Guest Post - Cooking with Libby

I couldn't be more tickled or honored to have Libby from 
Cooking with Libby doing the first guest post ever on my blog!

I have followed her blog for a long time and so enjoy her lovely recipes and ideas.  We really do enjoy the same kinds of practical dishes. Her gorgeous photos always suck me right in!

Because she's a military wife we connected right away. My sweetie is retired after 20 years of military service, and so....we wives gotta stick together!

Libby and I are on a big adventure together as we are 2 of the 5 gals involved in a new blog - Country Cooks Across America - preparing to launch soon.  It's been such a 'blast' to get to know each other a little more personally via many emails, as we make decisions and talk about options in all that is ahead of us.

Please stay tuned for more info about that within the next week!

Take it away Libby!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

(Libby and her sweet daughter)



Hello everyone :) I'm Libby from Cooking With Libby. I want to thank Marsha for this wonderful opportunity to do a guest post on her site today. Marsha and I met through another fellow blogger and I am so happy that we did. These past few months, we have recently started to write each other via e-mail and it's been just a wonderful experience. She is a former Military Wife so we connect on that level. She also enjoys to bake, bake, bake...just like me ;) I love visiting her blog when I get the chance and have fallen in love with all the yummy recipes she has ;) It's such a great honor to be able to do this for her :)

Before I get to the recipe, let me tell y'all a little about me. I'm a Military Wife of 9 years to the most wonderful man on the planet. We are stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in the northern part of Louisiana. I am also a Stay at Home Mom to two of the most beautiful and crazy children who are under the age of 4. It can be insanely chaotic over here at times, but I love it! Now, onto the recipe..........................

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

When I think of home cooking, the first thing that comes to my mind are Chicken and Dumplings. Seriously. You just can't have one without the other. Home Cooking=a good pot of steaming and hot Chicken and Dumplings. What a great dish to make on a cold, wintry day. There is nothing better then coming inside from the cold and enjoying a wonderful bowl of this heavenly goodness. I can't think of anything better.

 This is definitely a recipe for your slow cooker. Season the chicken, mix the liquids, pour everything on top of the chicken, turn the slow cooker on, and let it cook the whole day. That's it. Very easy to make and not time consuming at all. The only things that take a little time are shredding the chicken afterwards and cutting up the dumplings...but that's easy stuff.

 The original recipe didn't have any spices in it...so I took the liberty of adding some myself. Here in this household, we love our dishes to have lots of kick to them. Maybe it's because we live in Louisiana where the food is always kicked up a notch or maybe it's because our taste buds have matured and we want that extra spicy taste when we eat....who knows? All I know is that the combination of spices I used in this recipe really made it pop. If spicy foods aren't your thing, you are more then welcome to adjust the amount to fit your taste buds...or add your own combination of spices...or better yet, just leave 'em out. You can also choose to leave the onions out. We opted to put onions in and they were a bit on the crunchy side. Either way, the end result is really great dish! Ingredients:

4 or 5 Chicken Breasts
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 cans of condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 onion, chopped (optional)
1 can of chicken broth or stock
1 and 1/2 cups of water (or enough to cover the chicken and then some)
1/2 tbsp. of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (or Season All if you can't find Tony's)
1/2 tbsp. of Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning
1/4 tsp. of ground pepper
1/4 tsp. of rosemary
Paprika to taste
Half a pack of Mary B's Dumplings or 1 (10 oz.) package of refrigerated biscuit dough (not the flaky kind)
Directions:
1. Combine the seasonings (except the paprika) in a small bowl.

2. Wash chicken and pat dry. Rub both sides of each chicken breast with the seasoning mixture. Place the seasoned breasts in the slow cooker

3. Sprinkle Paprika on the top.

4. Place the onions on the chicken and drizzle the butter on top...or if you don't want the onions, just drizzle the butter on top.

5. Combine the cans of Cream of Chicken Soup, Chicken Stock/Broth, and water in a bowl and stir until well mixed.

6. Pour over the chicken and onions. Stir until well mixed. If you think the chicken needs more liquid to cook in, add a little more water.

7. Cook on high for 6 hours. Afterward, take each breast and shred the chicken.

8. Take the Dumplings and tear each strip into 3 or 4 pieces. If you are using canned biscuits, flatten each biscuit and cut into three strips.

9. Dump the shredded chicken and dumplings/biscuits back in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 more hour.

10. Serve on top of rice.Conclusion:


Thank you again Marsha for this wonderful opportunity to guest post on your blog. I hope that some of you will come join me and the family over at :) Cooking with Libby We'd love to have y'all ;)