Cracker Barrell Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients

2 cups Flour
½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
2 quarts Chicken Broth
3 cups Cooked Chicken

Preparation

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.

Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.

Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.

Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings.

To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!

Cracker Barrell's Homemade Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredient:

2cups Flour
½teaspoons Baking Powder
1pinch Salt
2Tablespoons Butter
1cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
2quarts Chicken Broth
3cups Cooked Chicken

Directions:
                   
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender.  Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork  until the dough forms a ball.

To cook them, bring the broth to a boil.  Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them.  The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth.  Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting.  Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!

Cowboy Stew

Ingredients:

1st hamburger meat
2 cans Ranch Style beans with jalapeños
1 can water
Large onion, chopped
2 cans Milestone soup
1 can rote
2 hot links

Directions:

Brown hamburger meat and the drain. Chop the hot links and onions, brown.
Add all ingredients together in a pot and cook until hot.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
3 cloves, garlic minced
1 can (10oz) rotel tomatoes with green chilies
32 ounces chicken broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups hot water
2 cans (15oz) black beans, drained
3 tablespoons cornmeal
5 whole corn tortillas, cut into uniform strips about 2 to 3 inches

Garnishes:

Sour cream
Diced avocados
Diced red onions
Salsa
Pico De Gallo
Grated cheeses
Cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in rotel, chicken broth, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with small amount of water. Pour into soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed - add more chili powder if it needs more spice and be sure not to under salt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Serve in bowls with favorite garnishes.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2lbs cubed beef stew meat
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
4 cups water
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook beef in oil over medium heat until brown. Dissolve bouillon in water and then add parsley, thyme, and black pepper and then both cans of diced tomatoes. Once meat is done add the meat to the soup mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
2. Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours more.

Perfect Potato Soup

Ingredients:

6 slices thin bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 whole carrots, scrubbed, cleaned, and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 small potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Cajun spice mix
1 teaspoon fresh minced parsley
1 cup grated cheese of your choice

Directions:

Add bacon pieces to a soup pit over medium high heat and cook bacon until crisp and fast is tendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do NOT clean the pot.

Return pot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour until the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food processer** until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in the cream, then stir in the parsley, reserving a little for garnishment.

Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese, and crisp bacon pieces.

** This recipe states to BLEND the soup in a blender/food processer. I tried this and with me holding into the lid as I always do it blew the lid off and went all over me leaving some burns on my arm. My suggestion (what I ended up doing) is taking half the soup out and using a masher or hand mixer **

Homemade Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup any broth (I used beef)
1/2 cup milk
Mushrooms, chopped and sautéed (however much you desire)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat.

Stir in flour little at a time until smooth, then remove
From heat.

Add broth and milk a little at a time, stirring to keep mixture smooth. Then, stir in mushrooms.

Return to heat and bring sauce to a gentle boil; stir constantly until sauce thickens.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slow Cooker Fajita Stew

Complete - Along with warm flour tortillas

So I printed this recipe out a long time ago from a friend of mine and decided to make it for dinner tonight. It is at home, in the crock-pot cooking at this moment. I can't wait to try it tonight.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs boneless beef top round steak

1 onion, chopped

1 oz envelope dry fajita seasoning mix

14 oz can diced tomatoes, un-drained

1 red bell pepper (obviously I used a red and a yellow...sometimes I use a red and a green)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup water

 Directions:

1. Trim excess fat from beef and cut into 2" pieces. Combine with onion in slow cooker.

2. Mix together fajita seasoning and un-drained tomatoes. Pour over beef.

3. Place cut peppers on top.

4. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or until beef is tender.

5. Combine flour and water in a small bowl. Stir well to mix.

6. Gradually add to slow cooker.

7. Cover. Cook on high 15-20 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

My friend also added this tidbit of information - You can alter the recipe and add a can of corn, drained, and a can of beans, drained, usually kidney beans or red beans. I also use more than just the red pepper. I have put shrimp in this before too with the steak. Its really good served over hot rice, or in a bread bowl. We usually just heat up tortillas on the griddle and eat with it. If you like a little more spice, you can put diced up jalapenos in it too.

The meat & onions together in crockpot.
I also don't like to pay the extra for pre-cut meat like 
stew meat or fajita meat etc... I used some dinner steaks 
that I had in the freezer and just cut them into 
2 inch chunks myself.

This is the diced tomato and fajita seasoning mixture.
You mix it separate in a bowl and then add it to the meat/onion mixture.

The tomato/seasoning mixture has now been poured over the meat/onion mixture.

Added the colorful bell peppers!
Will post final picture from when I get home to this delicious meal tomorrow.

Forgotten Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups minute rice

1 pkg. onion soup mix

can of cream of chicken soup

can of cream of celery soup

water (1 can of water)

Directions:

1. Mix together “cream of” soups, 1 can of water, and 2 cups of minute rice (uncooked.)  Pour into a buttered casserole dish.

2. Lay chicken breasts on top of rice mixture and sprinkle onion soup mix on top. Cover with tin foil. Don’t forget that important step!

Here is where the name Forgotten Chicken comes in.  Once you have it in the casserole dish you can put it in the oven and forget it!  My mom would always put it in on a low temp. (around 250-275) before we left for church and when we got home three hours later it would be ready.  Or you can cook it at 350-375 (depending on your oven) for one to one and a half hours. It is hard to mess up so if you forget it is in there don’t worry, it is probably still okay!