Winter Comfort - Chicken & Dumplings

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have been busy this morning planning out blog entries and my weekly meal schedule..I know, sounds like so much fun, right?

This is currently my "foodie" space. Ah..I need a bigger house!

 Yesterday,  I had in my head that I was making chicken & dumplings after seeing a photo online, so after running around like a chicken yesterday, I thought it would be the perfect comfort meal.  And after the making, and the tasting and the savoring, I can say with total honesty that everyone should make this.  If you are ever having a crap day, or its too cold outside to do anything, make this!  If you are a vegetarian, make this without the chicken, if you don't have any chicken, make it with pork!  Seriously, it is yummy!

For Chicken & Dumplings, you will need :
(Also, this should be enough for approx 4-5 people, or two extremely hungry men!)

Chicken & Broth :
2 chicken breasts (you can use 2-3 legs, or whatever you have kicking around)
6-7 cloves of garlic, cut in half
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs of thyme, use 1/2 tsp dry if you don't have fresh
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp salt


Throw everything in a pot, add enough water to cover the chicken.
Bring to a simmer, and simmer covered for 1 hour.
Skim any of the yucky stuff off the top during the cooking time.
After the hour is up, remove chicken to a plate and shred it, and strain out broth into a bowl or measuring cup and set both aside.

Dumpling dough :

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp chopped chives or green onion

1/3 cup milk (you might have to add a little more)

Mix dry together in a bowl.
Mix wet in another bowl.
Stir together, until just combined.
If too dry, add a little extra milk.
Its supposed to look lumpy, don't worry!
Keep this to the side.

The sauce & assembling :

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp flour
Approx 3 cups of your reserved stock, if you have less that's fine.
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup whipping cream
Pepper for taste
Extra chives for garnish

Heat medium pot or dutch oven to medium high heat.
Heat butter and oil.
Add carrots, celery and garlic and cook until a little softened, 5 minutes.
Add flour and stir around for 1-2 minutes. If there ends up being not enough fat left, add a little extra butter before adding the flour.
Add in your stock a little at a time, stirring as you go, it helps keep lumps from forming when you do this slowly.
Once all stock is added, add frozen peas and  let simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened a bit more. (Also, taste if needs more salt, at this point!)
Stir in your cream and add in the chicken.
Bring to a simmer again.
Now is the fun part!
Carefully add in dumpling dough. I used my hands because it just kept sticking to the spoon anyway.
Do not crowd them if you can help it.
Cover and let cook for 10 minutes. If they are still doughy in the middle after 10 minutes, cover and simmer for additional 5 minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle of pepper and chives.

I had a helper yesterday!

Sorry about the brightness, I took pictures in the dark, with flash, without flash and still ended up with crap photos!

I hope everyone enjoys this lovely meal.

I am cooking something a little bit foreign to me today, I am making okra! I will have a blog post of my okra recipe tomorrow, so come back to check that out.

Until next time,
Jacqueline

Veggie Soup For Your Soul

After a week or so of over-indulgence, I knew I needed to make a pot of simple, everyday vegetable soup.  Since it is pouring down rain here today anyway, I knew it would be a great idea to sip on something simple and soothing.

For one of our New Year's resolutions, Mark and I decided to do "Meatless Mondays".  It just makes a scheduled out day to cook meat free for me, so I can try out new meat-less recipes. Another resolution I am trying to do this year is trying to eliminate all processed food, and cook with seasonal, fresh ingredients.  Let me know what your resolutions are for this year.  Do any of them involve food?

For my thrown together saffron-infused veggie soup, you will need: 

olive oil
1 onion, sliced (you can chop, mince or whatever you prefer)
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, roughly cut up
small bowl of frozen peas (you can also add corn or any frozen veggie you have lying around)
1 small can all purpose tomato sauce or 2 tbsp tomato paste
3-4 cups water
salt and pepper
pinch of saffron***
1/2 tsp basil
2 handfuls soup noodles

*Make sure you have all your veggies cut up and ready to go before you start, just easier to throw it all in at once this way!*
Heat a tbsp or so olive oil in a pot.
Throw in the onion, celery and carrots.
Cook these for about 3-4 minutes
Add the garlic and stir around
Cook a few more minutes, add in peas
Add tomato sauce or tomato paste
Add water
Season with salt, pepper, saffron and basil
Bring to a simmer, add pasta and cook until pasta is cooked
You can serve this as is or with a little fresh parmesan grated over, or with little french bread toasts like I did.
***If you don't happen to have any saffron, just double the basil and add in a pinch of oregano! And if you do have saffron, no more than a pinch! You don't want soapy tasting soup!

I hope you enjoy this light, tasty soup. It is very much needed after the heavy food of the holidays!

Until next time,
Jacqueline

PS - Don't forget to vote for a recipe! There are only a few days left!

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a fun and safe night, last night!  I spent my night stressing over making my first hollandaise sauce and making Julia Child`s chocolate mousse.  Totally worth it, I must say!

I wanted to share some exciting news with you guys!  In a few weeks, I will be having a giveaway on my blog.  It will be to celebrate one whole year of blogging and over 3000 views. This is my way of thanking everyone who reads my blog.  I appreciate all of you so much!

I hope you enjoy your first day into the New Year! 

Until Next Time,

Jacqueline

P.S. - Please vote on a recipe you would like to see, on the poll on the side of the blog! I would really appreciate it!

