Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread, delicious carb-y goodness and a great snack. Making your own garlic bread at home can be fast and easy! It requires very little time and very little finesse in the kitchen.

Servings: About 10 good-sized pieces
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy


Hardware
-Serrated Knife
-Butter Knife
-Chef's Knife
-Fork
-Small Bowl
-Cookie Sheet
-Tinfoil
-Oven with broiler
-cutting board

Software
-One Loaf of French or Sourdough Bread, unsliced
-1 stick (8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup) butter
-4 cloves of garlic
-1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the butter in the small bowl and allow it to soften at room temperature. As the butter softens, line the cookie sheet with the tinfoil, shiny-side up. Set oven to broil. Slice the loaf of bread length-wise with the serrated knife. Mince the garlic into small pieces with the Chef's Knife on the cutting board. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the butter. Mix them together with the fork until all the ingredients are well-combined. Using the butter knife, spread half of the butter mixture on each half of the loaf of bread (butter the soft side, not the crust side!). Place bread buttered-side up on the cookie sheet, then place bread in the oven under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. Remove from oven when the bread looks toasty, golden brown and delicious, and before any burning. Cut into pieces and enjoy, perhaps with some pasta!

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Chicken and Dumplings

Nothing says comfort like one-pot meals, and as far as one-pot meals go, Chicken and Dumplings is pretty much king. This isn't quite a dish you can leave simmering all day, but it's great to go back and forth to during your dailies. I've made this recipe a bit easier by having it made with Bisquick dumplings instead of dumplings made from scratch. They taste delicious and make it a whole heck of a lot easier.

Servings: About 6-8 bowls
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-A Large Pot with Lid
-Long-Handled Spoon
-Chef's Knife (or other large knife)
-Cutting Board
-Small Bowl
-Large Bowl
-Spoon
-Ladle, for serving

Software
Foodstuffs
-4 to 5 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-Two medium-sized brown or yellow onions
-7 to 8 cloves of garlic
-4 to 5 carrots
-3 to 4 stalks of celery
-1 can corn
-2 quart-sized boxes of chicken stock
-Milk (at least 2 cups)
-Olive Oil
-Bisquick or similar biscuit baking mix
-4 tbsp Corn Starch

Spices
-Salt
-Pepper
-2 tbsp Italian Herb Seasoning
-3 Bay Leaves
-(optional) Fresh Parsley for garnish

Dice up your onions, mince the garlic and slice up the carrots and celery. Put your pot on the burner over medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of your pot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic and celery to the pot, and add 1-2 tablespoons of salt. I know it seems like a lot, but you're using the salt to draw liquid out of the veggies, and besides, you probably won't be adding much more to the soup. Stir this up and let the vegetables "sweat", or give off their delicious juices. Once the onions start to look a bit see-through-y, add the chicken stock, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and pepper (to taste), along with the corn and frozen chicken breasts. Cover the pot and turn the heat up to medium high.

After the broth's been boiling for a few minutes, fish out the chicken breasts and place them on your cutting board. But the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place it back in the pot, reducing the heat to medium and putting the lid back on. Allow to cook for at least 5 minutes. While your chicken is cooking, put the corn starch in a small bowl and add a cup of milk. Stir with small spoon until the corn starch is dissolved, then add this to your broth. This will both thicken the broth and make it more creamy and delicious.

Prepare dumplings according to directions on the box of your baking mix in the large bowl. If you don't see directions for dumplings, follow the directions for biscuits minus anything having to do with the oven. With Bisquick, you'll be mixing 2 1/4 cups of mix with 2/3 cup milk. Using your spoon, scoop dough into the boiling soup. Allow to cook uncovered for 5 minutes, then cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Once the dumplings are finished, your dinner's ready to eat!


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