No Monday Blues Here.

Ahhh, hello Monday. Mondays mark my first of three days off.

Most people despise Mondays but I love them.

This morning I was searching for a printable grocery shopping list and found My Grocery Checklist.  This is a brilliant site.  I would love to high five the individual who created this. You can choose from multiple grocery categories and mark the items you need.  There are even lines to add in your own items.  When you are done you simply press enter and you can choose to print or have your list emailed.

With that said, this week for dinner I'm making Paula Dean's Chicken and Dumplings.  Just the sound of this meal makes me want to turn our fireplace on, throw my hair in a messy bun and wear my coziest pajamas.  

Who doesn't love a big bowl of comfort food on a cool Fall day?  

Well, almost Fall day.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 (2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 teaspoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup

Dumplings:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Ice water

Directions

To start the chicken: Place the chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon, and House Seasoning in a large pot. Add 4 quarts of water and in water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken until it is tender and the thigh juices run clear, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and, when it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones. Return the chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.

To prepare the dumplings: Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, drizzle a small amount of ice water over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of ice water. Kneadthe dough and form it into ball.

Dust a good amount of flour onto a clean work surface. Roll out the dough (it will be firm), working from center to 1/8-inch thick. Let the dough relax for several minutes.

Add the cream of celery soup to the pot with the chicken and simmer gently over medium-low heat.

Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces. Pull a piece in half and drop the halves into the simmering soup. Repeat. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently move the pot in a circular motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.

To serve, ladle chicken, gravy, and dumplings into warm bowls.

Cook's Note: If the chicken stew is too thin it can be thickened before the dumplings are added. Simply mix together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water then whisk this mixture into the stew

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

*Please note, several people reviewed this recipe and remarked that the dish was much too salty. They did not correctly read the instructions and they added an entire cup of salt (which was meant for the House Seasoning).  Please don't make the same mistake.

Can't wait to try this and hope you'll try it too!  Now go print off your grocery list :)