My Christmas and My Foodie Gifts!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Mark and I did!  We spent Christmas at his parents house and boxing day at mine. Stupid me, I forgot my camera at the in-laws while at my mothers, so you will have to forgive me for not taking pictures of my mother's gorgeous meal.

I wanted to share with everyone what I got for Christmas, as far as "foodie" stuff goes! I am thankful for everything I got and I thank everyone for what they gave me, but this is a food blog, so foodie things will only be included.  I also bought myself a new toy I am super excited about that I will share.  I hope everyone enjoys!

The delicious Rappie pie Dianne made for Christmas dinner.

Sheila's Gorgeous wrapping!

The aftermath!

Sheila's cinnamon buns

My panini press from my sister, Gisele.

A mandoline from my Grand-mere, Marilyn

Mastering the Art from my Mom & The French Chef from Sheila & Keith

The Joy of Cooking from Sheila & Keith; How to be a Domestic Goddess from Mark

Balsamic vinegar, EVOO & red wine vinegar from Mark's momma, Dianne.

Little flexible knives from Dianne

From Dianne

Love these so much! Mini Paderno utensils Fr. Dianne!

Awesome cookie sheets, from my Aunt. 

 

Now for my toy!
Yes! I did it! I bought my Kitchenaid!
All I have to do is decided what the first thing I`ll use it for!

It also came with this extra paddle attachment with a spatula thing attached!

And I had to buy myself this book. I am having a Julia Child love affair lately! I`m sure you could already tell!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas!

Until next time,
Jacqueline

Cookie Time!

Okay, I know what you're thinking..more cookies.  It just feels to me that Christmas isn't Christmas without loads of cookies!  Last night I made a sugar cookie recipe I had been eying up in the new food network magazine and some kolache cookies, my "sister-in-law", Sheila makes every Christmas. I hope you guys enjoy these recipes as much as me. Especially the kolache, yum!

For kolache, you will need:

1 cup of butter, softened
1 package of cream cheese, softened
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
Apricot jam, raspberry jam or any of your favorite preserves

Cream sugar and cream cheese together until well blended.
Add yolks, one at a time.
Next add vanilla and icing sugar and blend until creamy.
Sift in the baking soda, salt and flour.
Mix well and form into a ball.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for two hours or overnight.
Once it has been chilled, roll it out about 3/4 of a cm thick.
Using a round cookie cutter or glass cut out as many rounds as you can. The dough is difficult to roll out perfectly again.
Place rounds on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Place a spoonful of jam in the middle. I pressed my fingers in the middle of the circle to create a small pocket before placing the jam.
Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. These cookies seem to cook fast, so make sure you keep an eye on them.
Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Sprinkle with some icing sugar if you like and enjoy!

For the best ever sugar cookies, you will need:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, mix flour and salt together.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars together for 4 to 6 minutes until super creamy.
Beat one yolk at a time until well blended.
Finally add vanilla.
Mix in the flour in two batches.
Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for an hour or two.
Once chilled, cut the ball in two pieces.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll out first piece to about 3/4 cm thick.
Cut into your favorite shapes and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake for 8-9 minutes, but to be safe I would check at 7, especially at batch 3 and 4.
Keep repeating the process until all your cookies are done.
***A few little tips for this recipe is to make sure that the dough is COLD and not to over work it. It is the most delicate dough I have ever used, so make sure when you cut out your cookies, you try not to leave much excess! It is a pain in the booty to re-roll this dough!

I also made cinnamon sugar-ed sugar cookies with this recipe, by just sprinkling some cinnamon and then some regular sugar over them before baking. They turned out really nice to!

Happy baking! I'll be back soon!

Until next time,
Jacqueline

P.S. Check out this mini buche de noel Mark bought at Sobeys yesterday! So cute!

Delicious Double Chocolate Candy Cane Bark

Today I decided to get back to my cooking mode.  However, I am not going to exhaust myself today.  A little kitchen pottering will do. 

Mark informed me this week that turkeys were on sale at the grocery store, so of course we picked one up and I figured I would make “proper” Sunday dinner for us this Sunday. (No freezer space to store it either!) And of course, I wanted to make my first brined turkey, but I have absolutely nothing big enough to do my brinning process in.  Regular turkey it is! It is so frustrating being a foodie without certain tools some days.  My hand mixer, which I bought for 9 dollars, is on the fritz, deciding it doesn’t like to mix pound cake batter.  Oh, thats life, isn’t it?  But I guess I shouldn’t complain about a 9 dollar hand mixer, should I?

Anyway!  Now onto the best part, here is my recipe for double chocolate candy cane bark.

For delicious double chocolate candy cane bark, you will need:

1 package semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (300g)
same amount of white chocolate
12-13 small or a few large candy canes, bashed into small pieces

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
On super low heat, melt the dark chocolate chips.
Once chocolate is melted and smooth, spread an even coat over the parchment paper.
Let cool 30 minutes in the fridge.
Once it Is time to remove the dark stuff from the fridge, start melting the white chocolate.
Spread the creamy, white chocolate over the dark chocolate and sprinkle with your candy cane bits.
Refrigerate for 1 hour or so.
Break into bark like chunks.
You can store this in baggies and store in the fridge until you need it, or put into tins to snack on.

I hope you all like this yummy treat!  It makes great gifts too! 

Here are some pictures of my turkey supper as well:

I hope everyone had a delicious supper too!

  Until next time, 

Jacqueline