Back to the Beginning with Chicken and Dumplings

I can't believe it was nine years ago this month that I joined the Yankee-Belle Cafe. Ruthy, aka The Yank, and Missy, aka The Belle, decided to add to the menu by offering up Tuesdays with the Texan. And that very first recipe I shared is still one of my favorites. 

Good old fashioned chicken and dumplings are one of my family's favorites when the weather turns cool. Comfort food to the max. My girls' great-grandmother taught me how to make them, which means I learned from the best. Many of Lois's recipes are forever woven into the fabric of my family.

The first thing we need to do is make our chicken stock, which will also provide us with the chicken half of our chicken and dumplings. So, in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add one chicken (or whatever type of chicken meat you might have on hand), two or three carrots cut into thirds, a couple stalks of celery, one onion, quartered, some salt and pepper. I like to skin my chicken so there isn't as much fat in the broth, but that's a personal preference.

Add three quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for a little while before removing chicken and vegetables. Strain broth, discarding solids.

Once the bird is cool enough to touch, remove the meat from the bone and chop into bite-size pieces. For the most part, the veggies don't make it into the soup, however I like to smash the carrots into tiny pieces and add those.

Return broth to Dutch oven, along with the chicken, and bring to boiling. 

While you're waiting for the broth to boil, prepare your dumplings.

Combine:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vegetable or canola oil 
• Approx. 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (if the mixture seems too sticky, add more flour in small amounts)

Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed a handful of times.

From here, it's up to your personal preference. Some like their dumplings big, others like them small. I like a bite of dumpling in every spoonful. My sons want as few dumplings as possible. Personally, I think that's just wrong, but they're brats.

You can roll out the dough and cut it into pieces. That's too much work for me so I flatten a portion of dough on a cutting board, slice into strips, then cut the dumplings into the boiling broth mixture with a scrapper or knife. Remember, you can add as many or as few as you like.

Once you've added your dumplings, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Then get ready for a bowlful of pleasure. 

Now, if you find making the dumplings intimidating, here's a secret shortcut Greatmom sometimes used--canned biscuits. Simply break or cut them into pieces and drop into the boiling broth. Easy-peasy.

A lot has changed in the last nine years. But one thing that will never change is our love of family and food. Good food that stirs fond memories and continues generation after generation.

What's family favorite dish that has been passed down through the generations at your house?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Southwest Chicken Soup AND a Book Birthday

Yes, I'm celebrating because the last book in my Rocky Mountain Heroes series releases today!

Learning to trust can be the greatest adventure.

She’s always played it safe…Can he reach her guarded heart?

Ready to open his camp for young cancer patients, Daniel Stephens must impress foundation overseer Blythe McDonald to ensure she approves funding for next year. But the cautious former cancer patient was once let down by a similar program, and she’ll leave no stone unturned in her evaluation. Can he convince her his camp is worthy of the money…and that he’s worthy of her love?

I love this story so much. When God first laid it on my heart, I didn't think I could write it. But you know how God is, He likes to get His way. The good news is that He always equips us. He graciously put people in my life just when I needed them.

But enough about that, because I'm on a deadline. It's also cool again, which means I can not only make soup, I can do it in the CrockPot. And when you're short on time, that's a win-win.

Another wonderful thing about this Southwest Chicken Soup is that it's low-fat. Score one for the old waistline!

Here's what you'll need:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 this time)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 
• 1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I used the petite diced)
• 1 - 10 oz can Ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilies (they have original, mild and spicier varieties; I use original, but it you want the flavor but not the spice, use the mild)
• 3 cups chicken broth (I prefer the low-sodium variety)
• 1 - 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1-2 cups frozen corn

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a CrockPot or slow cooker.

Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes, Ro-tel, chicken broth, black beans tomato paste, onion and bell pepper.

Stir, trying not to disturb the chicken.

Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours.

See, I told you it was easy. Now you have the rest of the day to write.

Approximately and hour to an hour and a half before cooking is done, stir in the frozen corn.

You could add it at the beginning, if you prefer, but I like a little crunch to my corn.

When cooking time is up, remove chicken breasts and shred the meat.

Return meat to slow cooker, stir and serve.

Yum! My tummy is happy.

Now it's time to chat. Has God ever given you a task you felt ill-equipped for? Did you throw up your hands or forge ahead, holding lightly to His hand?

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more a mindyobenhaus.com.

Soupy Pinto Beans with Ham

Missy Tippens

I don't know about y'all, but sometimes I crave something wholesome that reminds me of childhood. For me, it's pinto beans and cornbread, something my dad loved and made often. He always used canned beans (Luck's). But when I got a craving on Sunday, I had plenty of time and decided to use a bag of dried beans.

I used the method of boiling for two minutes, then taking the pot off the burner and letting the beans sit for an hour. Then I rinsed them and put in a Dutch oven.

I also added our leftover Christmas ham and ham bone (Honey Baked), onion and enough water to cover it all well. I like my beans soupy!

I let everything simmer for a couple of hours. Then I seasoned it with homemade seasoning salt.

The meal was exactly what I was craving! Filling and yummy and reminding me of home. And the pot of beans gave us several meals this week. We finished it off last night with grilled cheese sandwiches (another comfort food in my household).

I'm sure I'll want beans or bean soup again soon. I have a bag of dried navy beans just waiting. :)

P.S. Be sure to check out my newly re-designed website!

www.missytippens.com

Quick Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

Missy Tippens

Well, I don't have anything very new or exciting to share today, except some soup that I've probably made before. :) But I also thought I'd share these precious photos of my sweet grand dog. Poor baby yanked out another toenail while jumping out of the truck less than an hour after being at Grandma's house. I'm so thankful it didn't happen on my watch! But I feel so badly for the poor thing.

Here's the day it happened, after my kids took him to the vet.

And here's my sweet baby the next day. Doing better but still in pain and trying to get some sympathy from Grandma.

Oh, how I hope to have human grandkids someday too. :) And I don't think I'll have to worry about them yanking out toenails! Of course, I'm sure you grandmas worry about everything else. :)

Soooo, for today's soup. Our weather turned cool one day a few weeks ago (after having a 97 degree day in October!). And I went looking for things to put into soup.

I decided to use up the frozen field peas with snaps that had been in the freezer for probably a year. They may have had a little frostbite, but we couldn't taste it.

I also located canned corn, Rotel tomatoes and chilis, and canned diced, fire-roasted tomatoes.

I started by heating some oil in the pot and adding in some tomato paste to add richness. Then I sautéed the frozen veggies for a couple of minutes.

I went searching further in the freezer and found a bag of stir-fry vegetables to add. They had little noodles in them! So that ended up being a cool addition. They also had broccoli and carrots, and I think peppers and onions.

Once the vegetables had thawed, I added the canned veggies and a box of chicken broth.

After everything had simmered for a while, I added a can of pinto beans to increase the protein so the soup would stick to our ribs better.

It really turned out good! Next time you want a soup starter, look to see if you might have some frozen vegetable, especially a stir-fry mix. And enjoy a quick, easy, hearty soup.

By the way, the new edition of All God's Creatures for 2020 just came out!! I'm so thrilled to have 10 devotionals included. I got my author copies and have been reading ahead. I'm really enjoying the devotionals! You can check it out here.

www.missytippens.com