SUPER easy Chicken 'n Dumplings

Snow days call for warm, comfort food like chicken 'n dumplings.  I make a SUPER easy recipe that was told to me by my dear friend Tiffany.  She shared this one with me years ago, and it quickly became one of our family favorites.  

Ingredients: 

Rotisserie Chicken

Celery-2 stalks

Onion- half yellow

Chicken Broth-4 Cups

Grands Biscuits-1 can

Milk 

Butter

Directions:

Pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery (told you, super easy) and remove skin and pull the meat off.  Set aside.  Next chop onion and celery and sauté in 2 tablespoons butter inside dutch oven.  Cook until translucent and add chicken broth.  Add water to the pan until half full of liquid.  Bring to a boil.  Cut biscuits into quarters and drop into boiling broth.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and stir occasionally to keep dumplings from sticking together.  Cook for 10-15 minutes until biscuits are no longer doughy.  Add chicken to the soup along with 3 Tbsp butter.  Stir.  Slowly add milk to make the soup the right consistency.  Add salt and pepper.  Simmer until thickened. 

Fill pan with broth and water

Cut Grand Biscuits into quarters.

Add biscuits then chicken.

Enjoy!  Yummmm.

Taco Stew: waste not, want not

Nom, nom!

   It is a cardinal sin to throw away food: a sentiment taught to me by my father, echoed from his Italian heritage, and by my Nana who survived the Great Depression. So, when Madilyn and I shared a rotisserie chicken a couple of days ago, we had plenty left over. What to do, what to do? There it sat on the second shelf lurking, taunting me from inside the refrigerator. With stern frugality I answered, "I shall make Taco Stew out of you." 

    Not only can you use leftover chicken, but Taco Stew is also a great time saver because you can make it in the crock-pot.  If you don't have leftover chicken, then first poach or bake 2-3 chicken breasts instead. 

Ingredients needed: 

Chicken

Drained cans of:
2 cans of Ranch Style beans

    (One with jalapeños if you like spicy)

1 can of Rotel
1 can of diced tomatoes

1can of tomato soup

1can of corn

1 package of taco seasoning

1 package of Ranch dressing mix

Dash of chili powder (optional)

Dash of garlic powder (optional)

Shred the chicken into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and simmer on low for 4 hours. 

Ready to sir and simmer!

Easy-peasy! Serve with tortilla chips or crackers and a side salad. Perfect for a chilly winter's night. 

Made With Love

  Sifting through my recipe box is like rummaging through a time capsule filled with culinary memories. Card edges are lovingly crinkled and soiled by splatters of food prepared with love, honored by tradition. Throughout the holiday season my little treasure box is "loved" on even more! I frequently reach into my crowded pantry to pull out the box adorned in a vibrant print of grapes and pears. I place it on the kitchen counter so that I can sort, sort through moments photographed in casseroles and cookies. Even the box itself was a gift from a dear friend. She gave me the box as a birthday gift and put a few of her stand-out recipes inside. Recipes like Shortbread Sugar cookies; actually, she taught me, hands-on, how to make them during the Christmas season so that my girls could leave goodies for Santa.
      My mother didn't cook...ever. Every dish or dessert I've ever prepared has come from someone or somewhere else.  Recipes are collected like postcards, I choose the ones that best represent the time and place of a moment.  Sometimes I wonder what recipe box I would own if the cards were my mother's, but I don't dwell on this long because in that fantasy kitchen I wouldn't possess the cornucopia of delights I have now.  Like the recipe for fudge borrowed from Country Cooking, the First Baptist Church of Smalltown, Texas' cookbook or a recipe for cornbread dressing taken from an excellent cook with whom I used to work; I might not have Nana's green jello salad delight or Donna's pecan pie.  Some of my favorite recipes have been given to me by The Cheryls, women who have positively impacted my life, significantly changing its course for the better. My pseudo mom, Cheryl T's recipe for breakfast casserole is the perfect brunch dish for a family gathering; my sweet Step-Mama, Cheryl C's recipe for lasagne, or comfort roast, or the holiday delight, cherries in the snow are all crowd pleasing recipes. I cannot imagine a collection without these dishes in its repertoire.
    As Christmas approaches, I plan to cherish every recipe, every dish made.  To cook with love means to honor the recipe maker, and mark the memories with good food and loving family.

Spicy, Tangy Tilapia

SPICY, TANGY TILAPIA

Photograph doesn't accurately depict tastiness!

We ate this for dinner last night, and my step-daughter, Maddie H., who typically hates seafood will eat this one because of the kick from the red-pepper.  The spice masks the "fishy" taste that she doesn't like.  This dish is EASY and QUICK.  Let's get real: it's fun to spend time baking a delicacy passed on from our grandmothers, but usually, busy moms (and dads) don't have that kind of time! I created this dish out of need for something healthy that I could throw together in a few minutes.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter (Challenge is my fave because it's so creamy)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 
1 lemon (for fresh squeezed lemon juice)
1 pound of tilapia (feeds a family of four; you'll need more for those big-boy eaters)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 TBS (ish) dill relish
Season with Red-Pepper Flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 9x13 Pyrex pan with cooking spray. In the microwave, melt butter.  Mix in garlic with a fork.

