Chicken and Dumplings

Even though it is fall, here in Houston, it is still in the mid 80's outside.

One of my favorite family recipes that remind me of the upcoming winter and fall is chicken and dumplings.

My Mom and Mamaw made this creamy, rich stew often when it was cold outside. Whenever I am homesick, a steaming bowl of this takes me back home!

The ONLY cheat in this recipe is the use of store bought biscuits. I find it totally acceptable. I do have a recipe from a great-great aunt for homemade dumplings, and one day, I will try it. But for now, this is how I make them. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

1 Whole chicken
1 Medium white or yellow onion, chopped
3-4 Stocks celery, chopped
2-3 Medium carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large or 2 medium bay leaves
1 t. black pepper
Salt to taste
1 cube chicken bullion
2-3 qts. Chicken stock
3-10 count cans of buttermilk biscuits, torn into quarters
1 to 1 ½ C. Flour
1 T. Black pepper
2 to 3 C. Milk

Combine chicken, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, salt, bullion and chicken stock in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a steady boil and then reduce to a medium low heat. Simmer for at least 45 minutes until chicken is cooked.
Remove chicken and let rest for 10-15 min. Combine the flour, milk, and black pepper and whisk until there are no lumps. Add milk mixture to pot in 1 C. intervals. Bring pot to medium heat or a fast simmer, but not boiling. Add quartered biscuit pieces to bubbling pot. De bone chicken and cut large pieces into bit sized pieces. Add chicken to bubbling pot. Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through. Remove bay leaves before serving. This stew can scorch, so constant stirring and a watchful eye are a good idea. Lower heat is always safer in the final stages. Cooking time may be extended if temperature is lower.

Basic Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is a common recipe ingredient and many of us end up using canned broth or bouillon cubes in these recipes.

Recipes calling for chicken stock are infinitely better when you use fresh, homemade stock.

A few years back I began playing with chicken stock. I researched many recipes and methods. The following is now my standard stock recipe.

Basic Chicken Stock

1 Whole chicken, or two chicken skeletons
1 Medium white or yellow onion, chopped
3-4 Stocks celery, chopped
2-3 Medium carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large or 2 medium bay leaves
1 t. black pepper
Salt to taste
1 cube chicken bullion
Water to cover

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a steady boil and then reduce to a medium low heat. Simmer for at least 45 minutes until chicken is cooked. Once chicken is cooked, remove and set aside for use in other recipes. NOTE: This chicken skeleton can be used once more to make additional stock. Bones may be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for several months.

Remove all vegetables and bay leaves. Strain stock through cheesecloth to remove any small particles. Skim excess fat off the top.

Stock can be stored for three to five days in a sealed container in the refrigerator or up to six months in the freezer.

Variation

Mexican Flavored Chicken Stock

Repeat above recipe with the addition of chili power (1 t. to 1 T. based on taste) and ground cumin (1t.)

This variation is good to use to prepare chicken for use in Mexican casseroles or tacos. The chicken and stock have a spicy flavor and can really enhance casseroles or tacos.

Tex-Mex

I live in Texas, and that means plenty of Tex-Mex food.

For dinner this evening I decided to take a stand by menu of refried beans, Spanish rice, and chicken fajitas.

I have made variations of this multiple times and each time, I learn something new, and make it that much better.

This evening, I am going to share with you my recipes for the beans and for the rice.

Refried Beans

6-8 Cups prepared pinto beans
1/4 C. lard (vegetable shortening can be substituted)
1 C. grated cheddar cheese
1 t. salt
1 T. Chili powder
1t. Cumin

Place the beans in a large sauce pot and mash with a potato masher. I leave a few of the beans un-mashed for a varied texture. If you desire a puree of beans, a food processor could be used.

Once beans are mashed, place pot on the stove and heat over medium heat. Stir in lard, cheese, and spices and combine thoroughly. Continue over medium heat until beans are warmed through.

This recipe easily becomes Vegan when vegetable shortening is substituted for the lard.

Spanish Rice

1 T. Lard
1 C. Long grain rice
1 1/4 C. Chicken Stock
1 C. (8 oz can) Tomato sauce
1/2 Medium onion finley chopped
1/2 Green bell pepper finley chopped
2-3 Cloves garlic, finley minced
1 Can diced tomatos with green chilis
1 t. Chili power
1 t. Cumin

Place lard in medium sauce pan and melt over medium high heat. Once lard is melted, add rice and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent. Add chicken stock, tomato sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil for one minute then reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until most moisture is absorbed and rice is done.

Again, this recipe can become Vegan by substituting vegetable shortening for the lard.

I combined these with some marinated chicken breast that I grilled indoors and some fresh flour tortillas and some fresh sour cream.

Delish!

