Homemade Chicken Soup or Broth With Gravy And Dumpling Recipes

I wrote this blog months ago on another blog, but have some additional ideas. When I make this chicken soup recipe, it is more than just chicken soup. I add all kinds of goodies to it while it is cooking. Some of the things I add are, lima beans (add during the start of cooking), rice, noodles (add last hour), small pasta, kale, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, snowpeas, and peas.

Here is an recipe for dumplings that I found originally in my old Betty Crocker cook book. I also found the recipe on the internet. I would make the dumplings during the last hour because when Betty Crocker was writing this recipe, she had never seen a slow cooker yet, and had no idea how long it might take for the dumplings to finish cooking. I would also turn the knob on high for the last hour if you are making dumplings. If you are adding brown rice, add that either in the beginning or middle of the cooking time, as brown rice takes a long time to cook.

This is the Betty
Crocker cookbook
I have. My mom
bought it for me
when I was engaged
with S & H
Greenstamps

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour (Use any brand of flour.

 If you can find organic, that is the best kind)

1 tablespoon parsley flakes, if desired

2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix flour, parsley, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut

in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until

mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by

spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew (do not drop 

directly into liquid). Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 

10 minutes longer.

Note: I do drop directly into liquid. I am not sure how you can avoid doing that!
The directions above are for stovetop dumplings, but I am sure I have made them
in the slow cooker. Just take into consideration the time factor, as the temperature
on the slow cooker is lower than a stove top.

Betty Crocker Recipe For Dumplings

Recipe for gravy

1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Dissolve cornstarch in water, and add to broth. Cook on medium high heat and stir 
periodically. Cook until mixture thickens and just starts to boil. 

You can take the following recipe, and just use it as soup. Make it a meal by adding some 
of the additions at the top of this page. *************************************************************************
Simple Recipe for Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

1 whole chicken (it can be cut up or whole)
3-4 cups water
1 bay leaf
2-3 carrots
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk
Garlic salt
Seasonings (I use a French type of seasoning) to taste

   Grease the inside of a slow cooker with softened butter or oil. You can also use a stove top pot to cook this in, but cooking time will be shorter and you will have to tend to the pot more often. If you have the insides of the chicken, like the liver and kidneys, throw them in the pot as well. Pour water over the chicken and in a food processor chop up the carrots, celery, and onion and place those in the slow cooker or pot along with the bay leaf, salt, and seasonings, if using. Set the slow cooker on low for about 6-8 hours, or longer. If cooking on the stove, cook on simmer or low boil for a couple of hours until the meat falls off the bones.
   Take the meat off the bones, after the meat has cooled off. Eat immediately or store meat and broth.
  You could use cut up turkey parts instead of chicken. You can use the broth to make soup or gravy to use in other recipes. Store leftover broth and meat in Mason jars and freeze. Broth and meat can be frozen together, or separately. If storing separately, add some broth to the chicken so it doesn't get freezer burn.
Some suggestions for chicken and broth:
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken rice soup
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie
Chicken and gravy
Chicken stew
Chicken and dumplings
Chicken and rice
Chicken and noodles
Chicken ala king

Easy Turkey Soup

Here is a recipe I came up with that is so versatile and full of nutrition. You can make this in a large batch and save the leftovers to make turkey pot pie or turkey and noodles. You can drain the broth and freeze it and use it for many other recipes that call for chicken broth.

Easy Turkey Soup

1 pound turkey pieces (cutlets are good)
3 quarts water
Cut up vegetables; sliced carrots, mushrooms, and celery are good
Piece of kale (optional, but good)
chopped onion
minced garlic, to taste (you can put the onion and garlic in a food processor and blend together)
1 bay leaf
Small handful of rice (brown rice is fine)
Small handful of pasta (noodles, orzo, bow ties, and macaroni are good choices)
Herbs of choice ( I use some of the French blends)
Dried Lima Beans (optional)
Salt, pepper

   This is a pretty general recipe that can be made in a slow cooker if you start it in the morning (necessary if you are using lima beans or brown rice). You can adjust the amounts of vegetables, rice, and pasta to your own preferences, but keep in mind that rice and pasta expand and will require a lot of liquid to cook in. I have even put in broccoli in this recipe. Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for at least 6-8 hours. Put all ingredients into slow cooker (except pasta, salt, and pepper) and cook all day! Or, you can make it on the stove top with a big pot or Dutch oven. I would cook it for at least an hour, maybe two. Pasta will only take a couple of minutes to cook on the stove, so put the pasta in the last 15 minutes of cooking. If using a slow cooker or crock pot, put the pasta in during the last hour. If pasta is cooked too long, it might disintegrate into the soup.
Add salt and pepper after it is finished cooking. Drain the leftover broth and use the broth in future recipes. You can freeze it in jars that are made for freezing. You can use the leftover vegetables and turkey to make a pot pie with or just thicken the broth and make noodles and turkey (with a whole bunch of vegetables!)

