Chicken, Bacon and Dumplings

Yes, another bacon recipe. But this was purely out of convenience. Meat was not part of our post-surgery shopping list. My poor husband has been eating meatless dinners or take-out. By the end of the second week, I felt better. I wanted to surprise my husband with a home cook meal. Mind you, I love to cook and have been watching the Food Network all day. My husband was content on what he was eating but I couldn't take it. We had some chicken and bacon in the freezer. I thawed them out and visited the trusty allrecipes.com. Typed in those two ingredients and found this recipe. It was perfect because it was something for both of us.

adapted from R. Swift's recipe on Allrecipes.com

Bacon Chicken and Dumplings
3 slices of bacon, diced
4 red potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast - diced
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
3 cups half-and-half

OPTIONAL Dumplings (while on this liquid diet this amount is too much, have yet to figure out size)
1 1/2 cups biscuit mix
1 cup milk

- Dice and season chicken with pepper and salt
- Cook bacon until crisp, set aside, reserve drippings
- Add onions to drippings, cook until
- Add potatoes and chicken and cook for 15 minutes, stir often
- Add broth and seasonings... salt and pepper to taste
- Stir in corn, simmer for 15 minutes
- Add half-and-half, bring to a boil

Soup is ready for those on the liquid diet. I originally made this with the dumplings and it soaked up a lot of the soup!

However, at this point you can add the mixed biscuit mix. After you combine the mix and milk, roll dough into small balls.
Drop into boiling soup, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. Then another 10 minutes covered. Serve with crumbled bacon.

LEFTOVER IDEAS:
First night, I strained the soup and drank as is.
The next day, I placed it in the blender (picking out the chicken). Added more broth so that I can liquify it better. Warmed it up on the stovetop. Adjusted seasoning as needed.

And something for others in your household:
CHICKEN CROQUETTES with BLT SAUCE
I noticed there was a lot of chicken left. And with all the straining of the soup, everything was so thick! I hated to see it go to waste. I shredded the chicken and mixed it with the remaining thicken soup.
- Form small patties.
- Roll patties in flour (seasoned with pepper & salt)
- Dip patties into a mix of 1 egg yokes (or milk - that's all I had)
- Cover with dry breadcrumbs (mix of unseasoned breadcrumbs & dry parsley)
- Pan fry croquettes in oil
- Place cooked croquettes on plate, pour leftover BLT SOUP on top, be sure to add the tomatoes on top of the croquettes

One little note:
I made this at the end of week 2. I thought I was feeling fine. But I was exhausted the next day! So, best if someone else makes this. Or at least does the prep work. I changed the recipe to red potatoes with the skin. When you are recovering, you don't have time to peel potatoes!

BLT Soup

One thing about this liquid diet is that meals are rather uneventful. Smoothies and soups can be good but without texture and variety, it's rather boring. I miss texture the most. Without it, things start to taste the same. I refuse to blend a pizza or a hamburger. gross! But there must be easy and tasty soups out there that are reminiscent of "real" meals. I did a search and found the BLT Soup on the Food Network website.

Warning: Not exactly healthy (I think it's worse than the sandwich.) But we're not really counting calories at this time, are we?

adapted from Paula Deen on the Food Network
visit the website for the original recipe

5 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 tablespoons butter (optional)
3 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/8 tsp nutmeg
dash of red pepper
1 cup heavy cream

- Cook bacon until crisp, set aside and place bacon on paper towel, reserve drippings
- Add green onions to drippings and cook until wilted
- Add butter (this is a Paula Deen recipe after all, but I think you can leave it out. Original recipe ask for 2 TBS)
- Add broth, nutmeg, red pepper. Heat to boil and stir often. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Add cream and mix well
- Strain, set aside to cool down, it's thin enough to drink through a straw

This makes a lot of soup, so share with others in your household. The original recipe adds a mix of 1/4 cup of mayo and 1/4 cup of sour cream. Top soup with spoonful of the mix and add the crispy bacon for garnish.