Failures, Buffalo Chicken, Dumplings, and Pizza!

I was trying not to hog the blog, but poor Lacy hasn’t had an oven! Murphy’s Law – if you start a cooking blog, your over will die. Speaking of which, let me share a story of cooking encouragement:

I know, right??? My mother gave me what she called “Amish Friendship Bread Starter” and a sample of a sweet cakelike bread. She told me to follow the attached directions & I too could have this sweet bread. Last night my son and I suited up in our aprons to have a bake-fest but nooooooo….By the way, that picture was taken AFTER THE FIRE. I did some things as a teenager, so I guess she was getting revenge. Or perhaps I did something wrong with the recipe.

(The moral being,“Laugh it off, take pictures, and try, try again!”)

Then I went on to make the following delicious recipe:

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Pound a chicken breast to about an inch thick. I like to put it in a gallon freezer bag to avoid splatter while I beat it with a mallet. This is a good one for kids. Then sprinkle with chili powder and seasonings of your choice (I used chicken rub). Pan-fry in a skillet or bake until cooked through. Mix ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese with ½ cup Greek yogurt, a splash of lemon juice, and salt & pepper. You might have to cut the finished chicken breast in half to fit bread. Using sesame seed buns or 100-calorie sandwich rounds - layer chicken, spoonful of blue cheese mixture, lettuce, and a splash of sriacha or hot sauce. Under 350 calories and SO SO good!

Get you some of that for the game Sunday.

PIZZA!

We have this every week. Seriously. I will give you the bread machine recipe, but if you don’t have one you can buy premade crust, use sandwich rounds or biscuits, or buy dough from pizzerias!

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (or go 1 ½ white flour & 1 ½ wheat flour)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or canola or olive)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar (or honey)
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

Always keep salt away from your yeast. Add salt first if you have to. Throw it all in bread machine & press Dough button. Walk away. Check it after it mixes dough – if the dough is sticking to sides of pan, add a couple of tablespoons of flour as its mixing. If its dry and not balling up, add a spoonful of water.

Dump it out on a clean counter & flour OR oil. I used to flour, but it was so messy I started using nonstick cooking spray right on the counter. Easier to clean up & it doesn’t stick. Dump the dough out of the bread machine bucket & cut it into equally sized pieces. You can make 6 personal pizzas or 5 small ones. Or you want make breadsticks by leaving the dough thicker and slicing into strips. Whatever. Roll each piece into whatever shape and thickness you prefer*. Add toppings below. Kids love this or I’ve also had a party & let people make their own pizzas. Place on a baking sheet or in a pizza pan and bake at 475 until cheese is melted and crust has browned.

• Sauce – red, white, pesto, cheese
• Cheese - mozzarella, cheddar, goat, parm, etc
• Veggies - artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, olives, etc
• Meats – beef, chicken, turkey pepperoni, ham, bacon, etc….
*The dough can be frozen at this stage. Layer the rolled dough between sheets of waxed appear. Bake from frozen. Haven’t tried breadsticks from frozen.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings

Add a few chicken breasts to a crock pot, add enough water to cover chicken. Season if you want with pepper, chicken bouillon, and poultry seasoning. Turn it on low & cook for 6-8 hours. Once the chicken is fall-apart tender, remove the chicken meat and pour the water/broth into a saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Open a package of refrigerator biscuits (the small 10 in a tube kind – never the layer kind!) Or make a batch of Bisquick biscuit dough. Drop the biscuits, a few at a time, into the liquid, then boil for 5 minutes each side. To serve, spoon chicken, soup, and a dumpling or two in a bowl. Or combine all & Freeze for later!

Enjoy!