Sorta Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

Choosing your chicken:
I buy only the thighs with skin on for more flavor, but have substituted skinless breasts for a healthier alternative. Either way, you want bone-in bird. For a larger feast, double the ingredients, and use a whole chicken, cut into 8 sections.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
- 3 Tbsp. Powdered Chicken Broth Mix
- 4 cups water
- 3 pinches of Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper

Dumplings:
- 3 cups bisquick
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Pinch of salt

Kitchen:
- Large Dutch Oven or Heavy Stock Pot with lid
- Mixing Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Clear plastic wrap

Directions:
With the dutch oven, melt the butter on medium heat and sweat the onions completely. Add garlic, italian seasoning and broth mix and saute for one minute.

Add the water, salt & pepper, raise the heat to medium high, and add the chicken. Bring to a boil. Make sure the water just covers the chicken, so add more if you need to. Boil the chicken until the juices run clear.

In a large mixing bowl, combine Bisquick, salt, milk and heavy cream, and stir until a gooey dough forms. Cover with clear plastic wrap and set aside.

Remove chicken from pot and place on cutting board to cool, turn heat to low. Let chicken sit for about 10 minutes, and then seperate the skin, meat and bones, adding the meat back to the pot.

Bring the heat back to medium until it begins to bubble, and gently drop spoonfull sized dumplings to the boiling water. Boil for about 12 minutes.

The dumplings should thicken the stock to a gravy, but if you'd like to thicken it, use 1 tablespoon of corn starch in a small cup of cold water, mix until dissolved, and slowly add to pot, continuously stirring.

Chocolate Salty Balls

Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 heaping tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 bag marshmallows
- 6 cups Chocolate Krispy Cereal
- Extra Butter for your hands at Room Temperature
- Spray Oil

Kitchen:
- Large Stock Pot (nonstick makes it easier)
- Medium Casserole, brownie pan, or plastic container
- Large Sturdy Spatula
- Aluminum Foil

Directions:
Grease Casserole dish with the spray oil thoroughly. Roll out Aluminum Foil onto the counter and spray with oil too.

Melt butter over medium heat, stirring often/constantly. Butter will bubble, then foam, then go clear again, so keep stirring. Butter should have a nutty aroma and turn a golden color as it starts to brown.

Keep stirring over medium heat for about 1 minute longer, and dump the bag of marshmallows and salt into the butter, and immediately take the pot off the heat, stirring vigorously to allow the butter to melt the marshmallows. It should take about 5 min for the marshmallows to completely melt, so return the pot to low heat if you need to.

Once the marshmallows are completely melted, pour in 1 cup at a time of the Chocolate Krispy Cereal and stir. This is where you may get a brief upper body workout, the more cereal you add, the more resistance you get when stirring. Push on until the cereal is completely incorporated.

Before you dump it into the aluminum foil, taste a bit to see if you'd like to add another pinch or two of salt. (I usually do.)

Get a pinch or two of softened butter and rub it on your hands like lotion. Pinch some cereal mix off and roll into a ball. The balls should be a little smaller than a golf ball. Place in the casserole dish as you go. You may need more butter for your hands, I usually use about 4 tablespoons.