Chicken & Dumplings

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 cups chicken broth
spices (See note)
3-4 potatoes
1 tbsp butter
2 cups baking mix (bisquick, I am lazy)
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water
frozen veggies

In a large pot over medium heat, simmer chicken in 6 cups broth until no longer pink. I had no chicken broth, so I used onion broth (I would normally add onion, but I had none of those either and been to the store twice today already, boo).








Remove chicken, cool and shred.














Hack up some potatoes and throw them in way before any other vegetables - they not only take longer to cook, but everyone loves a nice soft potato that's soaked up all the juices from a stew. Yummo.









I have a lot of spices, and the last time I made this it wasn't exactly bland, but not as spicy as I would have liked, so I added a bunch of spices just because I wanted some heat and flavor - jerk spice, cayenne, thyme, sage, oregano, allspice. I'm sure you can add whatever spices suit you when you're making it :)





Return shredded chicken to pot, add chopped potatoes and stir in butter. Cook until chicken reaches desired tenderness, 15 to 60 minutes. (I went with about 45 today)









In a bowl, stir together baking mix and milk until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Stir flour mixture into stew; bring stew to a rolling boil. Add vegetables - I would normally use celery and onion too, but like I said, I wasn't going to the store again today. I liked my little combo of carrots, peas and corn anyway.

Drop baking mix mixture by tablespoonfuls into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Then cover and cook 10 minutes more. (Sneak a spatula under the dumplings to prevent chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot - this is something I'm bad at.)









Voila! It was good, but in retrospect, I probably didn't need jerk and cayenne - very spicy this time around! But seriously, I'd rather have a little too much spice than too little, wouldn't you?

Asiago Hash Browns

1 (30 ounce) package hash browns
1 1/2 cups shredded asiago cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
paprika to taste
salt & pepper to taste





Preheat the oven to 350


I didn't have any hash browns, and I was too lazy to go to the store, so I used mashed up tater tots :)












In a medium casserole dish, mix the hash browns, Asiago cheese, onions, sour cream, heavy cream, butter, paprika and salt & pepper.










Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until hash browns are fully cooked and the top is lightly browned. In retrospect, I think I cooked it a bit long - I'd check after 45 and see...











The original recipe called for the spices to be added last, which I thought was silly because there's a crust on the top, so I put them in before baking, and also added green onion, because I figured it needed a little color.
This was my first time trying this recipe, but I had some asiago cheese in the fridge that had been there a while, and also an onion that needed to be eaten, so I figured, hey. I like all those things mixed together.




All in all, it was good, but it was missing... something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I will.

Pasta with Bacon, Onions and Peas

I actually got this recipe off the back of the Gemelli box, but I liked it and it's one of the few recipes I don't alter, barring a couple of little things...



You need
2 cups of pasta, I like gemelli because of the informative recipe, and it's fun swirly shape
1/2 cup of pancetta, I subbed bacon because I had some in the house, about 4 strips, plus I cut the fat off.
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas
1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, except I live in Canada and it's January, so the fresh herbs suck, so I subbed the freeze-dried kind. I use fresh in the summer and fall (parsley can be subbed too)
salt & pepper to taste

You can cook the pasta at the same time as the rest of the ingredients, they end up taking almost exactly the same time. But DON'T FORGET to turn the water on before you start cooking the rest of the stuff! I forget this all the time and it's really annoying to have to cook the noodles when the rest is done. Also, I use a fairly big pot because I can mix everything in it at the end.






While the water is on, chop the bacon and heat it up on medium-ish (think 6-7) for a couple of minutes. If you use pancetta, you'll probably have to put a little oil in the pan.











Then add onions and cook until they're soft



The water should be boiling around this time, so throw the pasta in









Add peas, pepper flakes and basil, sometimes I'll have to add a bit of water - no more than 1/4 cup, but judge for yourself whether you need it. Sometimes the bacon can be greasy, or you've added oil with pancetta, so it will be "saucy" or something similar. Cook this until the peas are tender, maybe 2-3 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste, I find you don't need very much salt because of the salted, cured meat already in there.




Drain pasta, mix together and voila! Easy peasy, and tasty














And it looks nice on a white plate :)



Dr. Meta told me there wasn't much nutritional value in this meal, but if you drink it with a glass of milk, you've got all your food groups. Plus, if you cook for one, like me, you'll have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Intro

I am joining the OG Housewives club, of which I am the best, being the only one who is a woman, and currently, a housewife.
Too bad, I just made some really good new recipes that I could have posted, most recently, chicken & dumplings, but it was good, I'll definitely be making it again. Maybe I'll start with my favorite fattening pasta that I can't make when the bf is home, because he hates onions. This really cramps my style.