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Dolly Parton, Chicken & Dumplings, and Food that Comforts

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When we had our son, Wagner, my entire church and most of our coworkers kept our bellies full and our freezer stocked for nearly three months. We had cassaroles, salads, fruit, cold-cuts, rolls, cakes, venison burgers… oh, and PIES. So good pies. This was the most wonderful gift we could have been given, especially since we were sleep deprived, cranky, and barely functional. It’s a tradition that’s not unique to Mississippi for people to “fix you something.” All over the south, when someone has a baby, or someone gets sick, or someone’s family member dies, food appears on the doorstep with prayers and love. It’s the most amazing thing. I’ve had people send love (also known as food) when my own grandmothers and grandfather died, and as my mother was battling (and winning) lung cancer.
Food comforts in ways that words can’t in certain situations. My favorite thing to take in situations where comfort food is called for is chicken and dumplins (it also happens to be one of my favorite things to eat in the world, so I figure it’s probably everyone else’s, too, right?) They are warm, and fill your belly, and just right. Honestly, “fixing you something” is this incredible act of love and hospitality that is one of my most favorite things about our south.

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The Perfect Comfort Food: Chicken and Rice

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Chicken and Rice
Serves 6-8
My grandmother was known for her comfort food. She was also one of the warmest, softest, most comforting women that I’ve ever known, so it makes sense that her food would make you feel warm and loved, too. In the summer we snapped fresh green beans together for her to cook all afternoon, and when I’d spend the night with her when my parents were out of town she’d make me chicken & dumplins or creamed chicken and we’d pile up in her bed with my cousins and watch Golden Girls, M.A.S.H. or Designing Women and she’d sew.
I miss her everyday.
It’s to her credit that when Boone and I got married that the first meals I cooked him as a bonafide wife were things out of the notebook she gave me.  It started out as a place for her to write down my favorite recipes in her perfect little cursive handwriting. It turns out that the recipes tell me to measure in units like “pinches” and “a little bit” but I watched her enough times to be able to figure that out. One of those recipes, and the one that my mom also makes that is perfect for blanket weather and when you need a hug. Chicken and rice is one of Boone’s favorites, and I made it a few weeks ago on one of the first cold nights.
 What you need:
4-6 pieces of chicken (dark meat is best here)
1 stick oleo (I used 1/2 stick of butter since I LOVE the flavor…although no healthier. boo.)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cans beef consomme pluc one cup water (or 3 tablespoons beef stock dissolved in 3 cups water…i use better than bouillon)
1 Tablespoon onion flakes (i go with 1 chopped onion instead)
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1 can mushroom stems and pieces
1 package of slivered almonds
What to do:
Preheat your Oven to 350 degrees.
Season and brown the chicken in the butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Set the chicken aside. pour a bit of the beef stock into the pan to release the goodness from the chicken. Using a little of the butter, saute’ the onions in the same pan, and melt the rest of the butter in the pot. Pour in the rice and stir it for a few minutes to brown it. Once the color has turned a bit brown in color (which somehow releases this really delicious flavor of the rice) then combine all of the other ingredients into the dutch oven…but wait on the almonds.

After you’ve poured in the stock, the seasonings, and the mushrooms, check to make sure that you have enough liquid in the pan with the beef stock to cover the rice just a bit. Put the Chicken on top of all of the rice mixture, and then sprinkle the almonds on the top. Cover and bake for about an hour, at 350 or until the rice is cooked all the way through and the liquid has been absorbed. It’s all i can do not to eat forkfulls of uncooked rice in anticipation of the finished product.

the almonds add the perfect crunch and the rest is warm and comforting. our family serves this with sweet potato sticks and butter beans. something about the sweetness of the potatoes and the saltiness of the butter beans and the savory chicken and rice makes the PERFECT autumnal night.

 

Do you have a favorite comfort food meal?

Warm Homemade Banana Pudding (light!)

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Warm Homemade Banana Pudding
Weight Watcher’s Points: 5 per serving
One batch: 8 servings

Warm banana pudding… truly, there’s no dessert so sweet, and creamy, and velvety. some people think that homemade banana pudding should be cold, and made with vanilla or banana flavored jello pudding…but once you’ve tasted this, you’ll never go back. It’s not that I won’t eat the cold, jello-based, slightly crunchy kind from buffets or pot lucks, (i mean, it’s BANANA PUDDING. I’ll eat any kind any where…) but the jello version just isn’t as silky, comforting, and refined as the warm homemade kind that my grandmother used to make.

In fact, she taught me that real banana pudding involves bananas, actual nabisco ‘nilla wafers, and baked custard. Not everyone is aware of just how amazing this custardy-kind truly is (which means more for me!)

To celebrate losing 7 pounds, I decided that I could splurge a little with my favorite dessert, BUT I didn’t want to entirely blow it out points-wise, so I made a few substitutions for a heavy-on-taste but lighter- on-fat-and-calories version and took it on over to our friends Ashley and Will. You can ask them if they could tell it was “light” and whether they ate more right out of the serving bowl… (our secret) 😉

What you need:
4 ripe bananas
1 box of reduced fat nabisco ‘nilla wafers (or the regular kind, but that adds more points)
2 cups skim milk (or whole milk..whatever floats your boat)
6 egg whites (tradionally 3 whole eggs)
1 tsp vanilla (oops. i forgot this, but it turned out just fine)
1/6 cup stevia + 1/6 cup sugar (or you can use 1/3 cup sugar if you aren’t worried about calories)
1/8 teaspoon salt

What to do:
getting started is easy-peasy. preheat your oven to 315 (unless you’re using only sugar. then preheat it to 325) thinly slice a banana and layer it with your ‘nilla wafers.

 

in this bowl it took me about 18-20 wafers and banana slices per layer, but i’m not a stickler for perfect layers, so that’s up to you.
once  you’ve got the bananas and wafers taken care of, tackle the custard. separate your eggs, then combine your sugars/stevia mixture, salt, and egg whites into a bowl and whisk together vigorously (you want them frothy)

take the milk and pour it into a small saucepan on low heat. warm it until it steams (under no circumstances should you let it boil..seriously, you’ll get up with chunky milk. so. gross.) then pour it slowly stirring it into the egg mixture.

 

pour the mixture over the wafers and bananas and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. let it cool for 20 minutes then cover it until you’re ready to serve it!

 

this stuff is bananas. 😉