This recipe was a s-u-c-c-e-s-s!  *I used this recipe for Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumpings on Eating Well as my guide, but as usual basically did my own thing. I was so surprised when the dumplings turned out! It was like MAGIC! And don’t you love the word dumpling? It reminds me of dimples and chubby babies!! (Like my neighbor baby Saul in the DR!!! There is no fatter baby!! I loved that kid. Unfortunately, he is deathly afraid of gringas.)

Ingredients: Here’s what I used, but there is a ton of room for modification. I hate peas so they were ommitted.

Soup Part:

• 1 can fat free chicken soup stock
• 1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
• 4 carrots
• 4 stalks of celery
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 chicken breasts
• A smidge of vegetable oil
• 3/4 bag of frozen sweet corn (prepared)
• 3/4 bag of frozen French cut green beans (prepared)
• Salt & Pepper at will!

Dumplings:

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup nonfat milk

Directions:

Prepare chicken breasts. I baked them in the oven because I am deathly afraid of raw meat. I diced it after it was cooked. Dice carrots, onions, and celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes in a frying pan with a little oil to soften. Combine all prepared vegetables, soup stock, chicken soup, and cooked chicken breast in a large pot. Cook for a while to let the flavors soak in.

To prepare dumplings: Meanwhile, stir whole-wheat flour, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in milk.

Drop the dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, over the simmering chicken stew, making about 18 dumplings. Adjust heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook undisturbed until the dumplings are puffed, the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

I think this may be the best meal I’ve ever made as a married woman. Kevin James and I were both crazy over it. Plus it makes the apartment smell incredible! This was my little project to keep me entertained while Kevin had to do homework so it served several purposes.

I do not miss those days!!! Although sometimes I wish I was working on a doctorate so we could just do homework together. This blog will have to do it for now.

This morning we ended up sleeping in super late. Waaaaaah! Although I’m nothing compared to Megan’s Saturday Tornado of Activity, I don’t like to waste so much time on our free day together. We ended up going straight to the gym where I ran 8 miles! Go me!! I got a little sick because I had tortilla chips & hummus for breakfast. Hummus is NOT a good taste in your mouth when you’re running! But we still hadn’t gone grocery shopping so my options were extremely limited.

These pumpkins reminded me of when we used to sell Uncle Tom’s pumpkins on the corner of Jefferson Ave! We were making bank back in those days!

Of course I made Kevin pose with one by his head. I LOVE this picture of him. He’s just so adorable. I’m going to stare at it for a while before I continue blogging. I’m just so happy I got a real smile out of him! He’s such a poser that the minute I bust out my baby iPhone I start getting the cheese!

We were attempting to reenact this pic:

This is one of the very first pictures I EVER remember seeing of Kevin. Doesn’t he look SOOOO different. Man. I am SUCH a good influence. Doesn’t it just make you want to hang out with me??

Okay, I wasn’t going to do this. But I can’t resist now!

Amazing, right?

After the grocery store trip, I needed something to warm me up. I actually made coffee myself so Kevin James could start on homework. I normally drink it black, but Cinnabon creamer makes it dessert. It’s also about 1,200 calories less than having an actual Cinnabon. Although they are totally worth it!

I really like this picture of myself. I look ridiculous. And those are my least favorite running shorts of all time. Too baggy. Drives me crazy, but I wasn’t planning a serious run so I decided not to sweat in a favorite pair!

Kevin was STILL working on homework so I hit the gym again to earn another bowl of chicken & dumplings! Due to some very poor math calcuations, I ran almost 14 miles today. I thought I ran just over 12, but when I calculated back at home I realized my mistake. Yay!

I also cracked the 2,000 mile marker on DailyMile since I joined! 1139 of those miles were in 2011! What a day, what a day.

Do you like to sleep in on Saturdays? Yes and no. Isn’t it a tough decision? On the one hand. It’s so luxurious. On the other hand, you don’t want to waste free time!!! Doesn’t this quandary remind you of Calvin & Hobbes? I’m too lazy to look it up right now, but remember how he would wake up early on Saturdays to watch cartoons and eat chocolate frosted sugar bombs.

Are you going to buy a pumpkin? If you live in the Wabasha area, I bet my sibs are selling! Do you think they’ll sponsor my blog for advertising them?

Try making the dumplings, people. You own’t regret it. It really is a magical moment when you take that lid off and BOOM! Dumplings!

P.S.  Shoutout to the best chicken & dumplings maker everrrrr and one of my best gal pals from my undergrad days. And omg, I think those are the glasses I have been forced to revert to! They were even crooked in 2008! Thank goodness My Warby Parkers on coming on Tuesday!!