Dinner with the Parrys

We tried a new recipe at our house tonight. The kids LOVED it. I don't think I've ever even seen Victoria clean her plate, and she ate two helpings. Tristan ate three helpings. I thought it was a little bland and needed some salt, but that's easily remedied. Best of all it's cheap and fairly healthy. All of the ingredients (excluding spices) came to $9.40. The recipe says that it makes 8 servings, but I thought it was more like 12. This brings the cost to 78 cents per serving. You can't beat that! This dish would also freeze well, or be great for a potluck.

Quesadilla Casserole

You will need:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8 3/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can chopped green chiles, undrained
6 flour tortillas (8-inch)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional- I left it out)

1. Brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chiles; mix well. Stir in all of the spices except red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup pf the beef mixture on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

3. Bake in preheated 350 oven 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Molly's Chicken & Dumplings

Healthy? No. Delicious? Definitely. I'm actually making this recipe as I blog about it. It's Richie's favorite. You'll know why when you see how much buttter it calls for. He's been begging me to make it all week, and since he is more than likely heading to the Carolinas for Hurricane Earl, I thought I would ablige. This recipe started out as a found recipe in an Amish cookbook that I bought when we were first married, but I found it bland. Throughout the last five years I've tweeked it. So much so, that I believe that it's become my own. We think it's similar in taste to The Cracker Barrel's dumplings; just far more rustic. Perfect for fall, my favorite season!

Dumplings:
3 C flour
6 T butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 C milk
1 big can of chicken broth (49.5 oz.)

As for the chicken, I would suggest 4 pieces pressured in a pressure cooker, any mix of light and dark meat. Whatever you prefer. If you're short on time a cooked store bought whole chicken shredded with two forks works great also.

1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender or fork.
3. Add milk and work the dough with your hands. The dough will be very heavy and sticky. This is what you want for a moist dumpling. If you don't like it cut back on the milk and butter.
4. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling chicken broth.
5. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
6. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more.
7. Add shredded chicken and warm through before serving.