Cookiepants's Profile
Frugal meals
If you have some chicken bones with a tiny bit of chicken stuck on them, some flour and milk, you can make something really filling and totally delicious and feed at least four people. I once made it for two when we were totally broke and had one lonely chicken drumstick at the back of the freezer!
I was sceptical when I read this recipe and trust me when its finished cooking it looks like greyish glue and it is a bit time consuming.....but it is sooooo delicious and filling and so cheap to make!
Im not sure how it freezes but I sincerely would not recommend it. So either you quarter the recipe or have this when you invite friends over for dinner.
I did not serve with mashed potatoes as the dumplings and "gravy" were filling enough.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS NO PEEKING ON THE DUMPLINGS! SERIOUSLY!!!!
I hope you enjoy! This recipe blew my mind. My family loves it!
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/chickendumplings.htm
Chicken and Dumplings
For the Chicken:
•3 pounds of chicken pieces (leg quarters are fine)
•2 quarts of tap water (8 cups)
•2 tablespoons chicken bouillon or 6 chicken bouillon cubes
•1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Dumplings:
•1/4 cup vegetable oil
•1 cup milk
•2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon each salt & sugar
Chicken and Dumplings is just about the most delicious creation to ever come out of the deep South. Pure comfort food, of the highest order. There are as many ways to make it as there are cooks who specialize in it. After much trial and error, I have discovered the key to making good Chicken and Dumplings. It must be started the day before. This give the broth a chance to cool down so you can lift the fat off of it. The fat in the broth makes for an indigestible mess.
So start the day before. Get out a very large pot, 5 quarts or bigger. Put the chicken into the pot and pour the water over it. The chicken should be covered with water, if it isn't add more, until it is. If you use chicken leg quarters, use about 4 of them to make three pounds. Now bring the chicken to a boil on the back of the stove. Put a lid on the pot, or a pizza pan, and reduce the heat to medium-low. It should still simmer, but sort of slow and easy like, the same way the sun sets on a hot summer day in the south, not energetically, but sort of lazy like instead. Now let the chicken simmer like that for a full two hours. Longer if the chicken was partially frozen when you put it in. You want the meat to fall off the bone. When the chicken is good and tender, remove it from the broth. Try to make sure there are no sneaky bones which have worked there way to the bottom of the broth. If you find any, just fish them out. I do this with a slotted spoon, and a fork. The chicken is hot, so be very careful not to burn yourself. Collect your chicken in a dish or bowl and let it cool down. Let the broth cool down too. Then put the whole pot of broth into the fridge overnight.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the skin, or give it to a grateful pet lurking nearby. Toss the bones away. Put the chicken in a bread bag or quart size canning jar and keep it in the fridge until tomorrow.
The next day get the big pot out of the fridge and lift off the cake of fat which will be solidified on top. Toss it out. Now bring the broth to a boil on the stove over high heat, adding the chicken bouillon and pepper. When the broth is boiling, add the chicken meat from the fridge. Reduce the heat so that is barely simmers, in that lazy southern sunset way. Taste it carefully and add salt if you think it needs it, probably it doesn't, but make sure first.
While the broth is starting to cook on the stove prepare your dumplings. Get out a big bowl and mix up the oil and milk. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix it up to a stiff batter, like for drop biscuits. Set it aside until you need it.
When the broth and chicken are simmering slowly, it is time to drop in the dumplings. Take small rounded scoops of the dough with teaspoon and drop them into the simmering broth, on top of the boneless chicken. Keep dropping the dough blobs until you have scraped the bowl clean. Now put the lid, or a handy pizza pan over the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peak. Let the dumplings simmer covered for the full 20 minutes. The thing about dumplings is that they cook partly from the boiling broth and partly from the steam. The steam is what makes the fluffy, and the simmering broth is what cooks them all the way through. So just trust me and don't peak while the dumplings are cooking. When the time is up, serve the chicken and dumplings right away. The broth will have miraculously thickened into a rich gravy, the dumplings will be fluffy and the chicken will be a savory gift from the heavens (or the cook). I serve it in cereal bowl with instant mashed potatoes, green beans, and brownies. Orange juice is good with it too, he citrus flavor sort of feels good on your tongue in between bites of the chicken.
This recipe serves 8 folks pretty well.
