Tag: #ComfortFood

Posted in From My Kitchen

Chicken and Dumplings

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Some recipes just remind you of traditional homestyle cooking. For me, chicken and dumplings is one of them. With juicy pieces of chicken, fresh vegetables and little clouds of dumpling dough, every spoonful of this soup takes me back to visits at my grandma’s house.

This classic version is, without a doubt, the best chicken and dumplings recipe. It’s chock-full of everything you want (and need) in a delicious homemade soup recipe and is made the old-fashioned way: low and slow. Busy weeknight? Opt for this quick  chicken and dumplings made with frozen biscuits. This recipe is for those slow, chilly weekends when you want something simmering away on the stovetop while you curl up in a blanket with your favorite book or movie.

What are chicken and dumplings?

Chicken and dumplings is a comforting chicken soup topped with uncooked dumplings that puff up as they cook in the simmering liquid. Depending on where you live, the chicken and dumpling soup base might be thin and brothy or have a thick, creamy consistency like gravy. The soup almost always contains chicken and vegetables, but the dumplings vary from fluffy, drop-style dumplings to thin, noodle-like or biscuity dumplings.

What are the different types of dumplings?

There are three main types of dumplings used in chicken and dumplings recipes:

  • Drop-style dumplings: These dumplings are made with a leavening agent like baking powder to help the dough puff up into soft, pillowy bites. The dough is scooped directly from the bowl and dropped onto the surface of the hot soup, where it steams to a somewhat spongey texture. This is the type of dumpling we use in this recipe.
  • Rolled dumplings: These dumplings are made with lard or shortening. The dough is rolled out and cut into strips or irregular pieces (as seen in Dolly Parton’s chicken and dumplings). They simmer in the soup, giving them a slight chew and the appearance of thick-cut noodles.
  • Biscuit-style dumplings: These dumplings are made with biscuit dough (like 2-ingredient biscuits or store-bought biscuits). The dough is rolled and cut into large or small biscuits, which steam like drop biscuits when placed onto the soup’s surface. Biscuit dumplings have more structure than drop dumplings, so they’re firmer and less airy.

Chicken and Dumplings Ingredients

  • Chicken: The best chicken and dumpling soup is made with whole chicken for a nice mix of white and dark meat. You can substitute bone-in chicken pieces, but we don’t recommend boneless chicken. The bones add a ton of flavor and ensure the chicken stays ultra-moist and juicy.
  • Flour: Dredging the chicken in flour helps it brown as it sears in the pan. Flour also thickens the soup while it simmers.
  • Chicken stock and heavy cream: This combination forms the flavorful base of chicken dumpling soup. The chicken stock is savory, and the cream adds richness and body. You can use your favorite store-bought brand of chicken stock or homemade chicken stock—your choice.
  • White wine: Wine adds depth to the soup. Choose a crisp white wine with nice acidity, like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. To omit the wine, swap in apple cider instead (as we do in this apple cider chicken ‘n’ dumplings recipe).
  • Aromatics and seasonings: This easy chicken and dumpling soup uses a traditional mirepoix of carrots, celery and onions, plus a little garlic. Bay leaves and whole peppercorns season the broth, and fresh herbs like parsley and thyme finish the dish with a punch of color and freshness. Finally, sugar counters the acidity of the wine and balances the soup’s savory flavors.
  • Homemade drop dumplings: Like most recipes with drop dumplings, our dumpling dough consists of flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter and milk. The dough comes together in about a minute with very little mixing.

Taste of Home

Posted in From My Kitchen

Meal Prep for Two: 8 Weekly Plans & 75 Recipes to Get Healthier Together

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Spend less money and more time together—easy, healthy meal prep for two

Convenience doesn’t have to come with a cost to your wallet, health, or sanity! Now you can prepare delicious, nourishing dishes for two ahead of time—and savor them throughout the week, stress-free. Whether you’re prepping food with a partner, family member, or roommate, Meal Prep for Two will help you build simple and balanced meals together.

Jump right into eight flavor-packed, week-long meal plans for two people. Follow along with detailed shopping lists and step-by-step meal prep instructions for either one or two nights a week. The breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks—perfectly portioned for two—include nutritional info and food storage guidelines. Let’s get cooking!

