A few weeks ago Matt requested chicken & dumplings for dinner, but I kept putting it off since I thought it would take a long time to make. I wasn't in a rush last night, though, and figured a big Dutch Oven full of homemade soup sounded like a great Sunday dinner, so took the plunge. I was surprised that it actually didn't take too long - about 40 minutes from start to finish.
I used the recipe from my favorite Joy of Cooking cookbook (you can find it online here), but changed things up a bit to make it vegetarian and a little healthier:
- Subbed chicken for Morningstar Farms Chik'n Strips (cooked separately, then chopped up and added toward the end)
- Used vegetable broth
- Subbed a splash of skim milk for the 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- Added extra carrots
- Added frozen peas
- Added celery salt to the dumplings (love this stuff and it reminds me of my mom's chicken pot pie)
This is such an old-fashioned meal and I haven't had it since I was at least 12 years old. It'll definitely be making an appearance in my kitchen again, though. It was so homey and satisfying, delicious even when made vegetarian, and nutritious when you amp up the veggies and cut the fat.
Can't wait to dig into the leftovers!
We spent the rest of the evening video taping Riker toddling around the living room and playing with the dog before heading to bed early to read our books. Riker is so much fun to watch lately; he is walking all over the place and gets a kick out of it, and he and Butters have become total BFFs. So cute.
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This morning started with an egg & cheese sandwich on a light English muffin with a side of kiwi before a family gym session.
In an effort to kick the gym monotony I did a similar workout to Friday's mixup, but this time I did a longer cardio session and focused on arms instead of legs & abs. I started with a nice long jog on the treadmill, interspersed with random periods of high intensity uphill fast walking. Once I reached the elliptical I was really ready to move, so turned on the Dance Pop station on Pandora and went as fast as I could for 20 minutes, split up with two short intervals of "walking" at a strong resistance level.
David Guetta always gets me movin'!
Just got back home to gobble up a big salad for lunch (I made waaaay too much salad for our Sat night Italian feast, and refuse to let it go to waste even though it was already dressed), then it's time to be productive and get things in order for the work week. I'm hoping to get a bunch accomplished in a few hours so I can relax and enjoy the last few hours of this 4-day weekend.
Hope you're having a great Monday, whether you're at home or at work!
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