Bacon Chicken Dumpling

(the ultimate in comfort food....PLUS it had a 6/6 rating, well, one didn't like the dumplings, but thats just crazy so we pretend not to notice)

3 slices bacon
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
3 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
1 1/2 cups biscuit mix
1 cup milk
Directions
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside; reserve bacon drippings in skillet.
Add potatoes, onion and chicken to bacon drippings and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in chicken broth; season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in corn, and simmer all together for 15 minutes.
Pour in half-and-half and bring to a boil; add crumbled bacon. In a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix with milk and mix well (dough should be thick). Drop tablespoon sizes of dough into boiling mixture; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, then another 10 minutes covered. (Note: Do not stir while simmering, or dumplings will break apart). Serve hot.

Baked Potato Soup

2 potatoes
3 tablespoons margarine
2 cups chopped white onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
8 ounces bacon - cooked and crumbled
2 green onions, chopped


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake potatoes for 1 hour, or until done. Set aside to cool.
Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender and golden brown. Stir in flour, and cook 5 minutes to make a roux. Pour in chicken stock and water. Add cornstarch and mashed potato flakes. Season with salt, pepper, basil and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the skin from the cooled potatoes, and discard. Dice the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, and stir into soup, along with the half-and-half. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick. Spoon into bowls, and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon and chopped green onion.

I admit that when I make soup, the specific amts on the ingrediant list is more of a suggestion. And I omit at will. Like the potato flakes. I find these to be gross.....so I just added more potatos....I also used 2% milk, and it had to keep warm on the stove for a good while as practice ran 45 minutes long (such is life) this allowed the potato to cook down even more, making a thicker soup. Regardless, most of the crew here ate it. Well, 4 out of 6 and 3 of those LOVED it. Not bad for this house.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie
12 oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
4 T butter
1 c. Parmesan cheese
4 eggs, beaten well
1 c. cottage cheese

Stir butter into cooked noodles. Then stir in Parmesan cheese and eggs. Divide this mixture into 2 pie plates that have been sprayed with cooking spray and form into crust shape. Top each pie with 1 cup cottage cheese.

Filling:
1 lb. hamburger
1 sweet Vidalia onion, chopped
1 (26 oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain and add spaghetti sauce. Divide and spread evenly on top of the two pasta crusts. Top each with 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake additional 5 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. This dish can be frozen before baking. When ready to use, thaw first, or allow longer baking time.