A Quest for Country Gravy Pt. 2

So after all this talk about food and gravy, I got the craving for it again this evening and decided to take my mother's suggestions for making a more successful gravy.

I followed all the steps and the consistency was significantly better than it had been for me in the past.

The only observations that I made was that I did not use quite enough flour (I like a little thicker gravy), nor did I add enough salt and black pepper.

Once I adjust the salt/pepper/flour amounts, I think I should be able to have it down almost as good as my mother's and grandmother's.

Yea!!!

For all the Vegans out there....

Ok, so I have a dear friend, one who is probably the FIRST person who will even read this, who is a Vegan.

I make many jokes at her expense, and I really probably tease her too much about it. But its fun, and its always done with an upbeat attitude.

The truth is that I really respect her and her decision. I am certain that there are many health benefits from her lifestyle. However, I am in no position to be capable to coming even close to Vegetarian, much less Vegan!

So here is the one and only one of my recipe repertoire that I know is certifiably Vegan. It also meets Cortney's standards.

Hummus

2 Cans of garbanzo beans, some of the liquid reserved
2-3 T. Tahini Sauce
3-4 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
2-4 cloves of Garlic
2 t. Kosher Salt
Paprika to taste
Other seasonings to taste

Empty both cans of garbanzo beans, 2 T. of Tahini Sauce, Lemon juice, and garlic into a food processor and pulse until it has a rough consistency. Then continue to proceed with blending with the gradual addition of EVOO, Tahini, and reserved bean juice until desired consistency is reached.

Once all is combined, I add the spices to taste. Most of my friends prefer a spicier hummus, so I add more paprika, chili power, and cayenne pepper.

Remember that hummus develops its flavor overnight, so if in doubt, under season it and correct the next day.

I also top the hummus with a small additional amount of EVOO when I serve it.

Try this recipe, and learn with it...the variations are limitless.

Last night, I shared it with my mom with hopes of giving my parents a healthier option for dips and snacks.

I will report her response once she makes it!

The photo is web based, not my hummus!

A Quest for Country Gravy Pt. 1

As I mentioned before, almost no family meal existed without something fried.

If the fried item was a meat entree, then that also meant homemade cream gravy.

Mamaw and Mother always just made it, from instinct, and I never took notes.

Since my passion for food and cooking began, I have taken random stabs at making gravy. My attempts have yielded mediocre results at best.

In the last week or two, I have had a renewed interest in making good gravy.

The first three attempts were once a again, not to great.

So I called my mother...and told her what I had been doing and she made several observations and suggestions.

So here is what she recommended to me.

(all measurements are approximate)

Start with about a 1/4 cup drippings
2-3 T. flour
2 C. milk
2 C. water

In a large skillet, warm the grease over medium heat. Combine flour into the grease and mix well. Once combined and slightly browned, slowly add the water/milk mixture and bring to a simmer or low boil. As gravy boils, it will gradually thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and serve.

So I haven't tried to make this with the new pointers yet, but I will try soon!

I will update you on the success of the new gravy attempt!

Tonight's Dinner

So do you ever find yourself with ingredients and no recipe instead of taking a recipe and shopping for the ingredients?

That's where today found me.

Last week, when Hurricane Ike struck, my friend Ashley gave me several packets of venison meat that her brother had given her a while back. She is not a fan of venison and her freezer was about to defrost without power ( I, however did have power!).

One of the packages was a section of jalapeno link sausage. YUMMY....!!

I had defrosted it a day or two ago with no real plan in place to prepare it.

As today progressed, I decided that I should probably use the sausage, so I began a search for a recipe in which to use it without having to go to the market to purchase anything additional.

My first stop is my standby foodie site http://www.epicurious.com/. As I searched their site, several pages of recipes using linked sausage popped up.

One of the first ones that sounded interesting was Potatoes and Sausage with Parsley.
Its a traditional Irish recipe and it sounded simple, comforting and I had everything in house to prepare it.


Ingredients

3 to 3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 onions, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces
1 pound breakfast sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can beef broth


Preparation

Arrange potatoes in bottom of heavy large saucepan; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with onions; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with sausage and bacon. Pour broth over. Season with pepper. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked through, about 40 minutes.
Uncover pan. Boil until liquids are slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parsley.

So it sounded simple, I had everything and I was ready to relatively soon....

My only reservation was my opinion that most of the Irish dishes that I have had were bland and limited on their depth and complexity of flavor. Remember, however, that the sausage was jalapeno flavored venison. So my fears of being bland were limited.

This dish was really quite good. It was warm, comforting and filling. The preparation was very simple.

I think the only misstep that I had was using more broth than what was required. The difference was that it was more of the consistency of a stew that a dish with a reduction sauce.

If I ever decide to host a St. Patrick's Day party, this item will most certainly end up on the menu of offerings.