Tag Archives: chicken and dumplings

menu plan Monday

Deconstructing pot pie

This was Amy’s week to pick our Recipe Roulette meal, and she chose one that I already had on my to-try list. Yay Amy! It’s Rachael Ray’s Creamed Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings. Now, I know we haven’t had a great track record with her recipes. But this has a cup of half-and-half in it. So it had to be good. Right?

Our menu plan only has four days in it this week, because I’ve decided that I’m taking myself out to dinner on Friday. Alright, fine — I’ll probably take the rest of the family along, too. Or maybe I’ll leave them home to eat peanut butter sandwiches. We’ll see how their ‘tudes are this week.

Menu Plan MondayPizza
Our weekly homemade pizza night turned into pizza delivery night last week after an allergy attack sent me down for a three-hour nap. So this week, the dough is already made and ready to become dinner!

Spaghetti
Poppy has recently decided that she likes her spaghetti with a touch of sauce. Which means she’s eating a vegetable. Let the rejoicing begin!

Espresso Black Bean Chili
Thanks to Mark Bittman, I developed a bit of an obsession with beans and rice. Rockford has yet to object to having some version of it every week, and wee Petey would eat beans for every meal if he could. So Beanapalooza ’09 continues! Since I don’t normally drink coffee (and neither do the kids), I’ll probably use decaf coffee for this so as not to be bouncing off the walls at bedtime.

Creamed Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings
I doubled the chicken portion of our Recipe Roulette meal over the weekend and tossed it in the freezer for later this week.

from Rachael Ray Magazine
One 1-pound package potato gnocchi
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup chicken broth
2 scallions, chopped

Cook the gnocchi according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until toasted, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened. Whisk into the chicken mixture, then stir in the gnocchi. Bring to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper and top with the scallions.

Eating

Hungry for fall

I’m ready for summer to be over. I’m looking forward to cool days, bare trees and brisk breezes. Most of all, though, I’m looking forward to the food of fall. The meals that I’m drawn to these days are going to have to wait for the temperature to drop at least 25 degrees. As tasty as it sounds, I couldn’t realistically eat pot roast when it’s so hot outside.

I’m finding it more and more difficult to come up with menus these days. That may be because it’s 95-plus degrees every day, and that makes it hard to think about anything that requires more heat. We used to do a lot of dinners on the grill during the summer, but we’re currently without a grill. Thus, no grilled dinners. Oh well.

In anticipation of fall, here are a few recipes that have caught my eye recently. I’d expect at least one or two of them to hit our dinner plates in another month or so.

  • Alton Brown’s Pressure Cooker Chili. I have a great recipe for Chile Con Carne, but I see no harm in having a (super-fast) backup recipe.
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup. I love a good taco soup. And I love the slow cooker. This could be a match made in heaven.
  • Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. I have a good chicken-and-dumplings recipe, too. But it isn’t made in the slow cooker.
  • Tarragon Cream Chicken and Polenta Potpies. Oh, potpie. How I’ve missed you! Rockford’s mom’s potpie recipe is top-notch, but this version sounded awfully interesting. I’m also planning to try out the phyllo-dough version featured in this month’s Cooking Light.

    … update …

    As requested, here’s the non-slow-cooker recipe for chicken and dumplings. I think it’s from “The Joy of Cooking.”

    Chicken and Dumplings
    6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 1/2 cups chopped onion
    1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    2 cups hot water
    1 3/4 cups chicken broth
    5 medium carrots, peeled and diced
    2 large celery stalks, diced
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    1 cup fat-free half-and-half
    For the dumplings
    4 cups all-purpose flour
    2 tablespoons baking powder
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    6 tablespoons butter
    1 cup milk

    Rinse and pat chicken dry. Cut into smallish pieces and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

    Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy 8- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat until fragrant and golden.

    Place as many chicken pieces as will fit comfortably and cook, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken. Set chicken aside.

    Add onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.

    Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add broth and hot water. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add carrots, celery, thyme, salt and pepper.

    Return chicken to the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat so the liquid barely bubbles.

    Cover tightly and cook 20 to 25 minutes.

    Prepare dumplings:

    Bring butter and milk to a simmer.

    Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

    Add wet ingredients to dry and stir with a fork until blended. Divide and roll the dough into dumplings.

    Whisk half-and-half into chicken mixture and place dumplings gently on top. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

    Serve immediately.