Quick Chicken and Dumplings

View the video to this recipe from My Recipes/Cooking Light.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup prechopped onion
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (10-ounce) box frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Preparation
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and vegetables; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.
While chicken mixture cooks, combine water, flour, and broth. Gradually stir broth mixture into chicken mixture. Stir in salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in tortilla strips, and cook 2 minutes or until tortilla strips soften. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Discard bay leaf. Serve immediately.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 366(23% from fat); FAT 9.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 29.8g; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 104mg; SODIUM 652mg; FIBER 5.3g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.3g

Melanie Barnard , Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005

Making Lemongrass Consommé with Matzoh Balls

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Annie's Eggplant Stew (Gluten-free)

SERVES 4
ACTIVE TIME: 15 min
TOTAL TIME: 40 min

3 large all-purpose potatoes
2 cloves Food You Feel Good About Peeled Garlic, minced
6 large basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 can (28 oz) Italian Classics Crushed Tomatoes
1/4 cup Italian Classics Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 unpeeled egglant, trimmed
2 bell peppers (green or red), trimmed and seeded

Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces; combine in large pot with garlic, basil, tomatoes and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, on LOW 10 min.

Cut eggplant and peppers into 1-inch pieces. Add to pot; cover. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 min.

Calories: 370.0
Nutrition Info: Each serving (1-1/2 cups) contains 370 calories, 56 g carbohydrate, (7 g fiber), 8 g protein, 14 g fat, (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, and 330 mg sodium

Recipe from Wegman's

Germania Society Dill Pickle Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup white wine (use regular table wine not cooking wine)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 cups water
2 teaspoons dried dill weed, crushed
1/2 cup whipping cream or milk
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 large dill pickle shredded
1 1/2 cups dill pickle juice

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and sauté until soft. Add white wine and continue cooking until almost all liquid evaporates. Reduce heat to low and stir in flour (do not brown). In a large bowl, combine water and pickle juice; add and whisk into onion mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until soup slightly thickens. Add dill weed. Stir in whipping cream or milk to desired consistency. Season with salt and white pepper. Add shredded dill pickle. Heat through. Serves four.

Found in Cinncinati.com/The Enquirer

Henry Ford Museum's Dill Pickle Soup

1/2 cup carrots, grated
1/2 cup celery, diced small
3/4 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 cups potatoes, cubed
3 cups dill pickles, grated (I guess you could mince them instead)
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
Salt, pepper and dill to taste

Sauté carrot, celery, onion and garlic in butter, add flour to create a roux. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. Add broth and water, bring to a boil. Add potatoes and pickles. Cook until potatoes are tender, lower heat, slowly add cream then sour cream. Season with salt, pepper and dill. Cook until warmed through. Do not boil! Makes eight servings.

Found in Cinncinati.com/The Enquirer

Sharon’s Brunch Soup

"Galveston cook Sharon Marie Fleming recently won national recognition for her cooking when one of her recipes was chosen for the new addition of the “Wal-Mart Family Cookbook,” which showcases recipes shared by Wal-Mart employees.

Fleming’s winning recipe, Sharon’s Brunch Soup, evolved from a childhood favorite her grandmother made."

Sharon’s Brunch Soup

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons butter
8 cups water
4 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules or
4 chicken bouillon cubes
2 packages chicken-flavored ramen noodles
1 cup Egg Beaters

In large saucepan, cook celery and green onions in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in water and bouillon. Bring to boil. Break dried noodles into 1-to-2 inch pieces. Stir noodles and contents of ramen seasoning packets into boiling mixture. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to break noodles apart.

Slowly add egg product to boiling mixture, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

— Recipe from the “Wal-Mart Family Cookbook” /The Galveston County Daily News

Cooking Away

Have you been to Chef's Catalog lately? I found some very nice platters that I ordered and my shipment came so fast. I love shopping through this site. It is nicely laid out and easy to navigate.

I wish I could say the same about cooking.com. I haven't been that pleased with their shipping times. In stock merchandise takes 2 weeks or longer to receive. Making it the slowest internet business I have ever ordered from.

I plan to sell my big set of china this Spring and am updating many items. I also took a look at Food Network's product line in person at Kohl's. I got a very nice glass serving bowl on sale. I did not care for their white porcelain as I saw imperfections which seem so common today. Yet I look at some of my grandmother's old plates and they look perfectly smooth. Of course they weren't made in China like everything is today.

I've been updating my microwave cookware as well. I own Littonware from back in the 80's. These have lasted me a long time and have been pleased with them. I'm not sure what happened to the company. I tried locating them without any luck. I did come across Nordicware which offer similar products. So I purchased some casserole style dishes which worked out quite well for heating my soups.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

1 lb. split peas
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, chopped, including leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 meaty hambone or ½ lb. lean ham, cubed
2 quarts water
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Wash peas carefully, after sorting and checking for hulls or small stones. Place in pot with water and remaining ingredients, minus potatoes. Bring to boil, skim, reduce heat and simmer two hours. Add cubed potatoes. Cook another half hour or until potatoes are tender. Allow to stand one half hour before serving.

Baked Garlic Soup

Recipe by Sharon Mills of Henderson County. This baked garlic soup recipe won the California Garlic Festival back in the 1980s.

Combine in an oven safe soup crock:

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes)
1 can (14 oz.) drained garbanzo or white beans
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 sliced zucchini
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon basil
Salt to taste
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock

Stir, cover, and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees
Add 1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup romano cheese

Leave uncovered and bake 10-15 minutes more. Serve with a crusty bread and salad. Makes 6 servings.