Food For The Fussy and Not so Fussy

When dealing with a fussy eater it is always a pleasure when you hit on something that they truly enjoy. It only ceases to be a pleasure when that is all they request to eat every day for a week. Luckily the rest of us liked this recipe as well because I ended up making it three days in a row. Even though this makes a good size batch and reheats well for leftovers, we are hard pressed to ever have any leftovers since everyone seems to go for seconds and sometimes thirds. So I can say with some certainty that this is a dish that your family will truly enjoy.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

8 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 small can of chicken broth

1 can of chicken gravy
1 cup of canned or frozen peas
Carrots, optional

Dumplings (recipe below)

Cut chicken into small pieces and combine with rest of ingredients in a saucepan. Heat to boiling point; turn down heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add dumplings and cook as recipe directs.

DUMPLINGS:

2 c. Bisquick

2/3 c. milk (fresh or canned)

2 Tablespoons of melted butter

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on boiling chicken mixture. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and 10 minutes covered.

Makes 10 to 12 dumplings.

I like to serve mine over mashed potatoes, talk about the ultimate comfort food!

Whatever You Call It Soup

This is such a comforting recipe at any time but especially now with the cold weather returning. The hot steamy broth and the soft chewy dumplings are just a match made in heaven. I am not sure how this recipe found its way into our family from what I understand this soup was a staple of Bavaria and a friend of mine said Germany as well.
I cannot pronounce these too well but liver dumpling soup is also called; “Leberklosse or leberknodel”, whatever your family calls it; it still feels good going down.

Liver Dumpling Soup

4 to 6 cups of homemade or canned chicken, vegetable or beef broth
Season to taste

Put in pot and set to a medium simmer

DUMPLINGS:

1 lb. liver, ground, (may use either chicken or beef liver, the chicken tends to be milder in flavor.

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp. minced onion, brown in 1/2 cup of butter

2 eggs

1 tbsp. flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients. Mold in balls the size of walnuts, using flour on the fingers. Drop into simmering broth and let simmer for 25-30 minutes then enjoy.

Add scallions or fresh parsley at the end for a little extra flavor.

Comfort Food

My mother liked to cook and I loved just about everything that she made. But there were a few of her recipes that stood out above the rest, one of them being her Beef Stew with Bisquick dumplings. Lots of dumplings steaming in that rich beef and onion gravy, the beef just falling apart it was so tender. I’m salivating now just thinking about it. It’s just one of those dishes that takes you back to your childhood, we all have favorite foods that do just that.



Beef Stew with Bisquick Dumplings

1 lb. stew beef
1 pkg. carrots
4 sm. potatoes
1 can of peas
4 sm. onions
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 pkg. onion soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine first 8 ingredients and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add 2 tablespoons of flour mixed with water to stew to thicken.

DUMPLINGS:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk

Combine Bisquick and milk. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto top of stew. Cook approximately 15 minutes with pot covered.