Chicken and Dumplings

• The ultimate in comfort foods from www.food.com.

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS-- 4-6 servings

1 large broiler/fryer

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
  2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon pepper
• water

DUMPLINGS

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons oil

1 Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, parsley, chicken bouillon granules, salt and pepper in a large pan or dutch oven; add enough water to cover chicken.


2 Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until chicken is done.

3 Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.

4 Remove skin and bones from chicken. 

6 Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

5 Return meat to soup.

7 In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.

8  Return chicken to soup and return to a simmer.

9 Drop dumplings by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup.

10 Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove cover and simmer 10 more minutes.

11 Serve immediately.

 *SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier) 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Combine flour, broth, baking powder and eggs; mix well to form a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Double Chocolate Killers

Okay, I'm warning you right now--don't do it.

Now that you're duly warned, here's the recipe:

• Chocolate Killers:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

•  

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
  2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until just barely cooked. 
  4. While killers cool a bit, make ganache.  Heat cream in heavy saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil around the edge (watch carefully).
  5. Put chocolate chips in bowl and pour hot cream over.  Let stand for about 1 minute.
  6. Stir in circular motion in a single direction for at least 1 minute until smooth.
  7. Let ganache cool until just warm.  Refrigerate to speed it up if desired.
  8. Pour ganache over warm chocolate killers spreading to the edge of pan.
  9. Let cool.  Cut into small squares. Keep in refrigerator.
  
  

Best Banana Cake Ever!

I'm a banana lover--banana bread, banana shakes, banana ice cream, banana cake, or just plain bananas--I'm a big fan!  
It seems like most banana cakes taste basically just like  banana bread, but this one is definitely cake.  It is the very best banana cake recipe I've ever found--it's awesome!  Don't be afraid to put the cake right from the hot oven into the freezer, but make sure you use a metal or pyrex baking dish.
(I meant to take a photo, but it got snarfed up before I had a chance, so this is lifted from the 'net.)


CAKE:

3/4 c. butter

2 1/8 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

2 t. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. mashed banana

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat over to 275 F. Grease & flour 9x13" baking dish (pyrex or metal).

In a small bowl combine mashed bananas and lemon juice.  Set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream 3/4 c. butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time; add vanilla.

Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.  Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into baking dish.

Bake in oven for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes.

FROSTING:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

DIRECTIONS: Beat all ingredients in order until smooth.  Spread on cooled cake.

Project: Tasty Lots from Other Spots

Quick story: during World War II, my great-grandfather moved from the USSR to the United States. He was Lithuanian and in a small town in central Maine there was a small diaspora of Lithuanians. He met and married a Lithuanian woman there, and lived there the rest of his life. My mum was born to his son, which makes me a quarter Lithuanian.

Flash to present day: people in Utah celebrate the arrival of the Latter-day Saint (or Mormon) pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley like it's the Fourth of July--sometimes bigger than that. It is when the state was established and so it's a big deal. The LDS church world wide doesn't necessarily celebrate this day, though for many of them it does stand as a memorial of the struggles the first Latter-day Saints endured to practice their religion freely. In many other western states--such as California--it is celebrated by members of the church with large picnics, games, etc.

Since I am LDS, I will be partaking in this year's celebration in my ward. But we are not celebrating just the first LDS pioneers but pioneers around the world who are only now discovering the gospel and bringing it to their families, friends, and countrymen. The idea is this: a large picnic. The church will provide chicken and rice, and members will sign up to bring side dishes and desserts (and display items) from around the world. I thought about what I would bring for a while. You see, not only am I Lithuanian, but I'm also largely Scot-Irish, and have a healthy dose of English. Scot-Irish food was taken already, so that was out, but I don't really know much about Lithuanian food and have never been to Lithuania. Nor do I have anything from there. Same with Scotland and Ireland for that matter. So I thought about signing up for Russia--I studied the Russian language as my minor in college and though I've never been there, I have many friends from Russia, and have received authentic gifts and lessons in culture from them. Of course, I also thought of doing New England--O! Blessed homeland! How I miss thee!

Sorry, got a little carried away there.

Ultimately, I signed up for the Micronesian Islands--specifically Saipan (if that is specific when it comes to culture; not really I guess). I lived there for four years and my family is still there (I told you the decision was difficult), and obviously people are very curious.

Anyway, what this is all about is to tell you I've decided to dig into my roots a little--foodie style. I'm going to cook one traditional meal a week from now until September 11th from one of the countries of my origins. This will force me not only to look more into the culture but also double check where I'm from! So far this is the list I get to pick from:

Lithuania
Ireland
Scotland
Poland
England

I think I've got some French and German in there too, but I'm sure they're pretty tiny amounts, so I'll stick with these until I prove otherwise. So, if anyone's got any meal suggestions, send them my way!

Grilled Greek Tacos by Our Best Bites

I made these the other night for dinner and they were such a hit that I would be remiss in not sharing--WOW! They're good!  In fact, they were so popular with my family that now, 2 days later, my son has requested that we have them again soon. They're a little work intensive in the prep, but as easy to put together as...a taco!
Here's the link:  Grilled Greek Tacos by Our Best Bites and a photo to get you going!

Popovers

This is a wonderful, no-fail recipe.  I made them for Sunday morning and they turned out to be the best popovers I've ever eaten!

2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease 6 muffin tin cups well (I just spray them well with cooking spray).  In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs.  Add flour, milk, and salt and whisk just until smooth--do NOT overbeat.  Pour batter into muffin cups to fill.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Serve immediately.  Makes 5 or 6 large popovers.

Flautas

My man took the reigns again tonight for dinner. He is something of a connoisseur of all foods south of the border. So he offered to make flautas this week for dinner and I scheduled him for tonight! 

Mmmmmmm...flautas...

Anyway, they're pretty easy to make. Here's how it's done:

Ingredients:

corn tortillas (we use Guerrero) 

oil for frying

chicken

Directions:

1. In a deep fry pan, pour between 1/2 inch to an inch of oil. Turn the burner to medium and allow the oil to heat.

2. Meanwhile, Cook the chicken thoroughly and shred it. Or, if you prefer, shred it and then cook it. We're flexible.

3. Lay a little of the shredded chicken on a tortilla. Roll into a tube (we recommend sticking a toothpick through it to keep it that way, they tend to break easily) and put into the heated oil. Fry until lightly golden.

Enjoy topped with lettuce (or spinach if you forgot this is what you were having for dinner and didn't get any lettuce, but happily found it tasted alright), pevre, and sour cream. We had rice and black beans on the side. Delish! Thanks, hon!