Classic Chicken & Dumplings

I've always considered chicken & dumplings to be one of the ultimate comfort foods, but little did we know how much comfort it would be bringing after today's US/Canada Olympic hockey match!

We began with this recipe from Today's Creative Crockpot Cookbook:

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 medium carrots cut into 1-inch slices
2 ribs celery, sliced
10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
16 oz. can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup frozen green peas

Directions:

1. Place the chicken pieces, carrots, celery, soups, broth, garlic powder, thyme, salt & pepper in the slow cooker and mix to combine thoroughly.
2. Cut five of the buttermilk biscuits into quarters.
3. Add to the chicken mixture and lightly combine.
4. Cover & cook on Low 6 to 8 hours (or on High 3 to 4 hours).
5. Fifteen minutes prior to serving, bake the remaining biscuits as directed on can.
6. Add the peas to the chicken & dumplings about 2 minutes before serving, or until warmed through.
7. To serve, spoon the chicken & dumplings into individual bowls and top each serving with a warm biscuit. Ladle additional sauce over the top, if desired.
8. Makes 4 servings.


What we changed:

1. We doubled the entire recipe to make in a 5 1/2 quart slow cooker, so we ended up using 2 lbs. of boneless chicken breasts.
2. We're not fans of peas, so we substituted frozen white shoepeg corn for the peas & mixed the corn in with the other ingredients at the beginning.
3. We also left out the celery.
4. We found low-fat, low-sodium cans of both kinds of soup (Harris Teeter has a line of "Healthy" condensed soups that are also less expensive than their full-blooded cousins) as well as a reduced-sodium chicken broth (Harris Teeter brand too). Having less sodium did not make them any less tasty!
5. With doubling the recipe, we used 2 cans of jumbo buttermilk biscuits & used one full can to cut up in the slow cooker (8 biscuits) & baked the other can.
6. Because we got a late start today, we cooked on High for 3 hours & found that it was ready to eat.


Our impressions:

Very flavorful! The thyme gives a subtle kick to the broth & soaked into the chicken quite nicely. The biscuits puff up while cooking in the slow cooker, and by the time the meal was ready, they completely covered the top of the meal! It was really interesting how the biscuits really do end up tasting like dumplings after cooking in the slow cooker.

Ed's comment while ladling out a second bowl: "I'm not going to overstate things, but I could eat this entire pot." When I asked him if he was just that hungry, he replied, "No, it's just that good!"

Bacon Beer Cheese Dip

We took this dip to a Super Bowl party where it was very well-received. I foresee it being very popular at other gatherings & tailgates!

Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients:

6-8 pieces bacon, crumbled
4-5 green onions, greens & whites, minced
8 oz. light cream cheese
8 oz. Velveeta (1/2 block)
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 Tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
6 oz. beer (1/2 can)

Directions:

1. Cook bacon crisply, remove from pan to drain on paper towels; reserve grease.
2. In hot grease, saute green onions until bright green and soft - drain on paper towels.
3. In your Crock Pot insert or microwavable bowl, combine cream cheese, Velveeta, garlic powder & red pepper flakes.
4. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes.
5. Remove from microwave and stir to combine and microwave again for 3 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
6. Add beer and stir to "loosen" to a dippable consistency.
7. Stir in bacon and green onions and serve hot with corn chips or crackers. Serves 8-10.


What we changed:

1. We doubled the recipe to serve more people and to better fit in a 5 1/2 quart slow cooker.
2. We're not big on onions, so we left them out. Really didn't miss them.
3. Instead of Velveeta, we used 8 oz. of shredded mild cheddar cheese & 8 oz. of shredded sharp cheddar.
4. For the beer, we used a bottle of Hefeweizen. Wheat beer is nice & full-bodied & added a heartiness to the dip.
5. We had time before heading to the party, so instead of doing the microwave steps, we mixed everything in the CrockPot and cooked on high for approximately 3 hours. If cooking with this method, it is important to keep an eye on it and stir periodically.
6. We served with a thicker tortilla chip - Tostitos Gold or Multigrain work well & don't tend to break under the weight of a thick dip. Beer bread would also make for a tasty dipper.

Southwestern Pork Tenderloin

When Harris Teeter puts seasoned pork tenderloins on sale, that is a sign that it's time for another pork tenderloin done in the slow cooker!

This week we picked up a 1.7 lb tenderloin that was seasoned with southwestern spices for 50% off ($4.49) and also 2-16 oz. jars of Ortega salsa (one Extra Chunky Medium and the other Garden Vegetable Mild) that were on sale 2 for $3.00. Normally for this amount of meat, the recipes call for 1 jar of salsa, but we wanted to be sure that there was plenty of liquid, given that we were cooking in a 5 1/2 quart slow cooker instead of a 3 quart one.

After putting the meat in the slow cooker & pouring both jars of salsa over it, we chopped up some jalapenos and added the peppers along with 1/3 bag of frozen corn to the salsa, stirred & spread the mixture over the meat, and cooked on high for 3 hours. Then we shredded the pork with 2 forks, stirred the shredded meat with the bubbling salsa, and served in bowls, kinda like a pork stew. We heated up some leftover rice as a side and served the pork with low-carb wheat tortillas (wrapping up some of the pork stew in a tortilla was quite tasty!).

There's definitely enough left over for another full meal for 2, and possibly for one more serving on top of that. So for about $8.00 we have a meal to serve 5. Not too shabby...both economically and gastronomically!!