   You could put dumplings on the top, just for fun. This recipe is very starchy though, and you might want to consider serving a salad on the side.

Recipe For Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Cooking really can be fun, especially if you have a goal in mind. Many really do not like to cook, but when you consider how much more nourishing food is when you make it yourself, that should be enough incentive to learn how to cook, at least some things.

I found this recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes here: http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/12/greek-yogurt-pancakes.html
and you might find this a good recipe and way to incorporate healthful ingredients. I know many cannot handle wheat products so perhaps you can substitute the flour for gluten free flour.

  This recipe calls for Greek Yogurt, which I have been making for a couple of years now, but I never knew what I could do with it, except to have beef marinate in it for a couple of days to make it tender. Now, I have another use for it! (I actually do not care for yogurt mixed with fruit, and will not buy the stuff in the store because I know it has sugar in it as well as other undesirable ingredients).

  I will share this recipe from 'Creme De La Crumb'. It says that it makes 4 servings. I would use coconut sugar if you want to use sugar at all. If you insist on using regular sugar, you can always buy organic sugar.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

• 1½ cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar (optional, I like the extra touch of sweetness but they're healthier if you leave it out)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or ½ teaspoon almond extract)
• ¾ cup plain greek yogurt (or vanilla greek yogurt)
• ¾ cup milk (I used fat free half & half)
• topping suggestions: syrup, powdered sugar, honey, fruit, etc

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat a pan or griddle to 325 (medium heat). Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, and greek yogurt.
2. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir. Stir in milk until all ingredients are combined - don't over mix, there should still be a few lumps.
3. Grease griddle and pour ¼ - ⅓ cup batter onto the griddle. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes or until edges begin to look "dry" and bubbles form in the batter. Use a thin spatula to flip the pancake over and allow to cook for a mother minute. Transfer to a platter and continue with remaining batter.
4. Top pancakes with desired toppings such as syrup, powdered sugar, honey, and fruit.

You can also soak the wheat if you desire. I am not an expert on this, but I guess you mix it with the liquid in the recipe and leave it to sit on the counter overnight. I can't wait to try this recipe. You can also just buy the yogurt at the store, but, if you have a yogurt maker, you can make your own at home. You can get the culture for Greek Yogurt from 'Cultures For Health' (http://www.culturesforhealth.com/ ). They have a good selection of all kinds of cultures, as well as instructions on how to culture food and make cheese. If you want to be more adventurous, you could get your own yogurt machine (amazon.com has lots to pick from). I have two yogurt machines, and after contemplating what I really would want in a machine, I decided I like the machines that use glass jars in making the yogurt. Here are a couple of yogurt making machines from amazon:

I have this yogurt maker and it
must be 30 years old or so. I
still use it regularly.

I have one similar to this, and
it makes one quart instead of
individual jars. 

                          

Making Your Own Pantry Items - Making Buttermilk And Sour Cream

Did you know that there are tons of things that you can make yourself? For instance, you can make your own yogurt or buttermilk? You can make your own laundry soap or deodorant. If you are in a pinch, you can make your own cake flour or self rising flour.

  We live in a day where we think everything should be easy or convenient. Our minds do not comprehend what it means to actually do some thinking, planning, and working to produce something worthwhile. But those who went before us knew how to make life work for them, using whatever they had on hand or whatever they grew in their yard or farm.

   I will tell you simply how to make buttermilk or sour cream. Both are similar to make and both are very easy to make. For buttermilk, you take about a cup of milk, put it in a glass jar and add to it 'mesophilic' culture (you can get it from here:).

You just sprinkle a little over the top of the milk, and cover it with a towel or napkin (I would use a rubber band around it to kind of seal it around the edges so bugs don't get in).

  To make sour cream, it is basically the same, except you will use heavy cream, or whipping cream instead of milk. Take a cup of cream, or how ever much sour cream you want to make, sprinkle the mesophilic culture over it (just use about 1/8th teaspoon), and cover it. Do not stir and do not use metal utensils or bowls because the metal could kill the culture. I use plastic and glass. Leave the jar to sit overnight or for about 8-12 hours. Refrigerate when finished.

  You can use the milk or cream from the store, but it is better to use raw milk or cream if you have it available.


