Chickpea Dumpling Soup

 Hope you have had a wonderful week! I've been busy with clinicals which I'm really enjoying and this week was so much better than last.  My sweet friend Donna passed away last week which made for a rough week.  She was such a Godly woman, friendly, and so sweet.  I just loved her so much! I'm glad she's resting now but it's just sad to think that's she's gone.  Anyway, Stephen's been working so hard with the church and I know he's especially tired at the end of the week.  We have music practice tonight too so I prepared this soup today since I got off work early and it will be perfect for when we get home tonight.  It really doesn't take long to make either. 

I've always had this desire to have chicken dumpling soup, it just sounds so comforting and hearty.  But, I don't eat chicken! So when I saw this recipe on The Chew, I knew it would be the perfect substitution.  The dumplings were just like I thought they would be and I think this is a perfect soup! It takes about 30 minutes to prepare so it's great for a weeknight quick meal.  Hope you'll try it and let me know what you think!

Chickpea Dumpling Soup

Soup:
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
3 stalks celery
3 carrots
2 cans chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning (one of my favorite all-purpose seasonings, it gives great flavor!)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4-5 cups vegetable broth

Dumplings:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
A little sprinkling of Adobo seasoning
3/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1. Chop the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots and saute in olive oil or a little vegetable broth.  I have recently learned you can use broth instead of oil to saute, it really doesn't make a difference and cuts out the oil!

2. Add seasonings and chickpeas.  Saute another 2-3 minutes then add the broth and bring to a boil. 

3. Reduce the heat and let the vegetables cook until just tender (15 minutes).

4.  In the meantime, combine the ingredients for the dumplings.  First the dry ingredients, then the milk stirring until just combined. 

5.  Once the veggies are just cooked, spoon the dumpling batter into the soup in small teaspoons (I learned this the hard way last time making huge dumplings!) Let the soup simmer another 15 minutes.  I flipped the dumplings over about halfway through but I'm not sure it's necessary.  I'm not an expert with dumplings but I understand the cornmeal makes them not chewy... anyway, then it's done!

6.  Season with additional salt and pepper or whatever you think it needs! Hope you enjoy, I know we will!

National Pie Day!

It's National Pie Day, (and week) which means I couldn't pass up an excuse to make pie. It really doesn't take too long to do the prep work, so celebrate by making a pie and maybe try one of these recipes! I'm sure a special person in your life will be glad you did!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 Classic Apple Pie

Try these others too, I think I may soon!

Key Lime Pie 

Peanut Butter Pie

Lemon Pie

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is such a classic that I don't make often enough.  A friend recommended Reames frozen noodles (found in the freezer section of the grocery store) so I wanted to try these noodles and soup sounded like a great option.  It was such a comforting soup and the noodles are really hearty and filling.  You should try them next time you go to the store!  The next day the soup broth pretty much absorbed into the noodles but it made a new dish... chicken and noodles! Anyway, it was really simple and quick and a great meal for when you get home late and want some soup, which happens quite often at our house.  Or when you're feeling under the weather, which is likely to happen at some point this winter!

So here's the simple recipe:

2 stalks celery
3 carrots
6 cups chicken/vegetable broth
Chicken (I used "fri-chick")
1 bag Reames noodles
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the celery and carrots and saute in a little olive oil (5 min).  Add seasonings and saute another 2 min.  Add broth and chicken, when it comes to a boil, drop the noodles in and continue cooking about 20 minutes or until noodles are cooked.  Season with salt and pepper and that's it!