Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

Okay, so chicken and dumplings are one of my all-time-favorite meals, especially with a big glass of super-sweet tea! This recipe is to die for and I’m already looking forward to my next time making it! The only downside is that they are soo messy to make… but totally worth it!

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

4 chicken breasts

6 c. chicken broth

1 large onion, chopped

3 c. flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

4 ½ Tbs. butter, softened

1 c. milk 

1. For the dumplings, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and mix until it begins to form little balls in the flour mixture. Add milk slowly. Stir until a ball of dough just begins to form but be careful not to over-mix!

2. Roll out dough onto a well-floured surface about ¼” thick. Cut the dough into thin strips like shown in the picture below. Let the dough sit for 30 minutes to harden.

3. Meanwhile, pour chicken broth into a large stock pot. Add chicken and onion and bring to a gentle boil. After the chicken is cooked all the way through, remove the chicken (don’t dump out the broth!), shred, and set aside.

4. After the dumplings have hardened, bring broth to a simmer and slowly add the dumplings. Cover the dumplings and simmer about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes are up, reduce the heat and add the chicken. Let cook for about 30 minutes until the dumplings are fluffy and tender.

Cake Batter Cookies

These cookies are amazing… especially because I went on a cake-batter-shopping-spree at the Commissary last week because they were all on super sale :P These cookies are gooey and delicious!!

Cake Batter Cookies

1 box yellow butter cake mix

½ c. butter, melted

½ tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients.

3. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.

4. Cook for about 10 minutes or until fluffy and the bottoms begin to get toasty brown. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Oven Roasted Potatoes

4 large potatoes

1/8 c. olive oil

1 Tbs. minced garlic

½ tsp. thyme

½ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. marjoram

½ tsp. parsley

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. salt  

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut the potatoes however you like them—I normally cube mine but decided to slice them into wedges today J Super delicious! Coat the potatoes with olive oil.

3. Combine all of the seasonings in a small bowl and evenly coat the potatoes.

4. Spread potatoes in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes!

Outback's Honey Mustard

Okay, so something amazing happened this week…  I found the PERFECT copy cat recipe for Outback’s honey mustard!! :D I got a little teary-eyed when I tasted it for the first time. It has been so long!! Anyways, I took this from Copy Kat Recipes but wanted to share J

Outback’s Honey Mustard

1 ½ c. mayonnaise (I used light and it still tasted amazing!)

¼ c. Grey Poupon Mustard (don’t substitute!)

½ c. honey (sometimes I add a little more)

1. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for an hour before serving.

2. Eat with EVERYTHING! :D

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This week I finally broke down and made macaroni and cheese for my husband. This recipe had him doing back flips in the kitchen! He even stayed around to help me clean up—by licking the bowl :P

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 c. elbow macaroni

1/2 c. butter, separated

2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. mustard powder

1 tsp. ground pepper

2. c milk

8 oz. cheddar cheese

8 oz. Velveeta

1 sleeve of crackers

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring macaroni to a boil in salted water until almost done and drain.

2. In a medium saucepan melt ¼ c. of butter. Blend in flour, mustard, and pepper. Whisk in milk, being sure to get out all of the lumps. Stir in both of the cheeses, stirring constantly. Stir macaroni into cheese mixture.

3. Transfer to a greased baking dish (I used a 2 qt and then a 9” pie dish, which turned out very pretty!).

4. For the topping, crush up the sleeve of crackers and coat with remaining butter, melted. Spread on top of macaroni. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, allowing the crackers to get toasty brown.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Hi, again! Today I needed a recipe that would allow me to work on my midterm exam as much as possible and be comforting and filling for this cold, snowy evening. Let me just say… I love my crock pot J So, I researched the best way to go about cooking pork tenderloin in the slow cooker and, of course, how to make a creamy, thick gravy to top it off. Well, I found it! Tonight’s dinner was to die for. It was one of those meals that had my husband making the “oh man’s” again every time he ate a bite. I think my favorite part of this meal was the gravy. It was so delicious I totally could have just scooped it up by itself! Anyways, here is the recipe to tonight’s fantastic dinner!

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin (I used 2)

1 c. water

3 russet potatoes

3 large carrots

1 onion

3-6 garlic cloves

3-4 Tbs. flour

Salt and pepper

1. Brown your tenderloin over high heat to get a nice, brown outer layer (I was in too big of a hurry so I didn’t get a chance to tonight). Place tenderloin in the bottom your crock pot on low.

2. Leave your stove on high and pour the water in the pan. Stir everything around and after everything is good and mixed, pour it into the crock pot with the tenderloin.

3. Chop your potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions into large chunks so they won’t cook into nothing-ness by the time the 6 hours are up J.

4. Tuck the onion and garlic around the tenderloin and add in the potatoes and carrots. Add enough water to almost cover everything. Shake some salt and pepper in with everything.

5. After 3 or 4 hours, pull the meat on top of the vegetables so they can get in the water and get nice and tender. 

6. When the meat is finished (140 degrees is perfect for us!), set the veggies and tenderloin aside and pour the remaining water into a small saucepan. It is time to make some delicious gravy! Add a few tablespoons of flour to the pan and whisk to get the clumps out. Bring the pan to a boil and reduce the heat, stirring until it reaches the desired thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over meat and serve! Yum J

Grilled Chicken Flatbread

Who says there aren’t Olive Gardens in Germany? Tonight I found a recipe from CopyKat Recipes for Olive Garden’s grilled chicken flatbread J Even with my super-sale 30 cent alfredo sauce, these things were amazing!! So good, in fact, I want to share them with you J

Olive Garden’s Grilled Chicken Flatbread

1 pack of flatbread

2 chicken breasts

1 jar alfredo sauce

1 can roasted red peppers, sliced

2 cups mozzarella cheese

2 Tbs. chopped basil

1-2 Tbs. olive oil

Onion powder, to taste

Garlic powder, to taste

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat and add chicken breasts. Season with garlic and onion powder as they cook. When chicken is finished, slice into thin slices.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken slices on top of the flat bread and then cover with alfredo sauce. Top with sliced peppers, mozzarella cheese, and basil.

3. Cook in oven for about 10 minutes. I put my oven on broil so my flatbread would be a little crispier. Enjoy! J