Monday, May 30, 2011

Back in the Kitchen Again

As you probably already know, if you know me or have read my blog, cooking is not my favorite activity. It's just not a gene I inherited from my mother who epitomized homemaking. Yet, I've done more cooking or food prep in the last couple of weeks than I have in a long time. I jokingly said on a Facebook post, "What the heck's wrong with me?!?" after a particularly productive day.


I froze just over 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters after buying them at a super bargain price, froze chicken broth created by my friend who was making chicken curry for us one night, froze ham broth from cooking my ham bone with a bag of frozen green beans, froze the beans for later use, then cooked pinto beans using some of the ham for seasoning and froze them, and so on. I made a great bean soup using a container of beans and a container of beef broth, baked a couple of leg quarters for my daughter and, finally last night, boiled another leg quarter with the intention of making creamed chicken today. 


Well, the creamed chicken didn't come to fruition. I just didn't feel like waiting for the crescent roll cups I'd planned to bake, so I decided to make some drop dumplings. I didn't have any baking mix, but I did have some "complete" pancake mix, so I used that. I added some parsley and some poultry seasoning to the dry mix and added water to make the dumplings. I had already pulled the meat off the leg quarter and added peas and corn that were leftover from our baked chicken dinner (normally, I'd use peas and carrots) to the broth I'd made last night to which I also added poultry seasoning, Adobo seasoning, salt, pepper, minced onions and celery. Since the broth was already at a rolling boil, I just dropped forkfuls of the batter (the same fork I mixed it with) into the broth. I meant to thicken the broth as well, but didn't think about it until after the dumplings were nearly cooked. So, I made a quick flour and water slurry and poured that in past the dumplings that I pushed to one side. Stirring to prevent lumps, I then added a lid to make sure the dumplings cooked completely through (I hate dumplings that are dry in the middle).


Although I think the combination of corn and peas made the broth a bit too sweet, it turned out pretty good. More like a thick soup than anything else, but good. The one leg quarter wasn't enough to make the creamed chicken I'd planned, but it was plenty to provide flavor and some meat for this dish. I had two helpings, so I obviously wasn't too disappointed.


4 comments:

  1. I love soup any time of year, even if it was an accidental soup.

    Joyce
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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  2. You're making me feel hot. I never make or want to eat soup except during the super cold months of the year. I tend to cook really light in the summer and a little heavier in the winter when you want warm food, or food that will stay with you longer. I can't imagine doing dumplings in the summer...too hot in the kitchen for that. Sounds like you've been busy.

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  3. I like soup all year round...thick hearty soups in the winter and light soups in the warmer months. Soup and a salad makes a great summer dinner, especially if I follow it up with a dish of fresh fruit.

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  4. I would have never thought to take it to that route, so you are clearly better at this cooking thing than I am. Looks delicious, despite you saying it was too sweet.

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