Chicken and Cornmeal Dumplings

I really struggle with whether or not to post recipes that flopped. Thoughts?


Kevin loves chicken and dumplings - particularly the Cracker Barrel variety. This is so strange to me, since he usually dislikes anything creamy. I have made a shortcut recipe in the past, but last night, I decided to create the dumplings from scratch, which is not anything tremendous, since they are essentially just dough balls.

Anyway, this particular recipe is basically a chicken soup, with dumplings instead of noodles or rice. I ended up using a different dumpling recipe, than the original recipe called for, because cornmeal dumplings sounded pretty awesome. Well, here's the thing - the chicken soup was delicious. We all loved it. The dumplings... Meh. Not so good. In fact, I ended up throwing alphabet pasta into the pot, in order to compensate for the fact that none of us were going to end up eating the dumplings. Basically, they ended up being gritty, bland, tough dough balls, that just tasted plain old strange. Oh well. The good news is, the actually soup recipe was great. It had a terrific flavor, without being overly salty, and the blend of veggies was perfect. I will definitely make this one again, and I might even consider adding matzah balls next time. As for the dumplings - I'm really not finished trying. Perhaps I should have followed the original recipe... Hmmmm. There must be a perfect dumpling out there somewhere.





Try the soup. Kevin gave it 4.5 Bowls! Don't try the dumplings. Kevin gave them a measly 2 Bowls. Add pasta instead!

Chicken and Dumplings


Yield: serves 6


Chicken:
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken thighs (about 12 ounces)
4 cups thinly sliced leek, rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1 1/2 cups baby carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped parsnip
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup frozen petite peas, thawed

Dumplings: THESE ARE NOT THE ONES I MADE! MY 2 BOWLER RECIPE IS BELOW!
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Dredge the chicken in flour mixture, and turn to coat; shake off excess flour. Add the chicken to the pot; cook 3 minutes on each side, or until well-browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add leeks to pot; cook over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Return chicken to pot, and stir in broth, carrots, parsnips, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Partially cover; reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken from pan. Pull the meat from bones; discard bones. Return the chicken to the pot, and stir in peas.

To prepare the dumplings, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt 3 times (this makes the dumplings very light). Combine the flour mixture, milk, and chives, and stir until moist.

Drop dough by 3 tablespoonfuls into a barely simmering chicken mixture. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 12 minutes, or until the dumplings are done (do not bring to a boil, or the dumplings will break up).

CALORIES 362 ; FAT 12g (sat 2g,mono 5g,poly 3g); CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 213mg; CARBOHYDRATE 47g; SODIUM 825mg; PROTEIN 18g; FIBER 5g; IRON 4mg

Health, MARCH 2003

Cornmeal-Herb Dumplings

The dough can be prepared, covered, and chilled about a half-hour ahead of time

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 4 dumplings)

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine water, olive oil, and eggs, and stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until well-blended. With moistened hands, shape the dough into 32 (1-inch) balls, and set aside.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a simmer in a large saucepan, and add half of dumplings. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until done (do not let boil). Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining dumplings

CALORIES 148 (23% from fat); FAT 3.7g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.6g); IRON 1.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 82mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24.3g; SODIUM 316mg; PROTEIN 4.5g; FIBER 2.1g

Cooking Light, MARCH 1996

Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew

We love soups and stews here, at Casa de Marji and Kevin. I haven't been cooking all that much lately, because Kevin has beenn working constantly, and it's difficult to cook and clean, when he isn't home for dinner. Yesterday, he has the afternoon off, so I decided to make something warm and toasty for us. This winter veggie stew is quite delicious. It involves a lot of chopping, but miraculously, it doesn't take all that long to prepare. We are not big fans of turnips here, so I just added more carrots, a green squash, and butternut squash to the mix. I'm sure that changed the flavor a little, but it was definitely to our liking! I was also able to use 2 ingredients that I rarely have a chance to break out. First of all, I used caraway seeds, which involved a mortar and pestle. I love being able to make use of my fun toys. Second, the recipe called for Harrissa, which I used in a lentil dal recipe a few months ago. It's a spicy, tangy, Moroccan condiment, that adds an excellent flavor to soups and stews. Anyway, this dish ended up being a really tasty, mellow blend of sweet (from the squash and honey), and a tangy, underlying spiciness from the harrissa. The cumin, caraway, and coriander made a really delicious, but subtle blend. We loved it - especially with the addition of whole wheat couscous. I will definitely be making this again. Hey, who knows? Maybe next time I'll go crazy and try the turnips... But probably not...

