I made my first Bechamel sauce last night. I’d been putting off trying it because I figured I’d end up with a lumpy mess but I didn’t! It could have been better though but I think part of the problem was I used 2% milk because that’s all I had. I added some cheese to it but I just had a mild cheddar and I think a stronger flavored cheese may have been better. Then I made it into a casserole with cauliflower, topped it with bread crumbs and baked it until bubbly.
As for chicken and dumplings, I don’t personally have a recipe but I’ve been meaning to try Paula Deen’s recipe. Her dumplings are more like large noodles but I think I might like that better than a big glob of dough. I watched the show where she made this and it looked pretty simple, the most work being rolling out the dough for the dumplings.
And I am glad I am a heathen now so I don’t have to give up the good stuff, it’s just about my only joy in life.
Once again, for the easiest best pancakes buy a can of Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend and follow the recipe on the back. Add a splash of vanilla to the batter and you’re set. Swampy, you’re getting me moist down there.
Pancakes later. Just got up. yawn I’ll make some in mid-afternoon. Mr. Lissar won’t be up until after I’ve left for work. I must remember to get his lunch (meal eaten at 3 in the morning) together before I leave.
D’you put and spices or anything in chicken’n’dumplings, or is it just boiled chicken with bisquick? That doesn’t sound very appetizing.
I don’t do Lent or anything, but I made French toast for dinner last night. And bacon. And can I just say that the greatest invention since sliced bread is pre-cooked bacon?
VunderBob - canned veggies in C&D?? For shame! The proper way to make C&D is to boil up and debone that chicken, add sliced carrots and celery along with a spoonful of that not-boullion soup base stuff. Simmer 'til everything is tender. Proceed with Bisquik dumplings. Just before serving, throw in a large handful of frozen peas, stir.
Southerners will tell you in no uncertain terms that real dumplings are hand-rolled and cut, but those are a pain in the butt. If you prefer Southern style dumplings, look in the freezer case at the grocery for frozen egg noodles. I can’t remember the company, but it starts with an R and they’re in clear-and-green plastic bags.
Now I need a recipe for the chewy dumplings. I know flour, eggs and butter, but beyond that I’m lost.
Lissla salt and pepper are the usual seasonings for chicken 'n dumplings. You can throw in a bay leaf or some celery leaves if you wish. Heck, go seasoning wild.
Shibb it is too C&D! Those flour tortillas just make good dumplings is all. As LifeOnWry pointed out, one can find frozen dumplings. It may be more down south where you find em. I don’t know. I’ve never grocery shopped for em anywhere else.
BTW, the Paula Deen recipe Wile E linked to is pretty dang good. She’s from around here originally. I’ve met her even. I know some people she knows. That’s how you meet celebrities. Connections. Gotta have connections.
Oh, I agree with you. SheWhoMustBeOneyed, the most unhealthy eater I know, doesn’t want any vegetation in her C&D. She’ll let me use the canned stuff hecause they’re pretty tasteless.
If I had my way, there’s be all kinds of fresh veggies in there. As it is, those canned veggies save me from eating intestinal concrete.
Happy Fat Tuesday–everyone indulge yourselves (as if you all needed my permission to do that).
I’m very unhappy. St. Valentine’s Day <turn head and spit> is again infringing on my life and causing me grief. You see, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, right? That means 40 days until Easter, or, as candy merchants see it, 40 days to sell Easter candy. In fact, most retailers would have a full display of edible pastel-colored treats on sale this last weekend, just to squeeze in a few extra days. Except, because stupid St. Valentine’s Day <turn head and spit> is still in the offing, the retailers don’t have any room for the Easter candy (does it mean anything that I persist in typing Easter as Eater?) and so I have been denied my Hershey’s Candy-Coated Easter Eggs! I want my Hershey’s Candy-Coated Easter Eggs! I only get them once a year and for a limited time and now the stupid sweetheart’s day is further limiting my limited time window!
It’s a real shame that these pretend secular holidays screw up the real religious ones.
It’s really hard to find frozen dumplings, buiscits, etc. up north here. I never really realized until I went shopping with the bf in Raleigh and there was this whole section of frozen biscuits in the grocery store. I looked (and looked and looked) in my store and could only find one kind of Pillsbury frozen biscuits. We just don’t know how to do biscuits up here. But on the other hand you should be ASHAMED of the Italian bread you have down there!
