Easy Chicken and Dumplings
Okay everyone, this is good stuff. This is semi-homemade good stuff that you can do on a weeknight! I've made these chicken and dumplings twice this past week to help push us into wellness cause it's a warm, feel-good kinda recipe. I linked to it eeaaaarly on in the blog, actually my fourth blog post to be exact, but I've tweaked the recipe a bit and feel like I need to write it up again. Plus, I personally took a pretty picture for you! Without further ado, here it is....
Easy Chicken and Dumplings (adapted from Southern Living)
1 (32 oz.) container chicken broth
3 cups shredded cooked chicken (roughly about 2 large chicken breasts)
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of celery soup
1/4 tsp. poultry season
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (I love their new "simple" line with natural ingredients!)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into one inch pieces
3 tbsp. flour (for rolling biscuits)
Instructions:
1. Combine first five ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high, bringing mixture back to a low boil.
2. Place biscuits on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 of an inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter, slice each biscuit into one inch squares. (About 9-12 pieces per biscuit)
3. Drop biscuit pieces into boiling mixture a few at a time to prevent sticking. Stir and add carrots. Stir well, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.
Serve and enjoy!
*Tips and suggestions*
~When you first begin to cook the dumplings, they will puff up very large but don't worry, they will shrink up as the mixture simmers.
~ I like to cook my chicken breasts the day before or earlier in the day to save time. You could also use a rotisserie chicken from your local grocer to make things easy too.
~ This is a great leftover meal!
A Morning with Rustic White Photography
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If I could draw myself as an illustration, this would most definitely be it! However, if you want to see the real me, head over to the blog at Rustic White Photography.
My dear, creative friends Tiffany and Rob allowed me to indulge myself yesterday morning, clicking away and working their magic on this busy mom. It's rare that you meet true "salt of the Earth" kinda people and this duo certainly is! Through their work with Bert's Big Adventure in Atlanta and love of children, they really make the world a better and brighter place through their generousity and kindness.
A big thank you to them for sharing their talent with me. I already have them booked for our family photos in a few weeks so I'm sure you'll see more of their work very soon.
Children's Calendar
School is completely in full swing and I'm ashamed to admit that my son and I worked on this calendar back in August and I finally got it hung in his bedroom. (My apologies for the weird lighting in these photos as the light in his room is totally whack.) Anyhow, I was inspired by another homeschooling, blogging mom at Counting Coconuts and in some random fit of summer boredom and August heat, this calendar was born. I used a lot of scrapbook materials just lying around the house and my son enjoyed helping with stickers and gluing.
I wanted to get him acclimated with days of the week, months, seasons, counting, sequencing, weather, astronomy and some personal things like gratitude, manners and love.
I picked up these numbered calendar cards at The School Box store and attached them with Velcro so they can be adjusted each month.
I made the weather cards and put them on a metal ring. My son loves this part of the calendar everyday!
I also ordered these phases of moon via Montessori, another highlight for Luke!
I also made the seasons cards and let Luke decorate with stickers to his hearts desire.
This was a pretty big project that took some time but I think it's something he can use for quite some time. It's been especially helpful lately, now that we're counting down to birthdays and holidays like Halloween! I do recommend laminating most all of the "pieces" as they are handled a lot by little hands that are curious and enjoy playing.
Happy Tuesday y'all!
Supermom
This time of year is typically a favorite of mine, but "October of 2011" will forever be remembered in our household as the year of never ending illness. Since the beginning of the month, my family (including myself) has encountered the stomach virus, endless coughing, sniffles and this past weekend, croup. Fortunately we've experienced croup three times already with our older son and knew just what to do to avoid a 2 am trip to the ER. (30 minutes in a steam filled bathroom and my baby was breathing normal again.)
The ironic thing about being a mother and being sick is that we cannot stop going. We cannot rest much. We must still cook, clean, comfort, nurture and discipline. Our job as "Supermom" never ceases to exist.
Today I'm honored to be featured as a "Supermom" over on another blog, Polish and Panache. I hope you'll click over to read more about my life as a mom! I certainly don't have all the answers but I've come a long way in the past five years.
Fortunately, our health is on the mend. I just hope we've built up enough immune system to cruise through the remainder of the season unscathed. Be sure to visit here again this week for a big crafty reveal and a yummy recipe for quick and easy chicken and dumplings. They're so, so good.
The Classic Cheese Plate
Have you seen this gorgeous image from The Sprouted Kitchen? I knew when I saw it on Pinterest that I had to make it happen here at home and I did last month, while hosting a "girls night in" and wine tasting.
Here's my version which included a variety of cheeses as well as some simple apricot jam and fig paste by Rutherford and Meyer. I also tried to vary the texture of the crackers for interest and included pistachios and grapes for extra yummies.
This is a very elegant, yet easy appetizer that is such a crowd pleaser. I mean really, who doesn't love cheese? Wouldn't this be a great start to Thanksgiving day or a cozy treat to enjoy fireside on Christmas Eve? I'm thinking of giving it a nice fall makeover by incorporating some cranberry relish and toasted walnuts. What other flavors would you add to mix it up a bit?
Pumpkin Patching
Can you believe we're going into the third week of October? This time of year always seems to fly by to me and with the holidays (and my oldest son's 5th birthday) right around the corner, I have to remind myself to try to approach and accept life at a slower pace. Our family has been battling stomach flus, colds and coughs since my return from Charleston but we did surprisingly manage to hit the pumpkin patch this weekend for a little fall fun. I'm really a fan of it. This was our third year visiting this small family farm which is just my speed and I highly recommend it to my local readers!
This year, Luke was obsessed with picking a perfect pumpkin with "no dents." He surely gets that from his father because perfectionist I.am.not.
And for Jett...well, he was running around and throwing every little pumpkin he could manage to pick up with his sweet little hands. Wow, what a difference a year makes!
Not gonna make it to the pumpkin patch this year with the kids? No worries. Really, it's just not worth it. Read this, again. It changed my life.
But I'm still not giving up my pumpkin patch. The pink pig, yes....the pumpkin patch, no.
Real Housewives (visit Charleston)
My girlfriends and I joke about being the real housewives of Atlanta. I have no idea where Bravo found their Atlanta cast but it's not true. I promise. Anyhow....
We were able to pack a lot in during our short weekend trip but without overwhelming you with photos, here's a small peak into our trip.
Lots of shopping....
We all loved this bright pink accessories shop called, So Good Jewelry, on King Street. I had a hard time narrowing down my choice but in the end, I couldn't go home without this pretty little fascinator.
The other spot we spent some time (and money) in was Willy Jay's. They had so many adorable dresses that were sorted by color. We had fun picking out dresses for each other and trying them on for a little impromptu fashion show.
We also had a lot of really good food. Our weekend started with dinner at The Library at The Vendue Inn. I got my shrimp and grits fix and later we enjoyed cocktails and stunning views on the rooftop bar.
The next night we enjoyed more southern fare at Hyman's Seafood which was a great casual place to kick back and relax a bit.
But I think my favorite spot was Husk, which we were lucky enough to squeeze in for brunch right before heading back to Atlanta. Bon Appetit voted them best new restaurant for 2011 and their menu really shows! I highly recommend it.
I couldn't resist a few food shots since we were dining al fresco.
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| Shrimp and Grits |
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| Biscuits and Gravy |
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| Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll with Maple Frosting |
I couldn't resist this photo op. They're everywhere in Charleston!! As if you needed another reason to visit this sweet, southern city.
