SAHM Cooking on a Rainy Night

In the midst of hard rain & cranky kids bursting into tears in the middle of doing homework, it is so nice to have a cozy dish to serve for dinner! I'm also, frankly, glad that J is the bad guy & I am the good guy in Boot's eyes tonight. I served chicken & dumpling casserole (which my oldest probably would have loved if the word "casserole" hadn't been mentioned), lima beans and applesauce. I should have made applesauce from scratch ( I love it all warm & honeyed), but was lazy & got Musselman's homestyle instead. For dessert, I've got some chocolate bread pudding in the oven. It should be ready just in time for CSI. Both these recipes are from stay-at-home mom friends of mine.

Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 minced cloves garlic
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 scant tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cans chicken broth (or about 4 cups of the real thing)
10 oz. frozen peas
4 c. cubed, cooked chicken

Dumplings:
2 c. Bisquick
2 tsp. basil
2/3 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onion, celery & garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Add peas & cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chicken & pour into greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Mix Bisquick and basil. Add milk & stir with fork just until thoroughly moistened. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on top of chicken mixture. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

2 c. cubes of day-old French bread
1 c. chocolate chips
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 qt. casserole. Put bread in it. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Mix rest together. Beat well. Pour over bread. Put casserole in baking pan filled with 1" hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm.