Gotta Have Comfort Food - Chicken and Dumplings

My husband has been working so hard, that I have been trying very hard to make him some good, nourishing, stick to your ribs dinners. Comfort food. Mmmm. I decided to take a chance and make Chicken and Dumplings - the chance part because the last time I made them for him he really didn't like them. This is a big deal around here - because that man eats pretty much anything that isn't seafood and isn't extremely spicy. I think the dumpling failure was that the dumplings were the drop kind, and ended up being a bit like soggy bread. (I didn't like them either!) So I tried the roll out kind. It were awesome awesome awesome. (That's three awesomes - did you count them?) He isn't home for dinner yet - but I just know he's gonna love it.
I also assessed the cost of this recipe - $4 for a whole chicken, $.99 for celery (bought at a local market - probably found cheaper elsewhere), and $.35 for an onion. The dumpling ingredients were staples that are already on hand - maybe another $1-2 worth. So at most this meal cost $8 and it will feed our family of 5 at least twice. So, this also qualifies in my book as a frugal meal. I will likely link to this for a frugal recipe swap sometime in the near future.
Here is the recipe I used:

FAVORITE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Chicken Preparation:

1 4 lb broiler or roasting chicken

2 quarts water or chicken broth

1 onion, whole

1 bay leaf (optional)

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

pinch of black pepper

2-3 stalks celery, whole, plus leaves

Wash chicken, inside and out. Place in a large enough pot to cover with about 2 quarts of water or chicken broth. Add celery, a bay leaf (optional), parsley, pepper, onion and garlic. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat immediately to low; simmer for 60-90 minutes until chicken is very tender. Remove chicken from the broth and set on a dish to cool. Continue to simmer the broth over low heat while preparing the dumplings. When chicken becomes cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces, removing bones and skin. Set de-boned chicken aside.

Dumplings:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 tsp. vinegar in a cup of milk)

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a large fork (pastry makers mix in the shortening using their hands - if you want to try, dip your hands in ice cold water for a minute, then dry your hands first; it's important not to melt the butter!) Add cold buttermilk, a few spoons at a time, mixing the dough from the outside in with fork until a dough forms (do not overmix - about 2 minutes total). Roll dough out on a work surface which has been lightly sprinkled with with flour to prevent sticking. Roll dough out thinly, about 1/8" thick, then slice into strips, each about 2 inches in length. Gently drop the dumplings into the simmering chicken broth. Stir them gently to prevent sticking. Add chicken, pepper and butter and simmer for another 10 minutes or so before serving.

The Time Has Come, the blogger said, to Talk of Many Things, of Politics and Biases - of Liberty and Kings

I am on all kinds of yahoo groups. You know, the kind where people often say what they would never say to you face to face. Oh yeah, I am also on some that rock, and where I know I am among friends. Today on one of the less friendly groups that I stay plugged into because of geography, someone stepped on my toes BIGtime.
I think the anonymity of the cyber community can be a place of tremendous fellowship and support. Say if you live in a po-dunk-town in rural Texas somewhere, you can still find friends who share your convictions about education, marriage, politics, faith, etc. Other times you are affirmed in your assertion that some people should have an island.
In community with other Christians, lots of assumptions are made. Recently I have had people assume I am affiliated with a specific political party, endorse a specific candidate, or am passionate about specific issues. In what should be a vibrant, kaleidoscope community of faith, followers of Christ,we have allowed everything to fade to gray, (pardon the screen writing terminology - it is my current passion) and expect some sort of homogenized, Stepford believer to surface eventually from the seed of each new convert.
I spent a lot of years expecting all Christians to look the same, talk the same, be passionate about the same things. I spent a lot of time drawing lines in the sand separating the "us" from the "them". It took a lot of gentle care from the Father, removing the sand from my eyes one grain at a time to reveal the circle that God has always been trying to draw around all of us, if only we were willing to stay inside.
Don't make assumptions. Not just with politics, but in all areas of life. My thoughts do not threaten your thoughts, as yours do not threaten mine.
Assumptions are dangerous things.

Just for fun, can anybody tell me where the context of the title for this post comes from? Hint: think walrus!

Signature of Divine *Yahweh*

I LOVE this song - and this video could not be improved upon. I haven't heard a "Christian" song in a long time that got me like this one.

Doesn't it just make you want to sing.....Yahweh, Yahweh, great is Your glory..You go before me...

Movie and Popcorn

When Travis was laid off in November - one of the first things I did was cancel our Netflix membership - but since it is like a cult that you can never leave, we didn't actually cancel it - we just put our account on hold. Don't get me wrong, I like Netflix -but why do they get so insecure when you need a "relationship break" like a clingy boyfriend??? But now we have a new love - called Redbox. It isn't as awesome as Netflix (yep, I'll throw them some love) in that you can find anything you want to watch at Netflix, and you actually have to leave your house to pick up your flicks, but hey, if you're poor and you have a debit card - a $1 movie rental is right up your alley.
When I went grocery shopping this morning, I picked us up a movie to watch tonight. I think everybody will be happy - especially Kullen who has declared a moratorium on "love" movies. Check out this trailer for "The Invasion" - Travis would love it because it is all his favorite things - suspense, aliens and conspiracy!! (sadly, he probably won't be able to watch it with us!)