Oh, I agree. The best Italian bread I can find in these parts is at Subway. Very embarassing. In fact, my girlfriend had a bunch of Italian restaurants she liked (having lived here all her life, she knew a bunch.) But after one trip to Pittsburgh to visit my family, and eating in real restaurants, she can’t enjoy the food anymore at home. And when I have friends or relatives head this way, she always askes them to bring a couple of loaves of Mancini’s with them.
-Sean (who was raised on Mancini’s Italian bread, hot from the oven in McKee’s Rocks)
She who Must Be One-eyed? Does Odin know about this? Of course I realize you meant to say She Who Must Be Obeyed, but then that would make my wife a bigamist. BTW Bob, I changed my sig line just for you, see?
taxi you have brought to mind one of the extremely perplexing questions of life for me. How do I know if bread is Italian or French? They both look kinda alike and taste alike. They don’t have French or Italian accents. How can I know? Does it make a difference? Why don’t they just call it all big long loaves of bread? I could deal with that. See, these are the things that cause so much agony in my life.
Kalley I saw some Hershey’s Candy Coated Easter Eggs in the WallyWorld Sunday afternoon. I thought about you. I almost bought some but I didn’t. It was a surreal candy experience. I walked through this display of Valentine candy and suddenly I was in this display of Easter candy.
-swampbear (bewildered by bread and surreal candy)
We’ve got all sorts of Easter candy out now. I almost bought a 2 pound bag of those pastel chocolate mini-eggs yesterday.
Valentine’s Day. Sigh. It really interferes with celebrating Mr. Lissar’s birthday. We can’t go out for dinner because all the restaurants are crowded with silly couples being romantic and gushy. Yuck.
I am avoiding doing the dishes. Also, I am not keen on going to work. I think I need a day off from general Adult Responsibility. I don’t feel older than about 14, and that’s a pretty irresponsible age. I don’t see why I have to do stuff like support myself and clean up my own messes. It isn’t fair! (whining) Someone else should be taking care of me!
You see I am getting all of my pre-Lent complaining out right now, since I’m giving it up for the next 40 days.
The Easter candy is out here too. I was good and totally ignored it though. However, come Easter Basket fixin’ time I’ll have to buy some, which means that of course I’ll have to include Dark Chocolate Dove Eggs and the candy coated hershey eggs, well, really all things chocolate. The kiddos aren’t really into jelly beans (they like some flavors), they hate those big candy coated things that are white in the middle and sickly sweet (so do I), and they dislike Peeps. They like the malted milk thingies though.
Yes, I still make Easter baskets for the kiddos (12 & 15). Why do you ask? I have the perfect excuse for having to buy Easter candy and I ain’t about to give it up!
All this talk about C&D and candy, and other assorted food has set my tummy to rumbling. I’m going to have to go down and pick up my daily salad soon. Unfortunately, I’ll have to eat it dry because I’m out of the raspberry vinagrette dressing I had here in the office and the facility dressings are icky!
I have any number of places at hand to get very good Italian bread. My favorite is Mazzeroti’s. (probably misspelled) We also have excellent Cuban bread, and occasionally one may find good French bread as well.
I checked Target, Shopko and Albertson’s on Sunday and no candy! Why do other parts of the country get Easter candy when I don’t? Wah! I may use my lunch hour to go on a quest and see if the little devils put the candy out after I went shopping.
If I wanted to, I could talk myself into believing that my inability to find my candy was the Gods way of telling me that I’m stronger than pastel-colored candy-coated chocolate Easter eggs and that I will be happier if I don’t eat any at all, or perhaps just a few.
Yeah, I could do that. You all know how good I am at talking myself into things. I’m a lawyer, after all, words are my stock in trade. And as much as I buy into the ultimate goal of being happy and know that I won’t be really happy while I’m overweight so, even if eating too much candy seems to make me happy right now, it doesn’t make me happy in the long run and is therefore not something that I should do, and as much as I appreciate the Gods looking out for my best interests, I WANT MY CANDY NOW!!
St. Valentine’s Day <turn head and spit> is again infringing on my life and causing me grief. You see, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, right? That means 40 days until Easter, or, as candy merchants see it, 40 days to sell Easter candy. In fact, most retailers would have a full display of edible pastel-colored treats on sale this last weekend, just to squeeze in a few extra days. Except, because stupid St. Valentine’s Day <turn head and spit> is still in the offing, the retailers don’t have any room for the Easter candy (does it mean anything that I persist in typing Easter as Eater?) and so I have been denied my Hershey’s Candy-Coated Easter Eggs! I want my Hershey’s Candy-Coated Easter Eggs! I only get them once a year and for a limited time and now the stupid sweetheart’s day is further limiting my limited time window!
