My aunt was a Benedictine Nun who taught Home Economics at The Monastery of the Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Indiana. The nuns there were part of the Sisters of St. Benedict. it was a private girl’s school. Every holiday, the campus was empty, and we would have Thanksgiving there with our family. One of my favorite memories was watching Sister Mary Anna make dumplings.

So when the leaves have turned and the frost is on the pumpkin, Mama Wood likes to make chicken and dumplings. My recipe has changed over time as most recipes do. But the fondness for those wonderful family days at Thanksgiving can never change.

what you will need

1. 1 whole chicken (or you can get a chicken prebaked in your local deli)
2. 1 box of organic chicken bone broth (bone broth is so good for you and it has a rich, deep taste)
3. 8 cups of rich chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon Brand) not the roasted chicken one, just the regular. I use 1 tablespoon for every cup
4. 4 cups all purpose flour
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 stick of butter
7. 2 cups buttermilk
8. Thyme (a handful)
9. Bay Leaf

For the chicken

put 4 cups of broth and 1/2 the box of bone broth in the crock pot. add the clean, washed chicken (with the innards removed) belly side down in the broth. add the handful of thyme and the bay leaf, making sure the bay leaf is submerged in the broth

Cook the chicken in the crock pot for 4-5 hours on high until the chicken falls off the bones.

remove skin, thyme, bay leaf and bones, then rough chop the chicken

set aside

You can choose to use the broth from the cooked chicken or you can start fresh with 4 cups of broth and ½ box of bone broth

Heat broth in a soup pot on medium heat.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal

Add buttermilk, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are all moist.

Turn dough out on to a floured surface. And knead until fully combined.

Roll out to about 1/3 to ½ inch . depending on how big and thick you like your dumplings.

Slice dough about an inch wide then cross cut the dumplings about an inch wide too.

Drop the dumplings one by one, in different places in the broth. Let the dumplings cook a few minutes without stirring. (you don’t want you dumplings to fall apart)

When dumplings are fully cooked, drop the chicken in to the broth a handful at a time until all the chicken is in the pot

With a large spoon or spatula, lightly mix the chicken in to the dumplings.

Ladle in to a bowl and sit in front of the fire eating Mamas chicken and dumplings……

Mama Wood’s Mac and Cheese (not your Mother’s mac and cheese)

Macaroni and cheese has a long cultural meaning in the United States. when we were poor college students, we survived on 19C boxes of Kraft mac and cheese. Today, it has become the epitome of comfort food.
This mac and cheese will knock your socks off. the creaminess of the coconut milk and cream cheese will leave you with an empty dish, wanting more! Let me know how you like it!!
Ingredients
17.6 ounces of Organic Penne Rigate Pasta
8 ounce block of cream cheese
13.88 ounce can of coconut milk
6 ounces of smoked gouda cheese (I found hickory smoked bourbon gouda at Wal Mart) shredded
1 cup of regular Colby/jack shredded cheese
6 ounces of aged white cheddar –shredded
6 ounces of aged Parmesan or Asiago — shredded
1 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
Process
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Prepare pasta as instructed on package. drain, then sit aside.

In medium sized sauce pan add stick of butter, melt over low heat. whisk in 1/4 cup of flour, slowly as not to lump the flour. once the flour is incorporated, add the can of coconut milk, whisking until smooth. add cheeses in until fully incorporated.

Add pasta and fully incorporate.

Spray 11 x 8 casserole dish with spray oil.
Pour cheese and mac mixture in to the prepared pan.

Bake 375 for 30-40 minutes until bubby

Optional–Add cooked, crumbled bacon on top and serve. I add the bacon, when the mac and cheese is a meal. if a side dish, then it is optional

if a meal, add a Malbec, Pinot Noir or light red. Blanc, fruity Chardonnay or Blanc de Blanc