I've said it on my Facebook more than once. Mostly because it's totally true.
I am married to the awesomest cook ever. I don't know where he got it from, honestly. Neither of his parents have ever cooked for me. He HAS worked in the food industry for over a decade, though, so I have a funny feeling that's where the majority of it comes from.
Anyway, I figured out a super awesome way to get completely original recipes, super easy and free, for my little blog here: follow Andy while he cooks!
So here's the first of his many recipes.
Easy Chicken 'n Dumpling Soup
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time varies (approx an hour)
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 chicken bullion cubs
1/2 chopped yellow onion
2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
2 - 4 celery stalks
10 baby carrots (or 2 - 3 regular carrots)
2 ears corn
1 tsp minced garlic
thyme
parsley (dried)
sage
cayenne pepper (optional)
salt
pepper
2 1/4 c. Bisquick
2/3 c. milk
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Directions:
1. Fill a large pot halfway with water and add bullion cubes and chicken breasts (trim fat off chicken breasts first). Bring to a boil over medium heat, adding the spices to taste. Andy and I love spicy food, and Adam Richman was doing the "Suicide Six Wing Challenge" on Man vs. Food and it looked amazing, so we decided to add a few shakes of cayenne pepper. We also added 4 shakes of thyme, 4 shakes of dried parsley, and a pinch of sage.
2. At the same time, saute chopped onion in olive oil, with the garlic and pepper to taste, for about 3 minutes (to keep onions crisp)
3. Once the water is boiling, turn heat down to medium. Add sauteed onions.
4. Chop the vegetables and add to the pot. This is where you can get creative. Carrots, onions, and celery are sort of the standard, but you can as many and whatever kind of veggies you want. The more veggies, the heartier and more stew-like your soup will be.
Carrots, chopped by my wonderful hubs.
Fresh corn cut off the cob
Broccoli florets. We cut off the stem things because, seriously...who wants them?
Headed for the compost pile!
(broccoli stems, leftover celery, coffee grounds)
5. After about 40 minutes, the chicken should be cooked. Pull the breasts out of the pot and check the insides; make sure the insides are white and the juice runs clear. Pull breasts into smaller pieces with a fork.
Pulling the meat apart instead of just chopping it gives the soup a homemade texture.
6. While the chicken sits for about ten minutes, mix the dumplings together; they're just Bisquick and milk. Andy LOVES parsley (I totally don't, but it's his recipe), so he chopped up a bunch of parsley (which ended up being 2 tbsp once it was all chopped) and mixed it all into the dumplings.
7. Add the chicken back into the pot and stir.
8. Add the dumpling dough into the pot by spoonfuls (or, in Andy's case, by hand).
Don't worry, his hands were nice and clean. I think.
9. Return water to a boil, but turn the burner back down to medium after 5 minutes.
10. Simmer (uncovered) around 20 minutes. This lets the soup thicken up; the water will boil off and the dumplings will make the broth richer.
Ta-da!
Mucho deliciousness. :)
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