Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is a classic comfort food perfect for the winter weather! In the fall and winter months we typically have some stewing hens for sale and this is the perfect dish to really appreciate the extra flavor of an older bird. (Also in a smaller household this is a great way to use up leftovers if you prepared a chicken earlier in the week! Just dice it up and throw it in your broth) Whenever we prepare a whole chicken we a stick the entire bird in a large stockpot, add 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt along with an onion and some celery and let it boil on low for a few hours. Once the chicken is cooked through let it cool and peel it from the bone. Strain your broth to remove and small particles and add your chicken back in. If it needs more flavor we typically add a few chicken bullion cubes. While that simmers prepare the dumplings. Place the flour, backing powder, and remaining salt in a bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut the lard in until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the milk 1/4 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Drop the dough into the boiling pot by the teaspoon. Cover the pot and boil for 12 minutes.

1 3-5 lb stewing hen or broiler chicken (whole)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

Optional: 1 onion

Optional: 3-5 stalks celery

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. lard, cold and coarsely chopped

1 cup milk

This recipe was adapted from "Lard" published by Grit magazine. Make sure to check out their cookbook for more great recipes!

Pan-Fried Pork Chops

I am a firm believer in beautifully grilled pork chop but have trouble convincing my husband of their value in below freezing temperatures. So in desperation I've gotten creative and thought I'd share my newest pork chop passion! 

Farm fresh Pork Chops (Thinner ones will cook faster). Sprinkle with seasonings, I used salt, pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt, and garlic powder but get creative! Coat in a 2:1  mixture all purpose flour and dried onion flakes. I would start with maybe 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c onion depending on how many pork chops you're doing you may need to add more. Heat up a skillet and add some lard or oil. Lay your chops in the pan and turn them every few minutes. Once they're browned on the outside cut one and make sure it's cooked through. Green beans are a perfect side, but anything will do!

Tell us what spices you used to add a little flair to this staple recipe!

Lard not love.

The timeless ingredient in Grandma's cooking was love right? I hate to break it to you, but it was probably lard. Lard from pastured pigs is creamy and buttery and pale white and is a totally different product than what's on grocery shelves. Rendering lard is very easy, just a little time consuming. Pick up a few pounds of leaf lard and take it home and thaw it out. Then dice it into cubes and put it in a roaster or slow cooker on low. After two or three hours open the lid and ladle off the liquid. Put it  through a strainer, or two. Then pour it into a mason jar. In addition to storing some in mason jars I measure out 1 and 2/3 cups and freeze them in small bread pans or plastic containers. Once they're frozen solid you can pop them out and store them in a gallon bag in the freezer ready to go into all of your breads and pies! After about six hours you'll have gotten pretty much all of the lard. You can freeze the remaining chunks of fat for green beans or dog treats. You can freeze lard almost indefinitely or store it in the fridge for easy access. We use it for frying eggs, cooking veggies, brownies, pie crusts and about anything else you can think of! If you need more ways to use it check out the cookbook Lard: The lost art of cooking with your grandmother's secret ingredient.