Here is a book that tells one how to make a lot of these items at home. If you are like me, when I get into a pinch, I run to the Internet and do a search. But this book seems to have a lot of things you can make that you would normally buy already made from the store. You might wonder why a person would make something from scratch if you can buy it from a store. One big reason is that the food items you buy from a grocery store are lacking the proper nutrients, due to processing or a short shelf life. In order for stores to have items that will be somewhat productive for the customers, the items have to have preservatives added to them to make them last a long time, should they not sell quickly enough. You can get way more nutrition from making your own stuff.




  We are called to run our households and take care of our families, and nourishing those who are in our homes is one out of many responsibilities. We need to take the welfare of our families seriously!

Two Childhood Games To Play With Your Children

My mom was great at nursery rhymes and playing games. So were many of the adults around me when I was a toddler. One little nursery rhyme/game I hated was 'This Little Piggy Went To Market". The reason I hated this one was because when it got to the pinky toe, they would pull on it and say, 'This little piggy went wee wee wee wee wee all the way home". They would pull and wiggle on my toe and it would hurt!

  Anyway, there are some fun games for us to play with our kids, even small ones. One was called, 'Huckle Buckle Beanstalk'. You take a bean bag (or any small item) and have the children or child go out of the room. You then hide the bean bag. The place where you hide it will depend upon the maturity of the children. For example, you don't want to hide the bean bag in a bin inside the closet, for a two year old. You will want it in an easier to find place for a little one, or they will get frustrated. Bring the children out and let them try to find the hidden bean bag. When a child gets close to where it is hidden, say to the child, 'you are getting warm'. If he is really close, then tell the child he is getting hot. When the child finds it, have him or her say, 'Huckle buckle beanstalk'!

   The other game is 'colors'. Pick out an object and notice its color. Then say, 'I see and color, and it is red (or whatever the color of the picked out item is)'. Have the children try to guess what the object that you looked at is. The child who wins the correct guess can have the next turn. He or she can pick an object and have the others try to guess what the object is.

Simple Hot Cocoa Recipe

Everyone needs to know how to make hot cocoa at home. It really isn't hard at all. You just have to have the ingredients on hand.

Now you don't have to resort to prepackaged packets of hot cocoa mix, which probably have little to no nourishment in them, and possibly have other additives in them so they can last on the shelves of the stores without rotting.

You can make this as simple as you like, or you can add extras to make it taste a little more special. You can also make this with raw milk (I recommend) and it will have a lot of nourishment in it. Use cow's milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk, or coconut milk. Some have used almond milk also.

Hot Cocoa on The Stove

4 cups milk
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder (you can find organic on amazon.com)
4 Tablespoons sugar (I have used coconut sugar)
Extras (optional): pinch of powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder*, pink salt*, a drop of peppermint oil**)

Heat milk to almost boiling. Stir in sugar and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder does not mix well, but will mix in with the milk when it is hot. Remove from stove and add extras, if using.

Put a marshmallow on top of each one, or, top with whipped cream if desired. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles for a tasty looking drink.Yum.

* I have a friend who puts curry powder and Himalayan pink salt in her hot cocoa.
** Be careful to only put a drop of peppermint oil in the hot cocoa. Peppermint oil is extremely potent and could ruin the flavor of the hot cocoa or whatever you are cooking, if too much is added.

Straws

I don't know about you, but I use a lot of straws. I keep ones that we use at restaurants and wash them up and reuse them.

I also have stainless steel straws, but they are too short and not wide enough for most of my drinks. I have also seen glass straws as well.

Some of the cute straws they have out are in different shapes, and are usually made of plastic. But the problem with the straws is that they can end up being unsanitary. Because of the way they are made, it is hard to clean them and get the food out of them properly. And, since air cannot get to them as easily as it can in an open object, it is possible for mold to grow inside. Yuk.

Straws can go in the dishwasher, but if you have a heating element, and if the straw is plastic, it could melt the straw. Stainless steel ones can go in the dishwasher, but that might not get them clean on the inside. You can take a thin object and poke it inside the straw to try to scrape any leftovers out of the straw. If you have a small, thin bottle brush, you can clean it out as well.

I was thinking about ways we can clean the straws this morning. If you want them to be a little less germy, then consider soaking the straws in vinegar water. Rinse them out afterward though, unless you like a sour drink!

Another idea is to put a drop of Four Thieves oil in the straw (I have not done this yet, but it is  a possibility since I am always wondering how to clean the straws). Leave the oil in the straws for a while, then rinse out. Yes, if you don't rinse the straws out, the next drink you make might taste kind of strange.




Happy clean drinking!