Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
2-3 split chicken breasts (4-5 if they're the thinner fillets)
8 cups of water
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
4-6 chicken bouillon cubes (to taste)
26 oz chicken stock
½ C all-purpose flour (can substitute corn starch or rice flour)
1 pkg (8 oz) dumpling noodles
14 oz (3 cups) frozen mixed vegetables
½ tsp coarse ground pepper
1 tsp tarragon
2 tsp kosher salt or to taste

  

Directions:
In a stockpot, add minced garlic and kosher salt to the 8 cups of water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add chicken breasts, let cook for at least 20 minutes or until cooked thoroughly through. Remove from pot and set aside in a covered container to cool. Keep water boiling; add bouillon cubes, tarragon, and pepper. Let boil until bouillon is dissolved. While water continues to boil, make a slurry by whisking flour together with chicken stock until flour is completely dissolved and there are no lumps. Set aside.

Add dumpling noodles to boiling water, let boil for about 7-8 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently so noodles don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add frozen vegetables. Veggies will lower the liquid temperature significantly, so it will take at least 5 minutes before the liquid is boiling again. While liquid is warming up again, shred chicken using two forks to desired size & thickness.

Add to stock pot. Stir frequently. When liquid is at or near boiling again, add in stock/flour slurry. Stir constantly.

Once soup has reached boiling point, turn heat down to low.  Cover and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes.  Ladle chicken & dumplings into bowls and serve hot.

Makes about 12 servings.  Soup can be stored in an air-tight container and frozen for up to 6 months.

~~~~~~
GBAdams
04/02/2014

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

---

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, finely diced into ½-in or smaller cubes
3 - 32 oz cartons of chicken stock (not broth)
3 C sliced carrots (¼-½ in thick, depending on how big the carrots)
2 C sliced celery
1 C diced onions
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-3 Tbsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp parsley
2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 pkg (12 oz) egg noodles

Directions:
Pour chicken stock into crock pot. Add spices and salt; stir well.

 

 

Add diced chicken breast, carrots, celery, garlic, and onions.  Cover.  Turn crock pot on. Cook 6-7 hours on low, 4-5 hours on high.  An hour before serving, add egg noodles and stir well.  Cover again.  Soup is done when noodles are limp and cooked through.

Makes 8-10 servings (can be frozen up to 6 months in an airtight container)

~~~~~~
GBAdams
02/04/2014

Homemade French Onion Soup

This is one of my favorite things to make on a cold & snowy day...especially in the crock pot.  The house is FILLED with the delicious aroma of beef broth and onions, and it makes anyone who walks into our house instantly hungry.  (Hee hee!) This is not a difficult recipe, just time-intensive, especially since you'll want it to cook for as long as possible in order for the flavors to meld perfectly.  ;)

I hope you like it...

---

Ingredients:
2-3 medium white onions
52 oz (2-26 oz containers) Beef Cooking stock
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp course ground black pepper
1 to 1½ Tbsp Kosher salt, depending on taste
4 C water
1 loaf French Bread
2-3 C shredded Gruyere cheese
2-3 C shredded Swiss cheese
6-8 slices of Swiss cheese

Advanced Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cut French bread loaf into 1-in slices.  Toast 4-6 slices (depending on thickness of the bread) in pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove and set aside.

Soup Directions:
Chop onions into even quarter slices. Place in a medium to large sauce pan.  Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, pepper, salt, and water.  Heat on high.  When liquid comes to a boil, cover.  Turn heat down to medium-high and let simmer for 1-2 hours. After 1 hour, you will need to add 1-2 C more water, depending on evaporation rate.  Heat soup until onions are no longer firm but are translucent and limp. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425°F.  In 2 large oven- and broiler-safe ceramic bowls, place 2-3 slices toasted French bread slices. Ladle soup over slices, filling about ¾ full. add 1 C shredded Swiss, then 1 C shredded Gruyere, add one more ladle of soup, then top off with 3-4 Swiss slices, ensuring top is completely covered.  Place bowls on jelly roll pan or some other pan with shallow sides, then place pan in pre-heated oven.  Let bake for 10 minutes, then turn broiler on low. Broil for 5 more minutes, or until cheese top is bubbly and turns a golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes, then serve.  Be careful, as soup will be EXTREMELY hot.

*This soup can also be made in a slow cooker. Add all ingredients into pot, cover, and set temp to high.  Let cook 6-8 hours.  Follow the rest of the directions for placing in bowls.

Serves 3-4 people

~~~~~~
GBAdams
10/31/2012

Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup

This is a soup that took me 2 tries to get it right.  My first attempt was below pathetic--the soup was watery and thin, and it was definitely not pureed enough.  I also was highly dissatisfied with the flavor.  When I posted about this on Facebook, many of my friends offered their suggestions, one of which was adding cream cheese to the soup, something I admit I hadn't even considered.  I shelved that suggestion to the back of my mind for the next time I would try to make this soup.  After catching a cooking show where they roasted an acorn squash with shallots and garlic inside, I was inspired to try again. So here is a record of that second attempt.  It turned out way BEYOND my expectations.  Let's just say the way my house smelled while the squash was roasting was nothing compared to how well this soup turned out.  I loved how the roasting brought out the sweetness of the butternut squash without adding any sugar whatsoever to the mix.  And, need I say it, the bacon improved the recipe on the whole to a level I could not have imagined.  Bacon really does make everything better! LOL. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as me & my family did...

---

Ingredients:
1 whole butternut squash
8 slices of thick-cut bacon
8-10 whole, peeled cloves of garlic (do not chop)
4-5 peeled shallots
2-3 Tbsp olive oil (I prefer the light-tasting variety to extra-virgin)
4 C Chicken broth
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese (can use reduced-fat)
1-2 Tbsp kosher salt, depending on taste
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/2 C shredded cheese for garnish, such as swiss or gruyere
Chopped parsley, also for garnish (can be dried)

Squash, bacon, shallots and garlic, ready for the oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roughly dice bacon slices; set aside.  Slice shallots and set those aside.  Peel & chop de-seeded butternut squash into small, roughly 1-in cubes. Make sure cubes are somewhat equal in size so they roast evenly.  In a large bowl, combine squash, bacon, garlic and shallots. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. When entire mixture is seasoned, pour and evenly distribute onto large, flat, shallow pan, such as a 1/2 jelly roll sheet.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the squash has started to brown on the edges and the bacon has mostly crisped up. Remove from oven.  Set aside a few browned shallots rings and bacon bits to reserve as garnish for serving and let the rest cool.

In a large saucepot, bring chicken broth up to a simmer on medium-high to high heat. While broth is heating up, place entire contents of roasting pan into a food processor and purée until all the pieces have been puréed relatively well.  (There might still be little bacon bits visibly floating throughout purée; this is ok.)

Roasted squash mixture, puréed in a food processor.

Add purée to chicken broth and stir well; a whisk is recommended.  Lower heat to medium and add cream cheese.  Whisk further until cream cheese is well incorporated. Remove from heat.

Ladel soup into bowls.  Garnish with crisped shallots & bacon; can add shredded cheese as well.

Makes 4-6 servings

~~~~~
GBAdams
12/09/2012