Weeknight Chicken and Dumplings

A friend recently posted some type of chicken and dumplings dish that looked yummy. I asked for the recipe, but as one was not forthcoming (ahem), I decided to try one I found online entitled 30-Minute Chicken and Dumplings. Hmm...too good to be true? Nope! True and truly good! Typically, I prefer my southern family’s rolled out/slider type of dumplings, but this style is faster and still very tasty. They are very much like the kind you get at Cracker Barrel. And of course, I made this dish in my magic pot!

IP 30-Minute Chicken and Dumplings
(Source: Adapted from The Slow-Roasted Italian)

5 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used boneless, skinless thighs)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 cups frozen peas and carrots (or mixed vegetables)

Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 cup milk

In the liner of the Instant Pot on saute mode, bring the chicken broth, butter, parsley, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, ground celery, basil, thyme and black pepper to a boil.
Meanwhile, cut chicken into one-3/4-inch pieces. Add to the pot and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Slowly pour the slurry into the IP, stirring constantly. Add frozen vegetables.

Meanwhile combine dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the dry ingredients and the butter with a fork. Gradually add the milk until just combined. Drop dumplings into the soup one tablespoon at a time. Reduce pot to low saute and cook until soup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about ten minutes.

My Favorite Go-To Pasta Dish

My garden has not been great this year: too much rain and too many pests. Still, it is the high holy season when my all efforts have come to fruition, and I am trying to use up everything I harvest in delicious and creative ways. So today, I made a seafood stir-fry fettuccine dish with onions, peppers, garlic, zucchini, sweet corn, spinach, and lots of fresh herbs. I've been making slightly different versions of this dish for nearly 30 years. It's quick, it's easy, it's good for you, and it's soooooooooooo YUMMY!

Seafood Stir-Fry Fettucine with Seasonal Vegetables and Fresh Herbs

1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 large onion, diced
1 hot pepper, seeded and diced (or use a sweet pepper for a mild dish)
1 small zucchini, cored and sliced*
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. surimi "krab" (thawed)
2 ears of corn, steamed, and cut from the cob**
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (your favorite blend)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 to 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup each fresh chives, parsley, and lemon basil, chopped
1 lb. fettucine, cooked until al dente, drained and pasta water reserved (or pasta of choice)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a 3 1/2 quart Dutch oven, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion, hot pepper, zucchini, and garlic and saute for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add the surimi and corn and cook for a few minutes until the seafood has softened. Season mixture with red wine vinegar, sugar, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Add the fresh herbs, the hot pasta, about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water, and the Parmesan, and fold everything together gently to combine.

*I had zucchini and leftover corn to use this time, but I often used sliced mushrooms in this dish.
**I happened to have leftover cooked corn on the cob, but of course, you can cut the kernels off of raw corn, and then cook the corn with the other veggies at the beginning of this recipe.

Pesto...PRESTO!

I planted four kinds of basil this year--lemon, dark opal, lettuce leaf, and spicy globe--and I currently have it coming out of my ears! Obviously, I love fresh basil as much or more as the next guy, but let's face it: It's powerful juju! However, I learned a secret many years to taming that punch from the basil when making pesto, and that's to use an equal part of fresh spinach in the mix. Then when you combine the finished pesto with pasta, add a little heavy cream to mellow it out even more. Tonight's pesto featured lemon basil from my garden, Romano cheese, and macadamia nuts, and I topped the pasta with balsamic-marinated and grilled chicken.

Here's the pesto I buzzed up in the food processor tonight then added to cooked spaghetti rigate along with a few tablespoons of heavy cream:

2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups lemon basil
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Romano (or Parmesan) cheese
1/2 cup macadamia nut pieces
1 head garlic, cloves peeled (or use only 4 cloves like a normal person)
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Product Recommendations!

Product Recommendation #1:
I recently watched Bobby Flay, very atypically, get beaten trying to make gnudi, which is a little like a ravioli filling without the pasta around it, or like very light gnocchi. This left me with a profound hankering for gnocchi, and I remembered that I had a package of sweet potato gnocchi from Trader Joe's in the freezer. So I sautéed them in brown butter, chopped onion, and slivers of fresh sage from my garden, and finished the dish with salt and pepper and shredded Parmesan. And honestly, it was one of the best things I've ever had! Put this product on your TJ's shopping list immediately! SO YUMMY!!

Product Recommendation #2:

Cyd was always the grill master--the only cooking I could get her to do most times. But a friend recently commented that I don't seem to grill out much, and that made me stop and think: True enough, I probably haven't grilled out since Cyd passed away. So by the hardest, I managed to fire up my rusty old grill that only lights up on one side, and cooked some jerk pork using Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning that I bought on Amazon. I used country-style pork ribs coated liberally with the seasoning and refrigerated overnight. I must say, I usually make my own jerk marinade, but this stuff was DELICIOUS, without all the cutting and chopping! But I'm sure glad I bought the MILD Walkerswood jerk rub. YIKES! 🔥🔥🔥