Chicken and Dumplings

INGREDIENTS

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 large carrots
• 4 large potatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 1/2 cups rotini pasta
• 2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuit dough

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil chicken in a large pot until completely cooked through and no longer pink inside, about 15 to 25 minutes.
2. While chicken is cooking, wash and peel carrots and potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. When chicken is cooked, remove from water and place carrots and potatoes in water to boil. Stir in cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup and simmer all together.
3. Let chicken cool, then cut into cubes. When potatoes become soft/tender, add pasta and cubed chicken to pot. When pasta is tender (after 8 to 10 minutes), add biscuits/dumplings by pulling dough into chunks and dropping into the pot (Note: Each biscuit should equal 3 dumplings). Simmer all together for 10 to 15 minutes, or until biscuits are cooked and fluffy inside.

Mexican Bean Stew

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup dried pinto beans
• 1 cup dry black beans
• 1 cup dry garbanzo beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse and sort pinto beans, black beans and garbanzo beans. Place in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight.
2. Drain beans and place in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 hour, or until beans are tender. It may be necessary to add more water during cooking to prevent drying out or scorching.
3. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is transparent. Stir in cumin. To the beans add the onions, garlic and crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in corn and cinnamon; cook 15 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste before serving.

Peanut Butter Vegetable Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
• 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup canned whole tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large stock pot, combine the broth, chicken, potatoes, and carrots. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, till vegetables are tender.
2. Add zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Simmer for about 8 minutes.
3. Add peanut butter, parsley, salt, and pepper; stir until peanut butter is fully blended. Simmer for 3 minutes longer.

Ham and Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Real Texas Chili

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the beef cubes in the oil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the garlic.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin and flour. Sprinkle over the meat and stir until evenly coated. Crumble the oregano over the meat and pour in 1 1/2 cans of the broth.
3. Add the salt and ground black pepper, stir together well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer, partially covered for about 90 minutes. Pour in remaining broth and simmer 30 minutes more, until meat begins to fall apart. Cool, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to blend.