Inside Meal Prep for Two, you’ll find:

  • 8 weekly plans—Enjoy a variety of uniquely-themed meal prep plans: Mediterranean Staycation, Better Than Takeout, Beat the Heat, and more.
  • 75 tasty recipes—Try Zucchini Cheddar Scones, Turkey Club Salad Jars, Sheet Pan Ratatouille with Roasted Salmon, and more.
  • Prep smarter—Get advice on adjustments for dietary needs, smart ingredient reuse, and sequence and division of meal prep tasks.

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Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

Snickerdoodle Cobbler

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

This isn’t your average cobbler recipe, but it is probably one of the easiest ones you can find. Instead of a layer of fruit, you’ll find a buttery sauce that makes itself (!!) while the cobbler is baking. The topping is similar to warm, fluffy snickerdoodles, making it the best parts of a cookie and a cobbler combined. This entire dessert magically comes together in the oven, so it’s just the thing to serve when you don’t feel like rolling and baking off individual cookies.

The process of this cobbler might feel a little strange. Pouring hot water over the top of batter will feel wrong, but trust the process. When the cobbler is done baking, the water and butter will turn into a sauce that keeps the batter soft. Serve this cobbler warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you won’t hear a single complaint.

This cobbler can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or 2 to 3 days. Similarly, you can pop a whole or leftover cobbler into the freezer for up to 3 months! Just be sure to thaw in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.

delish

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

28 Homemade Mediterranean Soup Recipes

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Have you seen Netflix’s hit documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zone? It offers a glimpse into the lives of the people who live in the Blue Zones, areas of the world where residents consistently live to over 100 years old. These residents are not only centenarians, but they also live without the burdens of chronic illness. Several factors are at play here, but diet plays a significant role. Foods like whole grains, vegetables, beans, fruit and seafood are prioritized—ingredients that are also found in many Mediterranean soup recipes.

Greece and Italy are home to two of these zones, so it’s no surprise that similar foods are found in the Mediterranean diet. You’ll find white beans, lentils, chickpeas, whole-wheat pasta, vegetables, seafood and lean proteins like chicken in these Mediterranean soup recipes. Many of them are heart-healthy Mediterranean recipes, but that’s not the only reason to enjoy them. All of these recipes taste delicious and contribute hearty flavor to your weekly meal plan.

Brothy soups made with Mediterranean herbs and spices are plentiful here, with a few creamy soups interspersed for those wanting something a bit richer. There are options for gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan soups, too, so there is a soup here for everyone. One thing they all have in common is that every recipe is easy to make. Even if time isn’t on your side, you can still whip up delicious Mediterranean recipes at home.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

Crescent Roll Taco Bake

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Refrigerated crescent rolls are a busy cook’s “secret weapon,” and this taco pie with crescent rolls shows exactly why. Whether you separate the dough into individual rolls or use the whole sheet of dough as-is (as we do here), a simple can of rolls gives you a flaky, buttery crust that works equally well in savory meals, appetizers or even desserts.

Crescent roll taco pie is in the savory meals category. It combines the flavors you love in homemade tacos but turns them into a hearty and comforting casserole.

Ingredients for Taco Pie with Crescent Rolls

  • Crescent rolls: Many recipes begin with a can of refrigerated crescent rolls because they’re convenient and tasty. In this case, the taco pie needs a crust and crescent rolls provide one that’s light, flaky and easy.
  • Corn chips: The crushed corn chips give this crescent roll taco pie recipe texture and crunch.
  • Ground beef: Ground beef crumbles are the core ingredient in many homemade tacos and in taco-adjacent recipes like this taco pie. The beef provides enough protein to balance the carbs in the crust and corn chip topping.
  • Tomato sauce: The tomato sauce adds flavor, moisture and color to the pie and recalls the sauce you’ll drizzle over your homemade tacos.
  • Taco seasoning: Taco seasoning is what turns plain old ground beef into a taco filling, whether you spoon it into hard shells or layer it into a crescent roll taco pie, like this one.
  • Sour cream: Sour cream adds richness and its distinctive tang to the taco pie.
  • Cheddar cheese: The shredded cheddar melts over the remaining ingredients, combining with the crushed corn chip topping to give the pie a golden brown, crunchy and delicious crust.
  • Avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and cilantro (optional): The crescent roll taco pie is good all on its own, but it’s even better when you top it with some or all of these optional ingredients.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”