Chicken and Dumplings

Moist, chicken and tender dumplings in a rich, savory broth. It's the perfect comfort food for a chilly spring night!

We were on vacation last week in beautiful, Colorado. I will share more of that later this week. We had fun and are back home and back to normal.

We've had a bit of a chilly week which made perfect weather for some comfort food. This chicken and dumpling recipe is one of my favorites. The soup is very rich and flavorful and is topped off with soft dumplings.

Just talking about it makes me hungry for the leftovers in the fridge...

The recipe is fairly simple and the soup can be prepped ahead of time. It can reheated when ready for the dumplings or kept warm in a low temperature oven. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat some vegetable oil over medium high heat and brown chicken skin side down for 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken over and brown for an additional 4-5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and remove skin. If needed, add olive oil to dutch oven (you may not need additional oil after browning the chicken) and saute onions and celery until softened. Stir in flour and cook an additional one minute. Whisk in water and broth until combined. Add in carrots, bay leaves, and chicken thighs. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken and allow to cool before shredding. Keep soup at a simmer until ready to assemble the dumplings. Return shredded chicken to pot and add salt and pepper as needed. Mix together the flour, baking powder, melted butter, salt and milk until combined. Scoop golf-ball sized dumplings and drop into simmering soup. Cover and cook until doubled in size. If making ahead of time, keep warm in a low temperature oven (195 degrees), covered, for up to two hours.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can  low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup milk, warmed

Directions

1. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown chicken skin side down 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken over and brown an additional 4-5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and remove skin. 

2. Add onions, celery and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Saute for 5 minutes until vegetables soften. Add flour and cook for one minute. Whisk in water and chicken broth. Add carrots, bay leaves and chicken to pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken registers 175 degrees. Remove chicken and allow to cool. While chicken cools, keep soup covered and simmering. Shred chicken and return to pot. Remove bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter and milk until combined. Do not over mix. Using two large soup spoons, scoop golf ball sized dumplings into soup. 9 dumplings in total. Cover and simmer for 15-18 minutes until dumplings have doubled in size.

Note: Do not mix dumplings ahead of time. If made too far ahead the dumplings will be dense.

Adapted from: Best Lost Suppers by Cook's Country 

Five on Friday

Hurray for Friday!

1.Today is the start to my week long vacation!

2. Last weekend we had a family dinner at my parents house. My mom was whipping up some biscuits and my niece, Lily had to help. If you follow me on instagram, you probably saw the pictures I posted. Hopefully she grows up loving to cook like her Grandma and Aunt!
 

3. The weather has been up and down lately. Last week we had some brutal cold along with a snowstorm. This week has been beautiful, we even made it in the 70s for a couple of days. I peeked at some of my garden pots and noticed that my chives are starting to come in! It makes me anxious to start my garden.

 

4. Speaking of the warmer weather, I am so happy that daylight savings time was this past Sunday. I am loving the fact that it's still light at 7 o'clock!

5. I accepted a new position at the bank I work for. I currently work as a teller and am moving to administrative assistant. I'm excited to start in two weeks.

Those are my top 5 moments of the week. I hope your week went well and that you have a fabulous weekend!

Baked Cheese Tortellini with Italian Sausage

Sweet Italian sausage and cheese tortellini baked in a creamy, tomato sauce. It's the perfect pasta dish for a date night at home!

Baked cheese tortellini is one of Mark's favorite dishes. He often orders a similar dish at a local Italian restaurant. Several months ago, he asked if I could make it at home so I experimented and came up with this recipe.


This baked tortellini sounds complicated but it really isn't. The dish combines a very, simple tomato sauce, delicious Italian sausage, tortellini and cheese.

Start by browning Italian sausage, add in onions and garlic and saute together. Add the tomatoes and spices to make a simple tomato sauce. Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes or until sauce has thickened and spices have bloomed. Once that is complete, remove from heat and stir in a little cream. I do not use a lot, just enough to make the sauce a little creamy. Stir in one package of cheese tortellini, making sure tortellini is evenly coated with sauce. Pour into a baking dish and top with fresh mozzarella. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese melted and bubbly.

Baked Cheese Tortellini with Italian Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1-14.5 ounce can or 1 3/4 cups of crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar, optional* 
• 1/3 cup heavy cream 
• 1-9 ounce package of cheese tortellini
• 3-4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

2. In a 12-inch skillet, heat olive olive oil over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and onions  and cook until sausage has browned and onions have softened. Add garlic and chili flakes and saute for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomato paste and saute for one minute. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil and sugar if using. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

3. Add tortellini to sauce and stir until tortellini is coated with sauce. Pour into a oven-safe baking dish and top with mozzarella. Cover with foil. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Top with freshly grate Parmesan cheese.

*When using canned tomatoes, they can taste acidic or harsh. I find that adding a little sugar helps soften the acidic flavor and bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes.

Yields: 4 servings

From: Tasteful Cuisine

Quick Tip Tuesday: Measuring Muffin Batter

I have found that an ice cream scoop is the perfect tool for measuring muffin batter. Most muffin and/or cupcake batters are filled 2/3 of the way full. Thus making the scoop the correct size for each muffin.

Simply scoop batter

And release into muffin tin

And there you have a perfectly measured muffin!

*Quick tip Tuesdays are a place to share my quick kitchen tips.  I occasionally come up with a good idea and think, "I should share that!"  Some tips you may be familiar with, but hopefully you'll learn something new!

Oatmeal Creme Pies

Homemade oatmeal cookies with a rich, creamy filling. These creme pies quickly become a new favorite in my house!

I came across this recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction and knew I had to try them right away. The oatmeal creme pie was one of my favorite Little Debbie snacks. Of course, I knew a homemade version would be even better!

I made very little changes to the recipe. My only major change was to the filling. The original called for all butter, which makes the filling rich and soft. I decided to use a combination of butter and shortening to add a little more structure. Either way is delicious, it just depends on your preference.

I did make my cookies slightly smaller than the original recipe. I measured each cookie by 2 tablespoonfuls. A little smaller so that I could have more cookies, but still the perfect size.

The oatmeal cookie is one of the best I've had. The addition of molasses and cloves add extra depth and richness. Dark brown sugar is used for maximum moisture and flavor. If you don't want to make creme filling, the cookies by themselves are fantastic.

Now I want another cookie...and they're all gone...


Oatmeal Creme Pies 

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon dark molasses
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats

Filling

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a stand or hand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and molasses and continue mixing; scraping down sides as needed.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and oats. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Scrape bowl with a rubber spatula to mix in any remaining flour/ingredients.

4. Form into round balls, two tablespoons in measurement. Drop onto cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes; until lightly browned around edges. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes then move to wire cooling rack. Cool Completely.

Filling:

1. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat softened butter and shortening on medium speed for one minute. Add the powdered sugar and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla, cream, and pinch of salt. Mix for 5 minutes until light and fluffy scraping down sides as needed. Add more cream if filling is too thick, one teaspoon at a time.

2. Spoon 1-1.5 tablespoons of filling on bottom side of half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.

Yields: 18-20 creme pies

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction