I think I’m pretty fortunate that my husband CAN cook, when he puts his mind to it (and when I’m not in the kitchen nitpicking him). Last night, while I was out galavanting around in search of special baking chocolate, he made:
Shaker Chicken Stew with Scallion Dumplings
Adapted from Dishing Up Maine
Chicken Stew
5 cups chicken broth
3 1/2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs, excess fat removed
1 medium onion, thinkly sliced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 large bay leaf, broken in half
2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups baby carrots (.75 lbs)
salt and pepper
Scallion Dumplings
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons minced scallions
3 Tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 5 pieces (he used butter)
1/2 cup plus 1-2 Tablespoons whole milk
For the chicken stew:
Bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the chicken, onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Remove the chicken. Strip off the skin and remove meat from bones. Cut chicken into 2 inch chances. Return the meat to broth and season with salt and pepper.
For Scallion dumplings:
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in scallions. Work the shortening/butter into the flour until most of the pieces are the size of small peas. Add 1/2 cup of milk and stir. The mixture should come together into a sticky mass, but if it doesn’t add 1-2 Tablespoons more.
Toss tablespoons size clumps of the dumplings into the stew. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve.
This was SO good. I loved the baby carrots. It makes prepping 100 times faster.
Now, for Milspouse First Friday Fill-In with Wife of a Sailor
1. What is your favorite/most unique anniversary/birthday gift from your spouse? suggested by Bel (@operationbfp)
Tickets to see Norah Jones in this TINY little theater in Portland, Maine. They were sold out in minutes (it was a surprise concert), but somehow my husband got his hands on a pair of almost front row seats. It was such an awesome concert. I got to spend time with my husband and see an artist that I love at the same time. Total win-win.
2. What’s your first thought when you see it’s snowing (or what would you say if you don’t live somewhere with snow? suggested by Poekitten from Many Waters
THANK YOU GOD! We decided not to go to Monterey, CA and come here so that we could see family and play in the snow. Guess what? It has snowed, but it melts within 24 hours. I feel like it’s kind of a cosmic joke. It snowed in Maine on Christmas while we were up there and it was like heaven. I really disliked snow growing up, but now I love the calmness and peacefulness it brings. I desperately miss getting 12+ inches of snow in one snowfall, those days are amazing.
3. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed? suggested by Erika from Chambanachik
Hm…this is a good question. It made me reflect on the past month. I guess if I had to go back and redo the last month, I would tell myself to be less stressed about silly things. At the end of the day, the things I was stressed about are such small insignificant matters, it was ridiculous to get worked up about them in the first place. People don’t change and those who can’t respect me and my family need to not be part of our lives.
4.What was your favorite thing that happened in February?
Spending a gorgeous long weekend in Maine. Catching up with one of my oldest friends. Going out for dinner with my best friend. Getting a whole week to spend with my oldest daughter while she was on vacation from school. February was pretty awesome.
5. What are you looking forward to in March?
Going to Maine (there’s a trend here) by myself. My husband is sending me away to go hang out with my family and friends without the responsibility of chasing my kids around. I’m excited about it.