Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Chicken and Dumplings

1 T butter
1 T flour
1/4 onion (i have a picky hubby)
1 clove garlic
1 box chicken stock
2 chicken breasts - cooked
1 carrot
1/2 cup peas

Dumplings
3/4 c flour
1/2 T baking powder
1/4 cup + 2 T half and half
pinch of salt
1 T butter


Melt butter and add flour - cook for a minute then whisk in chicken stock.

Dumplings: melt butter into half and half (i did it in the microwave) stir into flour, salt, baking powder. Gently kneed into a ball. Form into small balls.

Add chicken, carrots, and dumplings and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add peas and serve.

Cream of Chicken and Wild Brown Rice Soup

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk or cream (i used a mix of 1% milk and fat free half and half)
1 chicken breast
1/3 cup wild brown rice
1 T butter
1T flour
salt and pepper

Cook chicken ... you can roast it, poach it, what ever you like.
Melt butter in a soup pot, add flour and cook for a minute or so. Whisk in chicken stock. Bring to a bubble and add brown rice, simmer until rice is tender. Add chicken, cream, and season as desired.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

My Little Chef


Ratatouille is one of my favorite movies; a Disney movie, plus a cute little rat .. who happends to be a foodie ... how can you not love it!

So without further ado let me introduce to you my very own little chef, she is there with me whenever i fix dinner or bake, and always the first in line for the first taste (when applicable of course). This is Kinsey my little fluffernutter sammie. She is a two and a half year old Maine Coon she is the love of my life and such a joy to be around. She has the personality of a dog, she runs to the door to greet you and rolls on her back in the middle of the floor whenever we have guests, she loves being the center of attention, and is spoiled to an extreme with a hand built cat house and two huge crate and barrel boxes that we made into the ultimate fort.

Department Store Cookies ... huh?


I have been wanting to make Neiman Marcus Cookies for months now and finally got a chance to make them this evening. I didn't have any chocolate chips and it was below 0 outside so i settled for adding Valentines Day colored M&M's which look super cute! If you have yet to make these cookies i highly recommend making them .... right now!

Neiman Marcus Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup ground oatmeal (measure out then grind into a fine powder)
6 oz chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 t salt
5 oz grated chocolate bar
1 egg
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t vanilla

Cream butter and sugars together. Add egg and vanilla. Mix together dry ingredients and add into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate. Roll into teaspoon size balls and place an inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Jambalaya

Friday afternoon Alex joined me in bed while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay - Jambalaya. At the end of the show he says "oooh that looks good , what's in it?" i said "just rice and meat" and he said "oh i'd eat that" internally i say "woohoo finally another food i can try that you will actually eat". So Saturday night i made this version of Jambalaya for us and he loved it!

Jambalaya
1 T olive oil
3 oz ham steak cut into cubes
3 oz kielbasa cut into cubes
1 glove garlic
1/8 t chili powder
1/8 t red pepper flakes
1/8 t black pepper
1/8 t salt
1/8 t onion powder
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 c uncooked jasmine rice
1 t Worcestershire sauce

Heat oil, add meat and brown (heat through), add garlic and seasonings and saute for about 1 minute. Add rice and stir. Add stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Add Worcestershire sauce and serve.

Ziti for my Sweetie

My hubs absolutely loves food sweet, chili, ziti, spaghetti .. you name it i have to add splenda to the sauce ... weird i know but if he enjoys it i am happy. Here is my recipe for ziti which has become his new favorite food, i swear he could eat it everyday.

Ziti
1/2 lb pasta cooked
1/2 lb ground sweet sausage (i use the tube of Jimmy Dean)
1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce (plus 6 spenda packets)
3 oz provolone cheese

3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t Italian seasoning

3 oz mozzarella cheese
1 T Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta. Brown meat then add sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
Mix the sour cream with the garlic powder and Italian seasoning, (i am so add a half pack of splenda).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After simmering add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Layer in a greased (spray with Pam) baking dish: 1/3 pasta/sauce - layer of sliced provolone - sour cream - 1/3 pasta/sauce - mozzarella cheese - 1/3 pasta/sauce - Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.