Maya wanted to use my "toy," so I gave her some allspice and coriander to crush. All night, she kept saying, "CRUSH! CRUSH!"

Toasted and crushed caraway seeds.


All aboard. One pot. Lots of veggies. Mmmmmm.

The finished product.


Bottom Line: Try this. It's the ultimate comfort food...
Kevin says: 4 OR 5 Bowls... So, 4.5!

Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew

Harissa is a fiery spice paste used in Moroccan cooking. Look for it at Middle Eastern markets. I got it at our local Co-op, in NH, but I think they probably sell it at Whole Foods. It's definitely worth buying!

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup squash mixture, 1/2 cup couscous, and 1 lemon wedge)


2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup (1/2-inch) slices leek (I found frozen, sliced leeks at Trader Joe's! Awesome find!)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 2/3 cups veggie stock (I used Penzey's Veg Soup Base)
2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
1 cup (1/2-inch) slices carrot
3/4 cup (1-inch) cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
1 tablespoon harissa
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound turnips, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges (about 2 medium) (I used a zucchini, and also added more carrots and butternut squash, instead)
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (Meh. I omitted this one.)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 1/3 cups uncooked couscous (Try the whole wheat variety. Get it cheap at TJ's, or in the bulk bins at Whole Foods!)
8 lemon wedges (Omitted)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and leek; sauté 5 minutes. Add coriander and next 4 ingredients (through garlic); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 3 cups Simple Vegetable Stock and the next 8 ingredients (through chickpeas); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in parsley and honey.

2. Remove 2/3 cup hot cooking liquid from squash mixture. Place cooking liquid and remaining 2/3 cup stock in a medium bowl. Stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges.

CALORIES 264 ; FAT 2.3g (sat 0.3g,mono 1g,poly 0.6g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 92mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.5g; SODIUM 425mg; PROTEIN 8.3g; FIBER 7.5g; IRON 2.4mg

**5 Points, in case you're counting!

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2009

Curried Beef Stew

I am sure you are so sick of seeing curried dishes on our blog. I'm sorry, but I guess I'm on a roll. We probably stink, and are sweating curry lately. This family adores Indian food, though, for many reasons, so I keep making more and more. You see, the ingredient lists for curried dishes always boast our favorites:

Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Beans (chickpeas, lentils)
Chicken/tofu/beef
Vegetables

The flavors are also quite outstanding in curried dishes. Rarely do you find that a recipe comes out bland. So, those are my reasons. Good enough? I haven't cooked with beef in a while , and we had a pound of stew meat in the freezer, so I whipped up the bad boy last night. The upside of the recipe, is that it is easy to make, my family loved it, and my kitchen smelled heavenly. The downside to this recipe, is that it cooked for a whopping 2 hours on the stove top. Yikes. Anyway, the big boss (Maya) loved this dish. After she took her first bite, she said, "Mommy! This is good beef!" Gotta love it. Kevin was also a big fan. The dish has a well rounded blend of spice curry and sweet, fruity flavors. Anyway, this is a nice way to use up your extra soup veggies that are wilting in the fridge - carrots, celery, mushrooms, green onions...




You should make this (when you have 2 hours to spare). Kevin gives it 4 bowls, plus a cup (so, is that 4.5 bowls?).

Curried Beef Stew

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Paste:
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Thai chile sauce
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
Stew:
Cooking spray
1 pound beef stew meat
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 (14 1/4-ounce) can low-salt beef broth
2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 1/2 cups (1-inch-thick) sliced carrot
1 cup (1-inch-thick) sliced celery
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup light coconut milk

To prepare paste, combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Spoon into a bowl.

To prepare stew, heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to low; add oil to pan. Add paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add curry, cinnamon, and bay leaf; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in beef, soy sauce, and broth. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.

Add sweet potato, carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; stir in coconut milk. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaf.


CALORIES 358 (30% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 4.4g,mono 4.4g,poly 1g); IRON 5mg; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 74mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g; SODIUM 556mg; PROTEIN 28.5g; FIBER 6.1g

Cooking Light, JULY 2002