~CRACKER BARREL COPY CAT RECIPES~

CRACKER BARREL CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Chicken and Broth

INGREDIENTS:
3 quarts water
1 3-4 pound chicken cut up
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 small onion sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

DUMPLINGS

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle.

Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot. Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.

CRACKER BARREL HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:
2 lb. frozen hash browns, defrosted & drained.
1/2 cup melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pt. sour cream
1/2 cup peeled, chopped Vidalia or sweet type onion
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups crushed bread crumbs or corn flakes crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees F. Defrost hash browns and drain well. Combine next 7 ingredients. Mix with hash browns. Put all in a 3 qt. Casserole. Sauté bread crumbs or corn flakes lightly in butter and sprinkle on top. Cover and bake at 350 for about 40 min.

CRACKER BARREL BABY CARROTS

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs fresh baby carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse carrots and put in a sauce pan, pouring enough water in pan to just cover the top of the carrots.

Cover carrots and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Turn heat to low and simmer about 30 minutes til tender when pierced with a fork.

When carrots are tender pour off half to three fourths of the water.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

CRACKER BARREL COCA-COLA CAKE

INGREDIENTS;
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup Coca-Cola®
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.Heat butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola® to boil and pour over the flour mixture. Mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and marshmallows and blend. The batter will be thin with marshmallows floating on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons Coca-Cola®
1 box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Boil first three ingredients. Remove from the heat and blend in the sugar and vanilla extract. Spread on warm cake.
Recipe source…joycesfinecooking.com

PERFECT SOUPS & STEWS FOR FALL RECIPES!!

PERFECT SOUPS AND STEWS FOR FALL

Soups can be light and refreshing with the added sweetness of seasonal vegetables and herbs. Paired with breadsticks or crackers, soups can be a full meal.

Stews on the other hand are a full-bodied mixture of large pieces of meat and vegetables melding together in a rich sauce. Mixed with short pastas or wide egg noodles, stews can be savored well into the winter months

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

This is comfort food at its very best, especially great for consoling yourself over
the loss of warm summer days.

INGREDIENTS:
1-fryer chicken, cut up or 3 lbs. bone-in breasts or 2 lbs. boneless/skinless breasts
2-TB. canola (vegetable) oil
3-Cups water or chicken broth
1-whole bay leaf
1-Cup celery, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1-small onion, chopped (1/2 Cup)
1-Cup carrots, cut into small pieces
1-tsp. salt
1/2-tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/3-Cup flour or chicken gravy mix
1/2-Cup water

Dumplings:
2-Cups flour
4-tsp. baking powder
1/2-tsp. salt
1-tsp. freshly ground pepper
2-TB. butter
1-Cup milk

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Place the chicken in a pan and season. Bake the chicken until browned, about 30 minutes. It doesn’t need to be fully done. Remove the chicken from the bones and skin and set aside.
Place the bones and skin in a soup pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Add the bay leaf. Cook for 45 minutes.
While the stock is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Strain the stock and return to the pot.
Add the chicken, celery, onion and carrot to the pot.
Add the salt and pepper.
Simmer for 30 minutes, using a large spoon to skim off any fat that rises to the top. Combine the flour and water and whisk to a smooth paste. Slowly drizzle into the broth, stirring continuously, until the desired consistency.

DUMPLINGS
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Cut in the butter and blend until you have pea-sized bits of dough. Add the milk and stir until mixed.
Drop by the teaspoon into the broth and chicken mixture. Simmer until the dumplings become light and fluffy.
If you are unsure about your dumpling-making skills, you can start by cooking them in a separate pan of simmering chicken stock at least 2” deep. Dumplings need a bit of room to float around and turn themselves over during cooking. Once you like the looks of them, you can transfer them into serving bowls full of stew and spoon some of the broth over them, or you can move on to cooking them right in the chicken stew. They will be a richer brown color if cooked in the stew. There is plenty of dumpling batter to play with!

BEEFY MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP

As the weather turns cooler, soup is the perfect meal to chase away the chills.

INGREDIENTS:
1-lb. lean beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2-TB. olive oil
3-medium onions, coarsely chopped
10-oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
3-large carrots, sliced
1/2-Cup pearl barley
7-Cups beef broth
1-Cup dry red wine or no salt added tomato juice
1-2-tsp. salt (to taste)
1/2-tsp. pepper
1-Cup frozen green peas
2-tsp. fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and sauté until brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan drippings and cook until the onions are golden. Return the beef to the pot. Stir in the carrots, barley, broth, wine, 1 tsp. salt and PEPPER, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, until beef and barley are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the lemon juice, taste and add more salt if desired, and serve.

