Recipe ~ Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe is my oldest son's most favorite recipe that I make. Nothing tops this one for him! 

You can make this recipe with either frozen or fresh vegetables. I used to make it with fresh vegetables but I've recently discovered that if I use frozen, it's more cost effective for me because I don't waste any of the vegetables. 

This is a two step process.  The first step is to cook the chicken and the vegetables in the liquids on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours in the crockpot. Then, you will transfer what is in the crock into a large pot in order to cook the dumplings on the stove. 

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

1 large chicken breast or 2 small to medium sized ones

2 tbsp butter

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, finely diced (or about 1 cup frozen, chopped onion)

1 cup celery, diced (or 1 cup frozen celery)

1 cup carrots, sliced (or 1 cup frozen carrots)

chicken bullion seasoning or cube to taste

salt & pepper to taste

Add all the above ingredients into your crockpot. Stir it up then cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. 

When time has elapsed, shred chicken (it will fall apart because it will be so tender) and transfer the crockpot ingredients into a large pot on the stove and bring to a boil. 

For the Dumplings: 

Make a batch of Bisquick (or your favorite brand) of biscuit dough, as per directions on the box. I put about 1/2 cup of the flour mix into a small bowl in order to keep my fingers dusted then I pinch off small bite sized portions of dough and form into a ball. Drop into the boiling liquid. Keep the dumplings stirred during this process. Repeat until all the Bisquick is used up. As soon as you have formed all the dough into balls, you can turn the heat off. Let cool for for 10 or so minutes as the chicken and dumplings will be very hot! Enjoy! Let me know how you like it. 

Shepherd's Pie Recipe ~ One of my family's favorites!

Shepherd's Pie rates in my family's top two recipes that I make. There are no leftovers, usually! I have been making Shepherd's Pie for the last couple of years and have modified the original recipe I got from a friend several times. The current recipe is just as good as the first was! I just tend to change a recipe over time. 

Shepherd's Pie is a UK/Irish recipe, dating back to 1791. It is sometimes known as Cottage Pie. In early cook books, it was made with both a potato crust on bottom and top. Today's version just uses a potato topping. Some recipes use a tomato base instead of a gravy base. You are more than welcome to use a can of diced tomatoes instead of the packet of gravy if you prefer a tomato base. 

Although there are several variations, including the use of boxed potatoes and prepared refrigerated potatoes, I'd rather take the extra time to make homemade mashed potatoes because I think they taste so much better! This is the recipe for my version of Shepherd's Pie:

• 4 medium to large Russet potatoes
• Ingredients to season mashed potatoes to taste (butter, milk, salt, pepper)
• 1 pound of ground beef
• Hamburger Seasoning to taste like McCormick or Weber's Hamburger Seasoning
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• Parsley to taste (about 1 tbsp)
• Ground Cumin to taste (about 1 tsp)
• 1 package of frozen Birds Eye Ready Recipe Mirepoix mix that has Onion, Carrots, & Celery
• 1 package of brown gravy mix
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese of your choice ~ optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cube potatoes then wash properly and boil in salted water for 20 minutes until done. Meanwhile, brown beef in a large pot. Add dry seasonings as the beef is almost done. Drain the fat and remove browned beef from the pot. Mix up the gravy in the large pot, according to directions on the gravy packet. When it's done, return the seasoned meat to the pot and add in the frozen vegetables. Stir well and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. As the potatoes are done, prepare them as you would normally prepare mashed potatoes. Transfer the meat/vegetable mixture to a medium sized casserole dish and spread the mixture out in an even layer. Lastly, top the mixture with the prepared mashed potatoes. One option is to go ahead and add the shredded cheese on top so that the cheese is baked into the potatoes in the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes. 

This is the finished product! Yumm!

 

I added a cheddar cheese blend to mine for an added yumminess factor! 

New Orleans Jambalaya made with Johnsonville Andoullie Sausage

As a BzzAgent, I get free product coupons which I redeem for free products. In turn, I have to use the product and report back to BzzAgent about what I like or dislike about the product. I also am supposed to tell friends about the product and try to encourage my friends to purchase the product as well. Well, tonight, I wasn't sure what to make for dinner and I remembered I still needed to use my Johnsonville Andoullie Sausage so I looked at it and saw that there were three delicious looking recipes on the package. I chose to make the New Orleans Jambalaya because I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. It turned out delicious and both of my boys liked it. SCORE!  

This sausage sells at Kroger for $3.97 and with this $1.00 off coupon, it's only $2.97. That's a great price for sausage!

Here's the recipe. I only substituted a few things. I usually always do that with a recipe, anyway! 

New Orleans Jambalaya

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced (I didn't have any so I used some garlic powder)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package (13.5 ounces) Johnsonville Andoullie Sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices (I cut mine thinner)

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes (I used petite diced tomatoes)

1 cup water

3/4 cup long grain white rice (I used brown rice and had to increase cooking time to almost an hour)

In a dutch oven (large pot), saute onion, green pepper, and minced garlic in oil until tender. Add sausage, tomatoes, water, and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.

Option: On pound of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined may be added to Jambalaya during the last 6-8 minutes of cooking time. Cook until shrimp have turned pink.

6-8 servings. Ready in 40 minutes.

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