What's for Dinner?

I didn't think to dump the stuff in the crock-pot today, so I'm making chicken & dumplings on the stove instead. Chicken & Southern Dumplings 1 whole chicken (about (3 lb.) or 4-5 chicken breasts 4 carrots 4 celery stalks 1 cut up onion (skin on) 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 1 tsp sage or poultry seasoning 2 bay leaves 1 gallon water 4 TBSP Butter 4 TBSP flour 2 TBSP white cooking wine *for the dumplings* 2 c flour 3 TBSP shortening 1 tsp salt 1/4 c water Put chicken, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 onion w/the skin and spices in the pot and pour the water over. Leave the skin on the onion because it will make the stock darker, and you're going to throw all these vegetables away anyway. Bring to a boil, and cook until chicken is white and cooked through. While it's cooking you can chop the other two carrots, two celery stalks, and half onion (throw the skin away off this piece). When the chicken is cooked, strain over a large bowl or pot, remove chicken and ...

I have Nannie's original recipe which uses canned chicken and mushroom soups, and cheese Whiz. I always make my cream-of-soup though, and I use velveeta instead of Cheese Whiz. So here's my actual recipe that I made today. I think it taste at least as good as the original, though it may take more time? If you're in a hurry, or don't enjoy cooking as much as I do, you can substitute canned soups for the sauce I tell you how to make. I will include additional instructions below for how I would handle it if I use my usual ingredients with canned instead of homemade soup. King Ranch Chicken 3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (or chicken pieces, or 1 whole chicken) cream soup (recipe below) 1/2 bar velveeta cheese 1 can rotel tomatoes 1 large onion chopped 2 TBSP butter 2 TBSP flour 3 c water or milk 1 small can diced green chiles 1/2 c cheddar cheese 1 pkg corn tortillas tortillas cheddar cheese to taste First I boil my raw chicken with carrots, celery, onions, salt...

I'm thinking I'll go ahead and try this brownie recipe from the Jr. League's cookbook. I haven't had a whole lot of luck with homemade brownie recipes. I mean, they're chocolate and I'll eat them. My boys will eat them, but remind me that they "don't taste like brownies". We'll see how it goes. Chewy Brownies 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 6 tablespoons baking cocoa 2 cups sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I left them out!) Directions: Combine the butter and baking cocoa in the top of a double broiler over simmering water (or use two different-sized pans if you don’t have a double broiler). Cook until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Remove the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the sugar and eggs quickly. Fold in the flour, vanilla and nuts. Pour into a buttered 8X8 inch or 9X9 inch baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes; do not overbake. Remove to a wire ...

It's not freezing here, but I am cold. And it's damp if not out right raining. The high today is 50-something, but I'm not optimistic I'll warm up. So here's what I'm doing for dinner tonight. It's technically "movie night" at our house. We've gone from pizza-movie night, to taco-movie night. Since D doesn't eat any real food anyway, I'm thinking B and I will not be upset that we're having this instead of traditional tacos. =) Crock-pot Green Enchilada Chili Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds chicken 1 1/2 cups Las Palmas green enchilada sauce (or a large can) 2 (14.5 oz) cans chopped or diced tomatoes 4 cups pinto or kidney beans (or mixture of both) 1 onion, diced (or 1 tablespoon dried, minced onion flakes) 1 TBSP garlic 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon cilantro 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder Directions: Pour enchilada sauce and canned tomatoes into the bottom of a 6 quart (or larger) crock-pot. Add beans, onion and spices. Stir to...

Found some frozen tilapia filets in my freezer, and I'm thinking we need to eat them. I was leaning toward parmesan fish, but hubby doesn't particularly care for parmesan at all. tilapia filets (I'm using 4 that were frozen) 2 cups rice (I used brown rice- I had to cook it ahead of time) chopped or sliced carrots broccoli florets cauliflower florets sliced onion (or those bags of mixed veggies in the freezer aisle at the grocery....) 1 tsp minced garlic 2 tsp olive oil Lousianne Cajun Seasoning (or whatever you like best) Inside a casserole dish place a 24" or so piece of aluminum foil. You might want to spray the foil, like with spray olive or canola oil, or pam or whatever you normally use). Put rice on the bottom inside the foil. Then place steamed mixed vegetables on top, and drizzle with olive oil and minced garlic. Next lay the fish filets down, and drizzle fish on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with cajun seasoning (or whatever spice you choose). C...

1 lb ground beef 1-2 cups elbow macaroni noodles 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes 1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce 1 small can mushrooms or 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms 1 small chopped onion crushed garlic if you have it 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper 1 cup cheddar cheese (or mozzarella, or whatever you have) Brown hamburger meat w/onions, salt, pepper and garlic until brown. Drain the fat off, add dry macaroni noodles and all the other ingredients. Put it in a casserole dish, cover and bake at 350° for 45 mins - 1 hr 15 mins (until it's hot and bubbly and the noodles are cooked/soft). I usually uncover it after about 30-40 mins and add more cheese to the top. =) I can't remember adding extra water, but several people have mentioned cooking the noodles first- but I'm certain I don't do that. I'm making it tonight and will see if I need to add a cup or 2 of water for the noodles to absorb....

It works so fabulously I'm tempted to ice everything in the house =). Here's the recipe I used to ice the sugar cookies made from the recipe below. The cookies are amazing by themselves- I'm so glad I went with that recipe. 1 cup confectioners' sugar 2 teaspoons milk 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon almond extract assorted food coloring In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, paint them with a brush, or I put mine in ziplock bags, cut the corner tip off, and "flooded" them. I had to use thinner icing for the bottom (white) layer to"flood" them. The icing gets hard and glossy, so you can stack them on top of each other and they don't mess up the design. I mixed a second batch to do th...