The freezer was getting a bit bare Saturday. Things like that happen when paydays are two weeks apart. I moved a few things around and discovered a whole chicken breast hiding in the back corner and then laid it out to thaw in the 'fridge.
Sunday, I put it in the trusty Griswold #8 cast iron Dutch Oven. I had placed the trivet in the bottom to keep the breast from resting on the bottom of the pot. Then I added six chicken bouillon cubes, about 2 cups of water, three chopped stalks of celery, half an onion, and some salt and pepper., and I popped into the oven at 350, and let it cook. And cook. And cook...
Sunday, I put it in the trusty Griswold #8 cast iron Dutch Oven. I had placed the trivet in the bottom to keep the breast from resting on the bottom of the pot. Then I added six chicken bouillon cubes, about 2 cups of water, three chopped stalks of celery, half an onion, and some salt and pepper., and I popped into the oven at 350, and let it cook. And cook. And cook...
| Two hours later, the wife arrived home. While she'd been away, I'd been thumbing through an old 1940 era cookbook I'd won at an auction a few weeks ago. I'd run across a recipe for dumplings, and thought that it would make a great dinner. So, I whipped up a batch. It included: 1 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder,1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of milk. I mixed it all together and dropped into the liquid all around the Dutch oven chicken. Twenty minutes later, I scooped them out and removed the chicken. |  |
The chicken was deboned by my wife while I turned the liquid into gravy with a roux made of flour and butter. I added the gravy to the chicken, and we ladled it over the dumplings. Best of all, I made enough that we had about a quart of left-over chicken and gravy.
 | Tuesday rolled around, and I remembered the gravy in the fridge. Normally things like that scoot behind other items and is only discovered when it finally growls at us weeks down the road. But not this time. I had plans for it. I pulled out the 2-quart Griswold aluminum sauce pan and put the chicken and gravy onto heat. I then got out my old standby - Bisquick - and put together a batch of waffle mix. |  |
For those who've never made it, it's easy. It's nothing more than:
- 2 cups flour
- 1-1/3 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp oil
 | While I was mixing it up, the trusty Wagner-Ware cast iron waffle maker had been heating on the stove. Each stove is different and temperatures vary, but in our case, medium high works well for this application. I simply let it heat for 5 or 10 minutes, and once ready, I spray it with cooking spray. After that, I just added about 2/3 cup of batter. I stirred the chicken and gravy and allowed the waffle to heat on one side for about two minutes; then flipped to the other side for another two minutes. I checked it for crispiness and decided to let each side cook another 30 seconds or so... |
Viola! Success! Five waffles later, dinner was served. Homestyle meals like these are still my favorite.
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