Monday, February 22, 2016

Family Meal Planning: Day 1. - Sunday - February 21, 2016

Tonight we made an easy slow cooker chicken and dumplings soup and halva stuffed challah bread.
Chicken and Dumplings:
  • 3 Chicken Breasts thawed overnight in the refrigerator
  • 3 stalks of celery
  • 2 cups of chopped baby carrots – can use any carrots cut into circles
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 cans of chicken broth
  • 1 can of cream of chicken soup (not necessary but makes the soup thicker and creamier)
  • 2 chicken broth cans of water
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 1 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Pillsbury grands buttermilk biscuits
Combine everything except the biscuits into the slow cooker. Keep the chicken breasts whole for now – shred them at the end, right before putting in the biscuits. Cook on high for 8 hours. 30 minutes before serving, shred the chicken breasts with two forks and add in quartered biscuit dough for the dumplings part of chicken and dumplings.
What we liked about it:
It was quick and easy and very tasty. Took about 20 minutes of prep time with two small children needing attention. We get leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
What we didn’t like about it:
Was not quite thick enough for Nick. Would use another can of cream of chicken soup or add milk or cream for a thicker soup.
What our three year old thought about it:
He loved the carrots, but was suspicious of the celery (for some reason he thought it was broccoli. Though all green things are classified as either broccoli or salad for him). He ate one bite of the dumplings and did not seem impressed.
Next time:
  • Add something to thicken the soup.
  • Make our own dumplings.
  • More carrots
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Halva Stuffed Challah Bread: 
What we liked: 
It is very pretty and fancy looking and not very hard to make. The recipe makes two HUGE loaves. As you can see on the first picture, the first loaf is not nearly as pretty as the second one – we had a better method for the second one and we altered the dimensions.
What we didn’t like:
Nothing, it was good. Very different.
What we would change:
We would make the individual logs about 20″ by 8″ inches rolled out. This will make a much nicer braid and allow you to spread out the filling better. We would also double the filling amount. There is definitely not enough filling if you use 1/2 cup each of the tahini and halva. If making just for us, we would only make half the recipe as 2 huge loaves is way more than we could eat.
What our three year old thought about it: 
Too suspicious to even try. Not chocolate – thus not worth eating.

2 comments:

  1. The soup was delish!!! One suggestion would be a little more broth for next time. The texture was good, no need to make it thicker.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! It actually thickened overnight on the leftover parts. It was thinner the night of.

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