Chicken and Dumpling Soup

This is a recipe that Brian and I tried when we were first married from the back of the bisquick box. The recipe is actually just for the dumplings and you just add them to whatever soup you want (with a chicken broth base). We love this recipe, especially during the winter (which seems to be ending here...maybe).

Ingredients:

2 cups bisquick
2/3 cup milk
chicken broth soup

Directions:
Mix bisquick and milk until combined. Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough into boiling broth, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes uncovered and then 10 more minutes covered.

This is how I make our chicken soup base:
Bring however many cups of water to boil you are going to need (about 10). Add boulion cubes (one for each cup of water). When dissolved add chopped onions, carrots, celery and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes then add shredded chicken. At this point I add the dumpling dough.

*If you're making this for a small crowd like I usually am do half of this recipe. Half this recipe would feed about 2-3 people. And just so you know, leftovers of this aren't the best so make what you think you'll eat.

* We've found that really small dumplings don't cook as well. They don't fluff and cook through. Weird, but true.

Creamy One Pot Pasta

I made this recipe recently when my family was in town and everyone went back for seconds. So yummy, but also very basic and healthy. The sauce is very light and flavorful and mixes great with the veggies. It's also nice to have another meatless meal (since most of the meals I make have meat in them and that gets expensive at times). I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and I believe she got it from the pampered chef website or something like that.

Ingredients:
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 jar of sun dried tomatoes*
3 cans (5 and 1/4 cups) chicken broth
1 lb. uncooked pasta (I used bow tie)*
1 head broccoli (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
grated parmesan

Directions:
Cook garlic in 1 tbsp. oil in stockpot for a couple minutes. Add broth, cover, and bring to boil. Stir in pasta, cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, chop broccoli and carrots and slice tomatoes. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add veggies, cheese, salt and pepper to pot. and stir until cream cheese is melted (do not drain pasta). Reduce heat, cover and cook 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

* Sun dried tomatoes are pretty pricey ($6 a jar at my store)...so I substituted chopped red pepper and I loved how it turned out. I think you can use pretty much whatever veggies you feel like.
* The recipe actually calls for penne or ziti, but I used bow tie pasta because that's what my sister-in-law used the time she made it and I really liked it with that kind of pasta. So I altered the amount of time to cook the pasta (penne would take longer).
* If you like your pasta more on the firm side, I would put the veggies in a bit sooner so they have time to get tender before the pasta gets too soft.

Menu: March 20 - 25

Saturday: Pork Tenderloin w/ Cabbage & Apple Slaw

Sunday: Mom's House

Monday: Blackened Salmon w/ Broccoli & Raisins

Tuesday: Mediterranean Chickpea Patties

Wednesday: Spaghetti w/ Quick Meat Sauce

Thursday: Chicken w/ Brussel Sprouts

Finally! I think I'm starting to get things together...

Meatballs with Cream Sauce

I made this recipe a couple months ago and it was a hit! It had good flavor and was a fun change from the normal meatball recipe I use. And the sauce was flavorful and creamy, but light. I will definitely make it again. I found this recipe at my kitchen cafe. I really do like basically everything I try from this website.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 T. ketchup
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
3 T. flour

Cream Sauce:
2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth (If you want your sauce thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup)
2/3 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsley

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the beef and flour. Add beef and mix well. Shape into balls. Roll in flour, shaking off excess (I actually forgot to do this step and mine turned out great). Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet and bake, uncovered, at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs, bake 8-10 minutes longer or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. If using the full can of chicken broth, the sauce doesn’t thicken overly much, but it is delicious that way. If you want it slightly thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup. Drain meatballs on paper towels; transfer to a serving dish. Top with sauce and parsley. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

So good!