Recipe: The Easiest Chicken 'n' Dumplings Ever

Hi Friends, Studio Administrator Casey here! I am going to share with you the simplest recipe for chicken 'n' dumplings I have ever used! With the onset of cooler weather, my husband was craving soup. He loves my chicken 'n' dumplings but my tried-and-true recipe is very labor intensive and takes, on average, 8 hours. I make everything from scratch and it IS delicious, but this busy mommy needed a quicker alternative! The best part? This is a crock pot recipe so there is no actual cooking required on your part! ;)

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (I used 3 because mine were huge and there are only 3 of us)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 carton of chicken broth
Your favorite soup veggies (I used carrot "matchsticks" and mushrooms)
1 onion finely chopped
1 can of Junior Grands biscuits

Instructions:

1. Place chicken breasts in crock pot.
2. Cover with canned soup.
3. Pour in carton of chicken broth (if the liquid looks to low for soup you can either add more broth or cover with water...I used more broth.)
4. Put veggies and chopped onion on top.
5. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
6. Shred chicken. 
7. During the final thirty minutes, cut the biscuits into fourths and lightly coat in flour. Place them on top of the soup, replace the lid and watch them cook. (I had my toddler help me with this last step and it got him very excited to eat what he had "made." My picky eater ate an entire bowl full!

Here is the finished product for your reference:

Can't say enough good things about crock pot liners! 

And here it is before I devoured it:

Very hearty, very inexpensive and very easy to make. My favorite kind of recipe!

Recipe: Casey's 10 Minute Enchiladas

Today, Kindermusik mom Casey, is going to share her recipe for "10 Minute Enchiladas." You can email us your favorite recipe for inclusion on our site.

Hi, Friends! Today I am going to share my recipe for the world's quickest enchiladas. I timed myself, and these took a mere ten minutes to prepare! Since I have a toddler, I need my recipes to be delicious but easy.

The ingredients are:

• Fajita-size tortillas (I used 2 ten packs and saved the leftover tortillas in the freezer)
• 1 12-oz Jar of Cowboy Caviar (I like Trader Joe's but if you don't have a location nearby you could use any jar of dense, not watery salsa, like black bean, etc.)
• 4 cups of shredded cheese
• 2 Large cans of enchilada sauce 
• 4 shredded chicken breasts (Once a month I cook some chicken breasts in the crock pot and shred them up, then I freeze them for inclusion in other meals. Such a time saver!

No need to waste money on name brand tortillas!

Any salsa will do but the black beans and corn add depth!

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Dump the jar of Cowboy caviar and the chicken, into a bowl. Mix it up. 
3. Put a generous portion of the chicken mixture in a line across the tortilla. 
4. Roll the tortilla as tight as you can!
5. Place the rolled tortilla in your pan seam-side down. I used 2 8X8 pans and was able to comfortably fit 6 enchiladas in each pan. I cooked one for dinner and froze the other pan for a night when I don't have even ten minutes to spare. 
6. Pour one can of sauce over each pan. 
7. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Ladies, you need to be very religious with the cheese. Skimping on cheese when making enchiladas is a crime!
8. Bake for 45-60 minutes. 

Yes, those are food safety gloves-haha!

Be generous with the filling!

Almost there!

You can make this dish spicier with a medium or hot enchilada sauce!

Mmmmn, cheeeeeese!

Drown those bad boys in sauce!

The more cheese, the better!

Perfection!

Lemon Rolls

Recently I had some items in my pantry that I needed to use up so I turned to my friend The Internet. I found a recipe for some lemon rolls. They were so easy, they were literally prepared in less than 10 minutes, which is a necessity for a busy mom! Don't you love The Internet? So many creative people and ideas!