I think a big old batch of homemade microwave popcorn will be just the thing.

I Don't Know HOW He Does It

This morning, I woke up and saw that Travis was gone - again. After working 12 hour days all week, he is also going to work today and tomorrow and never miss a beat before starting over again on Monday. After all the layoffs through Thanksgiving and Christmastime, he is glad to have the work to help us catch up. I did the math the other day - he will be working an 84 HOUR work week. He leaves between 5:30 - 6 in the morning and gets home around 9 at night. He is so tired. I am practically putting food in his hands as he passes by on his way to bed. I have been packing him some extra good lunches, making sure he has an extra sandwich and snacks for the long day, keeping on top of his laundry and laying out clothes and a clean towel for his shower, as well as making sure that the coffee pot is set to go so he has fresh, hot coffee in the morning. This morning I woke to a note that said, "Thanks for taking such good care of me while I am working these long hours. I couldn't do it without you." A little appreciation goes a long way - I love that guy.

Prayer Request - the McKenzies

If mainly for our entertainment, these blogs can indeed have a higher purpose at least some of the time as I have seen this past week. As an update, the prayer request earlier this week for my friend's mom is being answered in a big way.
This morning I saw on my friend Kate's blog this request for her daughter and family. Please check out the link, and pray specifically. I don't want to attempt to articulate their needs better than she did.
Lord, please.

Thrifty Recipe Swap - Snack Edition - Granola

I am loving the thrifty recipe exchange hosted at The Grocery Cart Challenge. Gayle is a genius! This week there is a "frugal snack" theme. I can't wait to share my favorite granola recipe with you - but first I have to point you to her terrific recipe for homemade microwave popcorn that all three of my children are raving about. Not only is it frugal - but it is healthy. I got freaked out a few months ago when I read a report about workers in the microwave popcorn plants getting cancer from breathing in the powder used as butter flavoring. My kids love the real butter and how it is spread evenly over ALL of the popcorn! Good job Gayle! That recipe is a definite keeper!
Here's my recipe:

Homemade Maple Granola

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. maple extract or Mapline
1/2 cup dried fruit (optional)
1/2 cup nuts or seeds (optional)
Melt butter, sugar and water. Let simmer 2-3 minutes. Add salt, oats and cinnamon and maple extract. Remov from pot and stir. Spread in a thin even layer over a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

I like to double this recipe - and we like our granola VERY dry and not sticky so I probably bake mine for twice as long. I also might try this in the crock pot as I have seen several crock-pot granola recipes. The expense is in the nuts - but you can use leftovers from other recipes, and throw in other fun things like M&Ms or chocolate chips. Dried cranberries are especially good with the maple flavor.

Me on NG

Kullen showed me this awesome site called MagMyPic
- and he helped me choose a picture for my magazine cover.

This was pretty fun! Except lordy lordy - I just realized that my blogging audience had to see a picture of me TWICE in one day. Sorry about that folks, your vision should return to normal shortly!!

Sell Yourself!

Now those of you whose minds went directly to the gutter, shame on you! I don't mean that! I went to meet with the General Manager of the local newspaper today about possibly doing some outsourced work for them. Late yesterday evening when I was just about to leave to go and meet Kendra for dinner, he emailed me an application. This was not just any application - it has an essay question. He also asked me to sketch and advertisement selling me. As my friend Keet would say, "sweet Jesus in the morning". I had to be creative with very little time. Fortunately I work well under pressure, and took the assignment to the next level and did my black & white advertisement digitally! I just thought I'd share - and see what my voyeuristic friends think of this little ad about me - does it ring true? Did I get even close?
This was a very difficult task! What would you say about yourself?

Decadent Dinner Date with Daughter

How is that for the most times anyone has used the letter D in a title? It was a most fabulous evening, and I don't regret one second that I have no clue what happened on LOST. My date with my daughter at the new restaurant where she works was fantabulous - and did I mention FREE? For such a small town this restaurant is really going to make an impression. All the teenagers want to work there, so they had their pick of the cream of the crop. Tonight they had a "mock opening" where the day-shift served the night-shift and then vice-versa. Each person could bring one guest and so my lovely daughter asked me. The best part was that it was all totally free. Nada dinero! We had appetizers, drinks, dinner (thank GOD I got a salad) and dessert - this sinfully delicious thing above is called a Texas Brownie - yep - much bigger than your average brownie, and beautiful too. The restaurant is brand-spanking new and it had the Texas atmosphere going on. I think about that line from the Titanic movie about eating off of dishes that have never been eaten on. You could still smell a slight hint of freshly cut wood. The atmosphere was all Texas too - using wood, stone, and galvanized metal even as the table top. A very fun night. I ate too much - but it was worth it. Here is my date to the left in her uniform. Ain't she cute? If you happen to have her as a waitress, make sure to tip her good - she's saving for college!