Soup-er Sunday Week 3

As I mentioned before, Brett and I enjoy making soup every Sunday during football season. Sometimes we go back to old faithful recipes and sometimes we get a little daring. This past week I was pretty home sick and REALLY wanted my mom's chicken soup with spatzels. It truly is amazing and the best chicken soup I have ever tasted (although everyone probably says that about their moms soup, I really think my mom's is). We decided on chicken and dumplings since there is no recipe to my mom's soup. Another rule to our soup making adventure is that we make it in the crock pot so that we can throw it all together and then it will be ready in between games. We found the following recipe online. It was good...not as good as my Aunt Sondra's chicken and dumplings (I have some pretty good cooks in my family) but it was pretty good. I would suggest to anyone making it truly consider whether or not you want to add the allspice. I think that it adds a very different flavor. I think I would try this one again but replace the allspice with some chicken base.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion -- chopped
3 pounds chicken parts -- cut up
2 cups chicken broth
2 stalks celery
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2 carrots -- peeled, sliced
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup dry white wine
1 can refrigerated biscuits
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown onion in butter and oil just until tender, then brown chicken parts and place all in a 6-quart crock pot. Add remaining ingredients except heavy cream, flour and biscuits. Cook on high 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or on low 5 to 7 hours. When chicken is done, remove pieces to plate and let cool, then debone. While chicken is cooling, mix flour and cream together, then stir into crock pot. Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Drop into crock pot and turn on high. These will need to cook about 30 minutes, until they are firm. Return chicken meat to crock pot after deboning and serve.


In addition to making soup yesterday, Brett and I ventured out to Montana Charlie's, a local "flea market". Back in Pennsylvania, there is a wonderful flea market called Trader Jack's...Montana Charlie's did not quite live up to Trader Jack's, but it was fun. To put this nicely, Brett and I were in the minority as we do not speak Spanish. It was amazing the things that were being sold...snakes, scorpions, underwear, Cubs jerseys, cacti, fake designer purses, porn, dried peppers...it might be the most random collection of goods I have ever seen. I bought some Glade plug ins and an onion and away we went. It wasn't the best flea market for buying but definitely not bad for people watching.