It may seem like a lot of work when you read this recipe, but it really isn't. The first day, the hardest part is taking the bones out of the chicken, and that really only takes about 15 minutes, after the meat is cooled down. And the second day, the whole process takes about 30 minutes from when you start it to when you eat it. The other charm of this dish, is that if you have little else beside chicken leg quarters (often less than 50¢ a pound), flour and a little milk, you have a dish fit for royalty. This is one of the best recipes in my whole collection.
This lady also has a few meal plans to feed her family of eight? On a very limited budget. I think the website used to claim she fed her family of eight on forty dollars a week or something like that, but she probably grows her own veggies and has hens lol.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/menuplanning.htm
Is zucchini worth eating? ;-)
I am totally addicted to Zucchini fried in butter and topped with lots of Parm Chese on top. Blue cheese sounds wonderful! Ill have to try that.
Ideas to give a non-cooking person: Help!
One of the first things mom taught us how to cook was a baked potato. Because it is really hard to ruin one, they can cook at almost any temp and it is very hard to burn it! You can use the oven to cook or bake other things while the potatoes cook slowly. And you can make a whole meal out of a baked potato if you add some protein, beans or tuna or lunch meat and some cheese and salsa. Leftover baked potatoes make great breakfast potatoes if you can show the non-cooker how to make eggs.
Crockpot pot roast is another one I learned when I was about nine or ten. Add one pot roast, and one package of lipton soup mix. Add carrots and potatoes if you want a whole meal in there. Do not add water. Set on low for six hours and enjoy.
Justin Wilson and other lost cooking show classics...
I loved that show Wok with Yan when I was little! He had the best things written on his tee shirts!
Catfish: Totally Underappreciated?
I heard if catfish is not cleaned properly, it is very oily tasting. I think they are bottom feeders, maybe the one you ate was snacking on mud? I have never tried catfish because the whiskers freak me out.....
Heinz 57
Great for grilling steaks on the BBQ ( I think Dad uses a mix of worchestershire sauce, heinz 57, regular bbq and steak spice and he makes the best steaks ever!) Use as a marinade, nice on chicken and add to those crappy frozen hamburgers that were on sale but dont taste like real meat! Also good added to meatloaf before cooking and as a condiment whenever you dont like the taste of the meat!
Ensure (C) Butter Pecan Meal Replacement
Oh I tried it in corn flakes with sliced banana this morning. Delicious.
Ensure (C) Butter Pecan Meal Replacement
Ensure is also good mixed with a frosty from Wendy's, mixed in coffee, mixed with milk and of course poured on ice cream.
Ensure (C) Butter Pecan Meal Replacement
It tastes like melted ice cream! I'm in love with it!
It is also lactose and gluten free.
I don't like rice
You can eat potato chips anytime. My grandparents are from Prince Edward Island, so perhaps this is why I grew up eating potatoes often and rice only once in a while and perhaps this is why I think rice is disgusting, maggoty and boring.
Where to get white anchovies
For sure I will look for them! I am an equal oppourtunity chowhound.
I Confess: I Ate At Quizno's
The one I worked at didn't and the customers seemed to have a problem with it. The owner raved about the fact that Quizno's subs taste so good because there is a recipe that works and if you dont show the toppings people are more likely to stick to the recipe. That way the company probably saves money and the owner claims the subs taste different instead of piling on the same thing on every sub. Corporate propoganda. Some people like to see if theirs hair in the olives and stuff.
Best Hangover Cure?
My brother says really really burned toast, the black stuff works the same in your system as a the charcoal they would give you at the hospital for a overdose? And a banana to replace the potassium. Or a Prairie Oyster:
* 1 whole egg
* 1 1/2 ounces brandy
* Dash Worcestershire sauce
* Salt to taste
* egg yolk
* .more alcohol as necessary
Cooking with urine
I have heard of urine used as a mouthwash in ancient rome and also today on many home remedy websites it is suggested to drink your own urine to help cure toothache. I would rather have the toothache then the pee breath I think? I also heard of jewish prisoners during the holocaust drinking their own urine instead of the poisoned tea.
Is it safe to eat raw rapini (broccoli raab)?
There are a few things you shouldn't juice raw but I don't think rapini is one of them. I think one of them is beet greens because they are toxic raw? And apple seeds because of the cyanide.
What foods do you find disgusting?
Tiny baby purple squid, squids that u poke a spoon in the head of it and juice comes out of its and u eat the guts on the rice, balut, mussels, raw oyster, caviar, bugs, headcheese, tripe, and the limberger cheese. Oh and cubes of blood floating in water, with a big scab on top of the container. Pig snouts, chitterlings, goat head soup, giant snails, chicken foot soup.