FIVE HOUR OVEN STEW

Try a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of ginger for a burst of flavor.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 lbs. stew meat, beef or pork or boneless chicken thighs, cubed
6-Cups peeled, cubed potatoes (or small red potatoes unpeeled), about 4 large
12-small whole pearl onions, or 2 medium onions cut into chunks
4-Cups carrots, peeled and cut into 3" rounds (5-6 medium carrots)
2-Cups celery, cut into chunks (2 large stalks)
1-15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes or 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1-2-tsp. salt (to taste)
1/2-tsp. ground pepper (to taste)
1-2-tsp. turkish oregano(to taste)
1/2-tsp. granualted garlic powder (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large, oven-safe pan, combine all of the stew ingredients. It is not necessary to brown the meat. Cover and bake at 250° for 4 to 5 hours. 30 minutes before serving, taste the stew and add the rest of the seasonings as desired.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

This easy soup is a great way to use up leftover ham on the bone - or buy ham shank at the store-the smokier the better. Split peas are nice in that they don't have to be soaked-perfect when you're in a hurry.

INGREDIENTS;
1/2 - 1-1/2-lb. dried, split green peas
2-3-Cups ham, chopped
2-qts. ham stock (simmer a ham bone in water with 2 bay leaves for 2 hours and strain)
1 small onion, finely minced
3-large white potatoes, peeled and diced
1-carrot, peeled and cut into thin coins
1/2-tsp.savory
1/4-tsp. thyme
1-tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:
One pound of peas (a regular-sized bag) is the average amount used for thick soup, 1/2 lb. will make a thinner soup, and 1 1/2 lbs. will make a thick porridge. Wash the peas by covering with water and draining several times, until the water runs clear. Place the peas, chopped ham, ham stock and minced onion in a soup pot, bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to medium-low and stir every 15 minutes or so to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom. Simmer the soup for one hour, and then add potatoes, carrots, savory, thyme, and salt. Cook until the peas are pretty much dissolved and the potatoes are tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with freshly ground black pepper on top. This soup is even better after a night in the fridge. Split Pea Soup also freezes well.
Recipes adapted from Penzeys:

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH POT PIE or CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS!!!

Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pie
Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken & Dumplings

Source: Bella Online
Noodles and dumplings made from homemade dough are used in many old Pennsylvania recipes. Chicken Pot Pie is a delicious main dish that's still very popular in Pennsylvania Dutch country today. Pa. Dutch style Chicken Pot Pie is not really a pie at all. In this thick and rich stew, noodle squares are cooked in chicken broth along with chicken, potatoes, celery, onion, and carrots.
Turkey, beef, or ham can be used instead of chicken to make Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

Pot Pie Squares (the noodles)
3 cups flour
1 large egg
1 T. vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1/2 - 3/4 cup water

Combine flour, eggs, and shortening. Alternately knead & add small amounts of water until the dough holds together. Divide into two or three pieces. Roll each to about 1/8" thickness on a floured board. Cut into squares - about 2" to 2 1/2" each. Dry freshly made pot pie noodles for a half hour or more before cooking.

The Stew
Instead of stewing a chicken, you can also use about 3 or 4 cups of cooked and shredded chicken or turkey leftovers. If you use leftovers, add about 2 quarts. of chicken stock or 4 cans of chicken broth, (such as College Inn) instead of the 2 quarts of water.

1 - 3 lb. stewing chicken
2 quarts of water
5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into bite size chunks
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup very finely diced carrots
1 small onion - chopped
1 T. dried parsley
1 tsp .salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook the chicken in water until tender. Remove the chicken from the broth and separate the meat from the bones and skin; cut or shred the chicken meat into bite size pieces. Meanwhile, add vegetables & seasonings to the simmering broth and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, then add the pot pie squares to the broth mixture, a few at a time, stirring frequently so they don't stick together. After all have been added, cook gently for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the noodles are tender. **Add the cut up chicken and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Pot pie is usually served on dinner plates or in shallow bowls. Serve with a salad such as coleslaw, pepper cabbage or lettuce with hot bacon dressing for a complete meal.

Chicken and Dumplings

Follow the pot pie recipe, but instead of pot pie squares, add dumplings. This dumpling recipe is from a Mennonite Community Cookbook.

1-1/2 cups flour
1 egg - beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
2 to 3 T. milk
Sift the dry ingredients together. Add beaten egg and milk. Mix until well blended. The dough should be soft, but thick enough to drop pieces from a spoon. Drop by tablespoons full into the boiling chicken broth. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Continue following the pot pie recipe from the **.