Ingredients:

1 Pop tube of crescent rolls (I used the "sheet" kind so I didn't have to pinch the seams shut - easy!)

1/4 cup of sugar 

1 block of Cream cheese

Lemon juice

Vanilla

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Milk

Instructions: 

• Unroll your crescent dough. Pinch the seams shut unless you're using the sheet. 
• Mix the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. You should know I just eyeballed the lemon juice and vanilla, as I wasn't about to unnecessarily dirty extra measuring utensils! (I'd say approximately 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of vanilla.)
• I smeared the mixture all over the dough and then rolled it into a log. 
• I then cut 8 "rolls" from the log and put them into a greased pan where I baked them for 23 minutes at 350 degrees. 
• For the glaze whisk powdered sugar, more lemon juice, and a teaspoon of milk together. You can add a little melted butter if you'd like but I didn't and they were just fine! Just pour the goodness over your rolls after you take them out!

Original recipe found here. 

Love & Grow Recipes: Valentine's Truffles

Looking for a creative but economical Valentine's Day treat? Have I got the recipe for you: pretzel truffles! These are super simple to make and will be gobbled up in a flash!

What you will need:

-1 Bag of Heart-shaped pretzels
-1 Bag of Hershey's Kisses (you can use whatever flavor you like; they even have pink raspberry!)
-1 Bag of Valentine's M&Ms

To make them:

-Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees
-Line pan with parchment paper
-Line pan with pretzels and top with one Hershey's kiss
-Bake 4-5 minutes or until soft and shiny. Chocolate should retain its shape
-Remove from oven and quickly press one M&M into the chocolate

These truffles are always a huge hit and I have been known to make them for different holidays using tree-shaped pretzels at Christmas, etc. You can also use a mini Rolo or peanut butter cup instead of a Hershey's kiss, use a flavored M&M, etc. So many easy possibilities!

Mrs. Jennifer's Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

With the arrival of Fall it is the perfect time for soups, breads and all-things PUMPKIN! Eating nutritiously is very important, but this bread is so good your kids won't realize it's healthy! The best part? It's gluten-free! Thank you for sharing, Mrs. Jennifer!

Adapted from Food.com. Recipe can be found here.

Photo courtesy of LoveMyRyley

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 cups gluten-free flour, blend (recipe below)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease a bread pan.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well after each one. Add Vanilla and pumpkin and mix until well-blended.
3. In a separate bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Do not over-mix.
4. Pour into prepared bread pan and bake one hour to one hour and ten minutes.
5. Gluten Free Flour Mix for Quick Bread: 1.5 cups white rice flour,1.5 cups sorghum flour, .5 cups tapioca starch, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp xanthan gum.

Pease Porridge

What do peas have to do with our Milk & Cookies class? Let me tell you! Next week we will be learning the "Pease and Porridge" song that has been sung for many generations, and is thought to be adapted from John Newbery's Mother Goose's Melody.

Since peas are so nutritious and delicious, I would like to share a recipe for "Pease and Porridge with you; this hearty meal will serve 8-12 people so it's perfect for sharing! As adapted from the New York Times:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound whole dried peas (split dried green peas may be substituted)
• 1/3 pound slab bacon, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 medium-size carrots, scraped and diced
• 2 medium-size onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 small white turnips, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, mint or summer savory, or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup light cream or half-and-half, optional
• Minced fresh mint or savory for garnish

PREPARATION

1.

Place peas in a bowl and cover with water to a depth of 2 inches above the peas. Set aside to steep six hours or overnight. Drain peas and place in a soup kettle.

2.

Add bacon, carrots, onions and turnips and stir to mix well. Cover with water to a depth of 1 inch above the mixture. Add sage.

3.

Place over medium-low heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat until soup is barely simmering, cover and simmer 2 to 3 hours or until peas lose their shape and start to become creamy. Add a little boiling water from time to time if necessary. You should have a thick soup, but not what we think of today as porridge.

4.

When soup is done, remove bacon chunks. Saute bacon in butter until brown on all sides.

5.

Add salt and pepper. Soup may be put through a sieve and cream may be added if desired to make it a bit richer.

6.

Serve garnished with the fried bacon chunks, sippets (triangles of thin crustless bread lightly fried in butter or bacon fat) and a little minced mint.

Image Courtesy: www.voluptuousvegetarian.blogspot.com