Easy Peasy Chicken Dumplings

Let me tell you, this is one delicious recipe! I often like to experiment with new recipes to try to keep my dinner menu fresh, and this meal is a winner winner chicken dinner.

It combines all my favorite parts of a meal: juicy melt-in-your-mouth chicken pieces, soft and fluffy dumplings and lots of gravy. The first time I made this, my only regret was not doubling the recipe! As this was simmering on the stove, I knew it would be a great meal and I was salivating at the thought of savoring my first bite.

I adapted the recipe a little as I did not have cream of chicken on hand and I substituted in cream of mushroom. I also omitted the celery seeds since I did not having any despite having a cupboard full of spices (what gives?). Most importantly, I made more dumplings than the original recipe called for.

This recipe is a definite keeper.

A flavorful and hearty meal to warm you up on a cold day.

Ingredients
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (14.5 ounce or 430 ml) chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1 tbsp of dried onion flakes)
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
ground black pepper, to taste

Dumplings
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Garnish
1 stalk of green onions, chopped

Directions
1. In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Sear chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown. Set aside on a plate.

2. In a large pot, stir together cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

3. To the cast iron skillet over medium high heat, add in the onion and celery, scraping up any chicken bits (aka fond) in the skillet.

4. Slice the chicken breast on a cutting board into strips.

5. Add the chicken strips (and any juices from the plate while the chicken was resting), celery and onion to the pot. Season with black pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. (I simmered this on the stove for 45 minutes).

6. Dumplings: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of oil. Pour the wet liquids into the dry ingredients, stirring until the dough looks wet. If needed, add more milk. (I added an extra 2 tablespoons of milk).

7. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, drop tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into the pot. Cover the lid and bring to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes (no peeking)!

8. Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions. Serve hot.

Big fluffy dumplings in a luscious chicken and mushroom gravy. Mmm...

Source: Slightly adapted from Allrecipes

Chinese Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-Fry

As a child, my favorite foods were pizza and pasta. At home, we had Chinese food at least 5 nights every week. If I was lucky, we would have spaghetti, hamburgers or pizza. I would roll my eyes dramatically when we would be having Chinese food for dinner, again.

When I moved to Vancouver after graduating from university, I was homesick and found myself craving Chinese food. My husband (then boyfriend) and I would drive to one of the many Chinese restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond to satiate those cravings. Chinese food in Vancouver is delicious and extremely affordable, so there was not a need to learn how to make Chinese food especially if someone else can do it better, cheaper and faster.

That was my life up until March of this year when my little man was diagnosed with peanut and almond allergies. It was then that I discovered how dangerous Chinese food can be for people with food allergies. For example, peanut oil and other nuts are used in sauces, in stir-fries and in baked goods just to name a few. I was devastated but did not want my little man to avoid eating Chinese food altogether. So I set out to learn how to cook Chinese food.

One of our family favorite Chinese recipes is Chinese Restaurant Style Steamed Fish. But I think we may have found another favorite with this Shrimp and Broccoli stir-fry recipe. It is a quick and simple dish that you can make in 15 minutes or less. It is even quicker if you use peeled and deveined shrimp. Needless to say, this is the little man's favorite combination of foods right now: plump and juicy shrimp combined with crisp tender broccoli florets. I'm on a roll! (Insert Carlton Banks "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" dancing here.)

Serves: 4 as a part of a multi-course meal

Ingredients
15 medium shrimp (31 to 40 count per pound)
1 large head of broccoli, separated into florets and broccoli stems chopped into large matchsticks
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and rinsed (FYI: water chestnuts are not a tree nut)
2 tbsps vegetable oil

Did you know, Winco sells water chestnuts at a reasonable price?

Sauce Mixture
3 tbsps soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock (or water)

Cornstarch Slurry
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsps cold water

Directions
1. Add 1 inch of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Place broccoli in a steamer basket and steam for 2 to 3 minutes until the broccoli is tender crisp.

2. In a cold pan, add oil and garlic. Turn the heat to medium high and stir-fry the garlic in oil until fragrant and translucent.

3. Add ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

4. Pour in the sauce mixture (soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock) and bring the liquid to a boil.

5. Add shrimp and cook the shrimp until it starts to turn pink.

6. To the pan, toss in the broccoli florets and stems, green onions and water chestnuts. Stir-fry until the sauce coats the vegetables.

7. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the pan, stir-fry until the sauce thickens.

8. Serve immediately.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom

P.S. If you are a Fresh Prince of Bel Air fan, may I suggest watching Alfonso dance "The Carlton" on Dancing with the Stars?

Shrimp Congee (Chinese Porridge)

Being sick sucks. It's even worse when it is days away from Christmas. We have been on a steady diet of Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Rice Soup, and Chicken Congee for the last week and a half. We I desperately needed a break from eating chicken.

Since all three members of our family are still sick, I made Shrimp Congee for dinner. I prefer buying shell-on, deveined, medium sized shrimp that has 31 to 40 shrimps per pound. I used the shrimp shells to make a quick shrimp stock which was then added to the congee to give it more flavor.

The little man was so happy to have something other than chicken for dinner (we all were)! He managed to eat a big bowl of congee with 5 shrimps.

Ingredients
2 inch piece of ginger, finely julienned
1 cup white rice
10 cups water
1 cup shrimp stock, optional (see recipe below)

20 medium shell-on shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve the shell for shrimp stock)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Toppings (optional - personally, I love the toppings the best):
Green onion, chopped
Soy sauce, to taste
Red vinegar, to taste
Preserved vegetables (such as Chili Radishes or Bamboo Shoots in Chili Oil)

Directions
1. In a large pot, wash rice until the water runs clear.

2. Add julienned ginger and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stirring occasionally. (Do not leave the stove unattended as the congee tends to boil over).

3. As soon as the congee comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low. Simmer with the lid partially covered for at least an hour (to two hours) until the rice starts to break apart and thick. Stir occasionally so the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

4. While the congee is cooking, in a small pot, fill with enough water just barely covering the shrimp shells and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. It should yield approximately 1 cup of basic shrimp stock. (If you bought peeled shrimp, you can skip this part)

5. Mix shrimp, soy sauce and sesame oil in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it marinade in the fridge while the congee is simmering.

6. Once the shrimp stock has reduced to approximately a cup, strain the shrimp stock through a sieve and discard the shells.

7. Add the shrimp stock to the congee and stir. Allow the congee to continue simmering on the stove.

8. Five minutes before serving, add the marinaded shrimp and stir. Cook for 5 minutes or until the shrimp is fully cooked. Ladle and serve with soy sauce, red vinegar, preserved vegetables and century egg.

Drizzle some soy sauce and red vinegar.

Common Toppings for Congee:

L-R: Preserved Bamboo Shoots in Chili Oil, Chili Radishes

Century Egg (preserved duck egg)

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom