I love to cook. There is a cheesy movie that came out years ago with Sarah Michelle Geller and Sean Patrick Flanery about a woman who owned a restaurant and the magic that she created in her kitchen. Whatever she felt when she was cooking was passed on into the food and the mood transferred to the patrons who ate there. It was silly and whimsical, but for me it held a grain of truth. Cooking is not only to feed your belly, but your soul. It’s all about the senses, the smell, the texture, the memories, in other words the whole experience. My friends and family often tease me that they never have the same meal twice, as I am continually throwing in a touch of this or that as my mood (and pantry) dictate.
The other day my daughter and I were chit chatting about how we missed my mom, so I looked at her and said let’s bring her for a visit. We went into the kitchen and I taught her how to make Chicken and Dumplings, a meal I remember well from my youth. As we cooked we shared memories of my mom and laughed and just enjoyed. She asked a million and one questions about when I was little and what we were doing and why. Then when it came time to add the spices I had her sniff each one in the jar, she scrunched her nose looking at me doubtfully a few times asking how that was going to make our food taste good and telling me it smelled nothing like her grandma! Then I showed her how to release the flavor by crushing the herbs in your hands as you sprinkle them in the pot. Her eyes sparkled with amazement as I had her smell her hands after and she cried in delight “It is Grandma!”
My ordinarily small-portioned eater ate like a trucker that night, enjoying not only the fruits of her labors but the memories as well. She talked excitedly throughout the meal telling her brothers all about how she got to visit with Grandma today. If that’s not magic I don’t know what is…

Chicken and Dumplings

Serving size ½ cup feeds 8

Soup Ingredients

-1 cup cooked chicken (I use either leftovers from a roasted chicken or a couple cans of chicken breast)
-4 cups chicken broth (I’m not going to lie, fresh always tastes better, however store bought does a good job too)
-2 Tbs. Butter
-½ medium onion, finely chopped
-1 celery stalk, finely chopped
-2 Tbs oregano leaves
-2 Tbs basil leaves
-1 Tbs gumbo file
-2 Tbs thyme leaves
-1 ½ tsp seasoning salt
-1 ½ tsp pepper
-1 Tbs garlic powder
-2 cups rice

Dumpling ingredients

-1 cup Bisquick
- ½ cup milk
-2 Tbs parsley leaves
-1 tsp oregano leaves
-½ tsp seasoning salt
-½ tsp pepper

In large pot melt butter, sauté onion and celery, combine remaining soup ingredients except rice.
Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover then let simmer for 1 hour.
In medium bowl combine all ingredients for the dumplings and set aside.
Add rice to soup, bring back to boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 min.
Drop tablespoonfuls of dumpling mix into soup, cover, and let simmer for 30 min.
Spoon out the dumplings and place them on separate serving dish. Serve soup topping with one or two dumplings.

The longer you let it simmer initially the better the flavor. I have put everything in the crock-pot on low for 6 – 8 hours and it turns out great. To do this, just add the rice about an hour before serving then drop the dumplings in about 30 minutes before serving.
I usually serve this with a tossed salad and a green veggie side, and if you are wine drinkers a dry white goes well with it