every other week. So about two to three times a month. Because we love making pizza, I am always looking for ways to make pizza a little different. So when I saw this recipe for Ciabatta dough, I was sold. We finally found a recipe for pizza dough on Pinterest that was actually better than it claimed to be!!! The one drawback from this recipe is that it is a true yeast dough, and because of that it needs time to rise. What that means is that if you are smarter than I am you will read through the whole recipe before you start making it or you will be eating at 8:30 like we did yesterday! All in all, you will need to start the dough the night before or in the morning the day you want it; you will also need to have about two hours to layer this dough and let it rise. The good thing about this dough is that even though you have to go back to it a few times, it really just needs time to rise and then be worked with, and repeat. So, in the end, yes it is a little time consuming, but we really did love it, and will be making this again soon. Hopefully I'm not scaring you away from this recipe because it only look about an hour to make (all combined), and the quick occasional look.

Recipe from Food Pusher:http://food-pusher.blogspot.com/2012/05/ciabatta-crust-pizza.html

Ciabatta Crust Pizza

INGREDIENTS

Biga

• 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup water (4 ounces), at room temperature

Dough

• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2  teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 3/4 cup water at room temperature
• 1/4 cup milk at room temperature

Pizza Toppings

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces grated Italian cheese blend
• garlic salt to taste
• your favorite pizza toppings

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, yeast, and water in medium bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).

2. FOR THE DOUGH: Place biga and dough ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed until roughly combined and shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute; scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Continue mixing on medium-low speed until dough becomes uniform mass that collects on paddle and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 6 minutes. Change to dough hook and knead bread on medium speed until smooth and shiny (dough will be very sticky), about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Slide parchment with loaves onto inverted, rimmed baking sheet or pizza peel.

3. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with nonstick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough six more times (total of eight turns). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes longer. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit at least 30 minutes before baking. (Note: We used a standard cookie sheet and had to problem with the edges. )

4. Prepare a pizza peel, inverted cookie sheets, or a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper.  You will need two of these.  Transfer dough to liberally floured counter, being careful not to deflate completely. Liberally flour top of dough and divide in half (or fourths if you want to make small pizzas). Turn 1 piece of dough so cut side is facing up and dust with flour. With well-floured hands, press dough into a rough 12-inch circle (about an 8 inch circle for small pizzas).  Carefully transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza peel.

5.  Using floured fingertips, evenly poke entire surface of each loaf to make dimples all over the dough (this prevents crust from ballooning into pita bread). Carefully slide parchment with crusts onto baking stone using jerking motion. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until bubbles on top and bottom are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool and wait for pizza making.

Two small crusts.  Not very round, but good.

6.  With a pastry brush, spread some butter around the edge of the crust.  Spread 1/2 cup of sauce onto pizza.  Mix the cheeses in a large bowl and use half (or less) to top the sauce.  Then sprinkle garlic salt all over top of cheese and around the crust edge.  Top with other favorite toppings.  Bake at 450 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly, 5-10 minutes.  Carefully remove with pan or peel.  Allow to sit for a couple of minutes and then slice with a pizza cutter.  Serve hot, but be careful.

Makes two large, or four small pizzas.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars

Hey everyone, I'm sorry that it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted, but we have been trying out some new recipes (as always), but unfortunately, none of them were share worthy! Fortunately, though this recipe is amazing! Then again, how can you go wrong with so much chocolate. this amazing recipe and many more are from: http://blog.babygizmo.com/2012/02/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie-oreo-brownie-bars/. She also has a recipe for a similar bar with Reese's that I can't wait to try. Too bad for me that Ethan is a huge Oreo fan and they were on sale. I guess hubbies have to win an occasional battle too. These are also the easiest layered dessert I think I have ever made. Note: all the blue instructions are mine for using an 11x9 pan.

Ingredients:

• Package of Brownie Mix (+the eggs, oil and water needed for that!) Warning: Ethan and I needed two boxes of Ghirardelli's Brownies to cover our Oreos.

• Package of Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (I opted to make the Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from scratch! If you go this route – use a little less flour than you normally would to keep the cookies moist.)

• Package of Oreos (regular or Double Stuffed – you choose!)

How to Make Them:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9 baking pan with wax paper or foil and spray with cooking spray. (You can opt for a 13×9 pan if you want thinner bars.) If you choose to use a 11x9 pan as we did, you will need to use a little more cookie batter and an extra box of brownies.
2.  Make your cookie dough whichever way you like and spread in the bottom of the pan. If you are making a full batch of homemade Toll House cookie dough, you will only need half the batch!
3. Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos. We used a whole bag minus a half dozen or so. 






 4. Pour Brownie batter evenly over the oreos. Warning: if you use a bigger, 11x9 pan you will need two boxes of brownies. 







5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  11x9 pan needs about 50 minutes to heat through the middle of the brownie.
6. Cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy!  Add some ice cream to completely put this indulgence over the top!

Recipe, and mouth watering photos from:  http://blog.babygizmo.com/2012/02/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie-oreo-brownie-bars/

(Un) Fried Spaghetti

I know that this recipes sounds a little weird, but it is a family favorite of some friends of ours. I have to admit that I was reluctant at first, but once you try this recipe it will forever be your new favorite. It is also a great way to get rid of leftovers without having to eat the same exact meal twice in a row! This recipe is is good that Ethan and I can hardly wait through spaghetti night for Fired Spaghetti Night!! Finally, don't be scared off by the title. We call it (un) fried because it is really sauteed to perfection. We hope that you guys grow to love this recipe/ technique as much as we do!


These measurements are approximate because it is a leftover recipe. Feel free to throw everything you have in.

about 1lb. cooked spaghetti, chilled overnight (**this step is really important, if the noodles aren't cooled overnight, they are too wet and it just doesn't work)

about 2 cups spaghetti sauce (use either a new can or leftover)

about 3 Tbsp (not too much or it really would be fried)


Heat about 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, place the leftover spaghetti on top and then layer the sauce on top of that. Press everything down with the back of your spatula. Now be patient. I mean it! Give the noodles 3-4 minutes before stirring everything up and then be patient again. When you're patient the sauce and noodles basically caramelize and you get this really great flavor and crunchy little bits. Stir and repeat a couple times, until heated through and until you have as much caramelization as you want. Ethan and I like it really caramelized.

Double Crunch Chicken (or Pork)

Yet another Pinterest Recipe. Ethan and I love Pork chops, but only eat them rarely, so when I saw this recipe I got really excited. However, I realized that the recipe was for chicken and not pork. Despite that, we loved this recipe with pork. So feel free to misread and try it either way. Plus a fun dip!

4  large boneless chicken breasts, beaten to 1/2 inch thickness  

 Sift together:

2 cup flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

4 eggs
8 tbsp water

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the breast into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chicken does not brown too quickly. The thinness of the breast meat practically guarantees that it will be fully cooked by the time the outside is browned. Fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked breasts into the Honey Garlic Sauce. Serve with rice.

Honey Garlic Sauce

In a medium saucepan add

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add:

1 cup honey
¼ cup soya sauce (low sodium soya sauce is best)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.