Whats for Breakfast?
I had a can of garlic and hot pepper flavored tuna, a handful of almonds, some leftover bacon, jerk chicken and a can of chef boyardee's four cheese ravioli in meat sauce! Also a hotchocolate mixed with coffee and a large glass of water!
What did you have for breakfast? Cookiepants needs to know!
I Confess: I Ate At Quizno's
The best thing to order at Quizno's is a large Prime Rib with A LOT and i mean A LOT of Philly cheese steak sauce. I hate that Quiznos wont let you see their toppings like they have something to hide! Whats the big deal I want to see if your olives are fresh. But yeah next time you are at Quizno's give the PR with philly chese steak sauce a try.
Eating Potatoes Raw
I use raw potato in my juicer, but I am not sure the nutritional benefit of adding potato juice. I just throw it in there along with whatever other vegetables I have on hand. I figure it wont hurt, and the ginger I add to my juice mix is so powerful I would not be able to say what fresh potato juice tastes like!
Bacon fat uses?
I like bacon fat on toast sometimes, with or without bacon. Also good on spinach salad with hardboiled eggs and some apple cider vinegar. My finicky chihuahua likes a little added to his dry kibble sometimes, a little animal fat will make his coat nice and shiney after a long dry winter!
Strange Pairings that Taste Uncommonly Good
a mayonnaise and potato chip sandwich on white bread is really delicious
"Breakfast" around the world
I like to go to a carribean grocery and get bulla cakes and have those for breakfast, or spice bun and water cracker spread with sweetened condensed milk, fried plantain and pancakes from a mix and peppermint tea. Im not sure if this is a traditional carribean breakfast but it sure tastes great!
Everything is Better Topped with an Egg
It definitely was Uruguayan....so that must be it! Thanks so much Sunnidae! Now Ill just have to figure out the name of the restaurant....
Favorite recipes for corned beef?
My friend who is Jamaican made this for me once and it was delicious. He grew up in extreme poverty and a can of corned beef sent from Canadian relatives was like a pot of gold to them. They really made it last by adding only a spoonful of meat per person.
He made a big pot of rice and then chopped some tomatoes and green onions and sauted in oil. Add a spoonful of canned corned beef to the tomatoes and onion until warmed and you have a frugal meal for pennies a serving. Mix the meat mixture with the rice and it will turn a pretty pink colour. Top with scotch bonnet sauce.
Left over baked beans
Bake Potato
Fill with beans and bacon if you have it
Top with handfuls of shredded cheddar
Put under broiler
Add sour cream and salsa
Alternatively, leftover baked beans are a huge hit with my chihuahua. :D
Everything is Better Topped with an Egg
There is a latin restaurant in Toronto, I cant remember the name of the dish or the restaurant unfortunately but it goes something like this:
French Fries on a huge platter,
Breaded veal on top
Slice of Ham
Bacon
Cheese
Sliced tomatoes
Heart of Palm
Ketchup mixed with Mayo to make a pink sauce
Coleslaw
Lettuce
Other stuff?
And of course, a greasy fried egg on top. I wasnt able to finish my plate. Its like a real mess on a plate. If anyone knows what this dish is called or specific nationality of it I would really appreciate it!
Too Much Potato Pancake Batter! Help Please!
Hi Spring, its in the oven and i didnt bread it because i was too lazy!
Youre right this is going to be great the way it is!
House smells delicious and thanks for your help.
Ps I put a lot of ham and cheese in it and Im looking forward to dinner with a glass of red wine....mmmm!
Ok this thing is delicious! Spring you are a culinary genius! There is a great crispy crust on this thing, like a giant pancake! The zuchini really adds something and the cheese is nice and brown just the way I like it!
favourite ways to use up salsa
I agree about the baked potato. With some tuna and salsa and some cheese it makes a good snack.
Too Much Potato Pancake Batter! Help Please!
Springhaze thank you that is a great idea! The batter is still sitting in the fridge. I can make some breadcrumbs, and that takes care of dinner tonight, definitely add lots more chese. I Love the idea of layering the zuchini, maybe if I have time I will bread the zuchini and fry it first with some more egg and breadcrumbs.
Is it still ok to eat the batter?
Next time I wont be adding the eggs to the batter so I make it last longer! Thanks!
