Books and Comfort Food

Ty bought me a series of books by Francine Rivers, called Mark of the Lion for my birthday.* One of my favorite books is Redeeming Love written by Rivers, so I was very excited to receive these. There are three books in this series and I am on the last book. They are full of history and center on Rome when it was at the height of its power. It took me a while to adjust to the first book, because it contained so much historical and background information. A little different than my vampire books and chick lit.

The last time we were in our hometown my MIL made a chicken and dumplings recipe from the January issue of Southern Living. I was a little hesitant when she told me this is what she was making. I had made chicken and dumplings last winter and it turned out awful. This recipe was so different than the one I tried and it was YUMMY. It definitely hit the spot.

I forgot to take a pic of my dish, so you will have to make do with an iPhone pic of my magazine.
Why is my magazine so wrinkled, you ask? Well, someone in my house might have spilled a thermos of coffee all over our coffee table and it wasn't me.

This is an easy version of the classic recipe.

1 (32 oz.) container low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 (10.2 oz.) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced

1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a low boil.

2. Place biscuits on a lightly flowered surface or on wax paper. Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1/2-inch wide strips.

3. Drop strips, 1 at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Add carrots and celery. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.

*My birthday was in November. I didn't want to cause confusion since I had blogged about two of my birthday presents two days in a row.