Dumplings!

The other night, kitchen emptied of fresh foods due to two recent business trips to Miami, I found myself looking at some partially thawed chicken leftovers (from a roast chicken a month ago) and wondering what the heck to make. Peering around my pantry, I noticed some Bisquick ...

• Plopped the chicken into a pot and added enough water to cover it
• Tossed in a few tablespoons of Wondra in order to thicken it a tad
• Followed the Bisquick recipe for dumplings (halved the recipe)
• Covered the whole thing with a can of mushroom soup

I am definitely a taste bud slob, but the dumplings were super easy to make and tasty, too!

Next time I will err on a soupier stew thing, but I am so glad I took a risk and tried this out.

National pie day

National Pie Day is coming up on Wednesday, January 23rd. I accidentally left my pie dish where I had Thanksgiving, and I'm no longer romantically linked to that person, so I'm not sure I'll be able to partake on the day of.

I'm wondering what kind of pie I should make. I love making the Devonshire apple pie (it's what I made for Thanksgiving in a misguided attempt to impress someone's mother) (!) but it might be fun to try a new recipe.

Any recommendations?

Bell family recipe: cranberry nut bread

I haven't made this yet but a friend suggested it for a brunch I held on New Years' Day. If you make it, let me know how it goes!

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

1 cup whole raw cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups flour, less 1 tablespoon
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons shortening, melted (or canola or corn oil)
juice of 1 orange
grated rind of 1 orange

Mix 1 tablespoon flour with nuts and cranberries. Combine liquid ingredients, mix with dry ones (mixed first). In measuring cup, combine eggs, shortening, juice and rind, add enough boiling water to make 1 cup liquid. Stir into dry ingredients, add cranberries and nuts. Don't mix too much. Bake in greased loaf pan 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Orange Julius! Except ... not.

Now that I am convinced that these protein muscle shake doo-dads actually help with repair and building and efficiency, I am off to the blender-using races.

Tonight I used one cup of vanilla powder plus four cups of orange juice and a tablespoon of lemon juice.



Ugh, it's frothy and dericious. I am in smoothie-moustache heaven. Nyum nyum!