Using a brush, spread garlic butter over fish.  Next, squeeze lemon and drizzle fresh juice over fillets. 

Season with sea salt (use sparingly) and spoon dill relish on top.  Sprinkle with Crushed Red Pepper Flakes.  Bake for 25 minutes until flaky.  Serve with roasted asparagus (I like mine seasoned with Parmesan) and within 35 minutes from start to finish you have a healthy, delicious dinner for the fam!

~Truly, Cinderella

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Standing within Nana's kitchen I listened to the sound of the motor churning, spinning the metal canister inside. She knew how much I loved ice cream and every summer she'd make it for me. Homemade ice cream IS summertime itself, embodied in cool refreshing goodness, and since I've been on a strawberry kick, I thought I might share another red berry favorite.  My girls love it and I know you will too. :) This recipe is easy to make, no-fuss and no cooking.  Although the recipe comes not from Nana's collection, it was given to me by an equally influential and wonderful lady in my life, Cheryl Thompson: she brings living into life.  And you too will be living if you make this crowd-pleaser.  Enjoy!

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 cups half and half
2 1/2 cups of Big Red (secret, yummy ingredient)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (1 pint) strawberries, sliced into quarters (more if larger size)

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs together in a large mixing bowl. 
   
2. Add remaining ingredients except strawberries.
   
3. Next, blend strawberries into mixture. 
   
    
4. Pour the mixture into the ice cream canister, place into tub, and attach motor. Fill with ice and rock salt and plug in to start.

   

   
   
5. When finished, serve and enjoy! 
    
   Or share with friends! Tired of taking the cliched bottle of wine to dinner parties? Ensure an invitation to the next cook-out and make this your hostess gift. Simply scoop into mason jars, tie a bow around them, and holy cannoli you've got the perfect party treat!  I used the mini jars for individual servings and then placed in a baking pan for a unique twist.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   

Summertime Strawberry Silk Pie

Cool summertime desserts remind me of sun-filled afternoons where days wasted away under breezy shade trees. Stills of my Nana cooking in her sunny, yellow kitchen were photographed in time, tucked away in memories.  She'd slice strawberries over a metal bowl atop yellow speckled Formica countertops.  White eyelet drapes adorned the window above the sink, and there she spent many hours creating a beautiful mess. Outside the screen door small sparrows chirped their excitement over the possibility of catching some discarded pie crumbs.  The kitchen was warm, always warm, air conditioned only by the swamp-cooler in the adjacent living room.  A steady squeak from the metal fan accompanied the low hum of the window unit--these were the sounds of summer at the old house.  She busied herself inside that kitchen day after day, summer after summer,  baking fresh fruit pies, curating cold salads, and blending peach milkshakes made from homemade ice cream and fresh picked peaches: all delicacies worthy of praise. But my favorite goody was her Strawberry Silk Pie.  I'd wait hours for it to set, quietly opening the icebox, careful to make sure Nana wasn't watching, just so that I could sneak a taste.  I'd carefully dip the tip of my fingertip into the gelatin and hurriedly lick it off hoping that I didn't get caught. I'd try to cover up the evidence by holding each side of the pie plate and slightly shifting it from side to side to smooth the mark before scurrying away.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful lady as my mentor.  I learned the basics of cooking from my sweet Nana: as a little girl, I'd watch, mesmerized by quick hands, wrinkled and worn from love's diligent duties.  She baked happiness, authenticated by tastebuds.

At 104, Nana is no longer able to make these delights, but keeping with tradition, I attempt to bake happiness into summer, too. 

Nana's Strawberry Silk Pie:

Ingredients:

1- nine inch Baked Pie Shell

1- eight ounce pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup of powdered confectioners sugar
Whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 pints fresh strawberries

Directions:

1. Bake pie crust into a 9 inch pie shell. Because I'm not nearly as awesome as Nana, I cheated and bought the Pillsbury Pie Dough instead of making the pie crust from scratch.  Shhh, don't tell. ;) 

2. Blend softened cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and whipping cream together.  Once pie crust has completely cooled, spread cream cheese mixture on bottom of the pie shell and set aside.

  
3. In a small bowl sift together sugar and cornstarch. 

4. Next wash and hull berries.  Divide the strawberries into two equal parts.

 

  5. Place "choice" berries on top of coated pie shell.

 

6. Mash and strain the other half until juice is well extracted. (Note:  I actually mashed and strained the berries, old school style.  Afterwards, it occurred to me that I could have used my juicer.  You just want the fresh juice from the strawberries--how you get it doesn't matter.)

7. Pour juice into sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Slowly stir in sugar and cornstarch mixture.

8. Cook slowly for about 10-12 minutes.  (This is the tricky part.  You want the mixture to thicken, but still be able to pour-ish over pie.)  Cool and spread over fresh strawberries in pie shell.  Place pie in refrigerator until pie sets and is very cold. Garnish with whipping cream over top.  (Use cool whip if short on time.)

Note: As you can see, my silk was a bit too silky. (Told you that was the tricky part!) The strawberry mixture needed to cook a tad longer.  This pic was taken from my first attempt earlier in the summer, but I made it again this week and it turned out much better. Practice makes perfect, right?