My Creativity

SInce I started the store almost 2 years ago now the time I have to create through scrapbooking is so limited. It is so limited that often I feel to pressured and don't even try. I do however enjoy cooking and well eating. Since I have to feed my husband and kids I can't come up with anything to fill that time slot.

Well last night I was making Chicken Pesto (my version anyway). As I was de-boning one of those rotisserie chickens from Kroger to chop it up I felt the need to smell chicken stock boiling in my kitchen. As I dropped the bones, skin and a little meat in the pot I began to get excited for the future of that chicken stock. My first thought was Chicken Noodle Soup. If you ever make your own you will never go back to Campbell's. Sorry lived on it as a kid but no more.

My husband however didn't seem so excited about the though of chicken noodle soup today so I went on to Chicken and Dumplings. Well I cook with a recipe but not line for line. This morning the stock was done now I just had to find out how to make good dumplings. The net is my salvation on these spurs. Well anyway I knew I wanted to make real ones, with shortening! I found the recipe. I ran to the Butcher and got a chicken - they were so small I laughed at them. The cashier told me she had just made some. So I asked her if she added cream of chicken or milk to her's (as I had seen this in several recipe's), she said she didn't and I was glad the idea in my head wasn't far off of hers.

When I arrived home I strained the stock dropped in the chicken and dropped it in and brought it to a boil, knocked it back to a simmer and went on with my day. In a few hours when I had time for it again I started to play in the flower. When I play in flower I look like a two year old who's Mom didn't know she was in the kitchen. The dumplings turned out perfect and the kids and I (after scooping the chicken out and redraining the stock) started to drop them in one at a time. I was so excited as the house smelled to die for!!!!

Well about a half hour later after I'd pulled the chicken off the bone I split it in half. Half went in the dumplings and half into the extra stock for chicken noodle soup tomorrow. All I can say is WOW it was SOOOO good. I guess I'm excited because I tried it one time with "drop dumplings" and they just were not good. I guess the next thing to try is going to be fixing up a large batch of dumplings and freezing them so that when I want to make it again I can just defrost the broth and dumplings, cut up a rotisserie and put them together.

Yum food. Sitting here now all I can think about is the chicken noodle soup for lunch tomorrow!

If I can't scrap I have to enjoy something - right?
Heather