Oh Wednesday, my middle of the week friend. It's such a bittersweet relationship we have. But this morning, as I sit here with coffee, this morning we have much to get done on the farm.
Oh look, my dog just vomited on the living room rug. Let's add "cleaning the rug" to the list of things to do today... Where were we? Oh yes, my beloved greenhouse.
The new greenhouse sits on the front porch, in a box, ready to be assembled... AGAIN. See, if you hadn't read or heard before, our first greenhouse was damaged by the world's most bizarre wind storm. The wind blew it over our fence, into the backyard. The metal framing was crumpled as if made out of tin foil. Such a disappointment. But my handsome farmer husband was more than happy to buy a second greenhouse (can I just state here that Mother Nature makes farming incredibly expensive sometimes!?). Alas, the second greenhouse was ordered earlier in the week and today is the day that we will rebuild (and weigh it down with concrete blocks) so that I can continue sowing seeds and getting ready for the big market garden planting!
Remember those baby chicks we got a couple weeks back? Well, they are three weeks old today and I have never been more ready to get these little guys out of my guest room. They are growing so incredibly fast (hence the name Jumbo Cornish Cross) and now that they have most of their feathers, I'm much more comfortable moving them back out to the chicken coop. They'll stay in the large brooder until the risk of frost (and apparently the snow we might be getting later this week) has passed. My worst nightmare is coming out to feed them in the morning and finding 20 dead baby chickens! After all, these chickens are being raised for meat and I'm not looking to become a vegetarian any time soon.
With all of the projects going on here on the farm, we've become in great need of quick meals. Something with that delicious, homemade factor, but can also be made in about 30 minutes or less. Alas, this homemade chicken 'n' dumplings recipe fit the bill.
Let's dig in... literally.
Recipe:
3 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery (with the leaves), diced
6-8 mushrooms, diced
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
16 oz broth of your choice
1 package Grands biscuits, cut into fourths
1 tsp rosemary
s + p to taste
In a large pot, heat to medium/hot temperature and drizzle olive oil. Add chicken and cook until half way done. Add onion and saute until onion begins to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Add carrots and celery. Saute for 5 minutes. Add butter and flour to thicken the soup. Pour in broth, add mushrooms, rosemary and biscuits, and bring to a boil. Cook, covered on medium heat for 15 minutes. Garnish with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Alright, we are off to finish that greenhouse. Those tomatoes can't hangout in my bathroom window forever!
-Megan