Drop Dumplings for Chicken and Dumplings

My family loves a good Chicken and dumplings. But, I will put dumplings on top of other things sometimes as well. Things like soup, or left over chicken in a broth. Here is a good recipe I use.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour                                              3/4 cup milk
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder                                                    chopped or dried parsley, if desired
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                       Put on top of a stewed chicken or soup. Must be  
                                                                                         at least 3 cups of broth to make some gravy left                            
                                                                                         after dumplings are done.

1. Sift flour, measure with the baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl.
2. Add milk all at once and stir with a fork rapidly until well blended. Now would be the time to add parsley.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls on top of stewed chicken or into the pot of hot boiling broth.
4. As soon as all dumplings are in the pot, cover and boil moderately for 12 minutes without uncovering. 
5. Check for doness with a toothpick. If it comes out clean then it is done.

I will often make up chicken that I have cut into pieces cooked quickly in a little olive oil, sauteed. 
Then sautee the veggies; carrots, celery, onion, maybe broccoli. Then add broth and put it all together. Then cook the dumplings on top. 
This is a quick and easy chicken and dumpling soup.

Pumpkin Pie Soup

Pumpkin Pie Soup

Funny view but, I wanted you to see the soup itself.

I used to make this for my preschool class years ago and love to do it for my kids on National Pumpkin day, which was on Sept. 29th. I really think I could add a sugar and cinnamon "chips" made from tortillas to go with it next time. Here it is, I hope you enjoy it.



6 cups of canned pumpkin
6 cups milk
3-4 TBL Butter
1/4-1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
Cinnamon and Nutmeg to taste
1 dribble of Vanilla (about a teaspoon)

Put it all in the crock-pot and turn it on low. Heat until warm. That is it. You could do it in a pan on the stove as well. Don't boil or over cook. The milk will get yucky. I will leave it in the crock for a few hours and let the kids drink it out of coffee cups.

Verdict: Yummy and sweet. Full of Vitamin A. I am not a big pumpkin fan so, I just like a little. My 2nd son LOVES it and drank probably 4 cups by himself. I ended up sending some to the neighbor kids house to share with his family. They loved it as well. Hope you enjoy it.

17 Bean Soup in the Crock-Pot

Bean Soup

             I have looked at those bags at the grocery that says 17 bean soup. They look pretty but, kinda... I don't know, vegetarian.  Well, I finally decided to go for and just try it. So, here is the recipe I used. (You know I had to use my crock-pot).

1 bag of 17 bean soup (if there is a flavor packet, throw it away. It can't be good for you).
1 10 oz can Rotel
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 onion
1 box of vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic
Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, parsley)
salt and pepper to taste

-First I rinsed the beans in a colander and pulled out any bad ones or rocks, etc.
-Then put them in a slow cooker with water. Fill enough water to fill the the crock 2/3 to 3/4 full.
-Put the crock on high for  one hour to an hour and a half.
-After the hour is up, pour the beans into a colander again dumping all of the water. Rinse the beans again.(This gets rid of the gassy water. This is instead of soaking overnight.)
Return beans to crock. Add all other ingredients except the salt. (Cooking beans in salt results in tough beans). Including adding extra water to fill crock up until it is 3/4 full.
- Cook for about 8 hours on high. You can cook for longer if you like.
-Add Salt at the end for flavor.

The verdict: My husband loved them. He actually ate half the pot alone. Also, very good the next day. We put it over pasta the second day.

Rotel is so good. I had never used it because we couldn't find it here in California. Now that I found it at Target and if was on sale for .87 a can.