Food and Fun Friday - Weekend Cooking with Lady K

Lady K was with me all last weekend. And since the weather was turning to fall, I wanted to fix a couple of soups and some bread to see me (and Texter and Savvy) through the coming week. But most importantly, she had been planning on making 'Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing' for my birthday!

We were going to do it back in September for my birthday. However, due to her being under covid quarantine, it didn't happen. But the child who can't remember what she had for breakfast, THIS she could remember. 

I grew up cooking with my grandmother, so I feel like I have come full circle. Even though she couldn't understand why I preferred cream cheese frosting on my cupcakes rather than chocolate, she loved mixing and filling the cupcake tins. She was also able to take hers home with her, so was really pleased with our cupcake cooking. 

Since I had gotten chicken on sale on Friday, I knew I needed to make something with the 4.5 pounds of chicken breasts I had. Naturally I polled Savvy and Texter on what soup to make. The results were divided, so I made both.

I am loving making this variation of chicken and dumplings as it is really chicken and pastry as I am using frozen dumplings which are really thin. I thicken the liquid with flour or corn starch to make it almost a stew rather than soup. But it's warm and tasty and satisfying, plus reheats well in the microwave.

The second soup I made was 'granny' soup.

Lady K was my 'stirrer' and vegetable adder-inner. I'm not completely comfortable letting her use sharp knives yet. But it's coming. She advised her opinion of needing more or less of certain items. I also used a jar of my canned tomatoes in it. 

However, while she was more than happy to indulge in the cupcakes, both soups were not to her taste. The soup had green beans and lima beans in it, so it was definitely a no-no.

In the end I took a quart of each soup to the girls and I have enough in my fridge for the week of meals. I love the idea of coming home and pulling something out of the fridge for my meal with the only decision to be made is which one to have.

To accompany the soups, I used the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day recipe and made 4 small boules of bread to go along with the soups.

They came out nice and crusty. SOMEONE couldn't wait for her loaf to cool, dived in. 

I had forgotten how easy this method is and will be making up another batch for myself. With the size of the boules, it is just enough for one person for a few days. Savvy has requested another loaf, this time with cheese in it - her favorite.

Another item I fixed earlier in the week was a Dutch Baby with the toppings on it making it look like a banana split, without the banana. 

One remark made by Lady K to me during our time in the kitchen was that she didn't get to cook at her house. It was enough to make me stop and not be so impatient and upset over the mess we were making. Sometimes things like that don't matter so much as letting her learn to cook.

She's back in a couple of weeks and I will have to figure out what we will cook together. I guess in my letter to her I'll ask her what she wants to make. It should be interesting.