My family loves chicken. So much so that I think I could cook it for them every day and they would be happy. Well, except for BigGirl (the Meatasauraus) who needs her steak and “pork butt” to be happy.
I seem to cook an awful lot of chicken recipes. Do you?
This past weekend (as you know if you are a regular blog reader) I cooked 2 5-lb chickens on the grill. I used my beer can chicken recipe and they turned out super good. 
We ate some chicken on Sunday with our spaghetti and then I deboned the rest and saved it for recipes this week.
Last night I made chicken and dumplings (and a mess in my kitchen) and chicken salad with those leftovers.
I thought I’d share the recipes with you today.
But first, I must confess one thing. When I cook, I’m one of those “dab of this, pinch of that, sprinkle a little of this” kind of cooks. So, when you read my recipes, especially these two, remember that fact and feel free to get creative as you cook them. I approximated in the recipes what I did last night while I prepared these two things, but other than the dumplings, the rest was just eyeballing it and flying by the seat of my pants (how is that for mixing my metaphors?)
Anyway, thought it was important to get those disclaimers out of the way.
If you don’t think of yourself as a good cook, I know it is a little intimidating to try to follow someone’s recipe when they don’t give you actual, definite amounts to go by.
But one thing to remember. Cooking is more about the blending of flavors and seasonings and less about science. Baking, well, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post. Baking IS science. And I have the disaster stories from my experiments to prove it. Baking is more precise.
Cooking, on the other hand is more like art. Just go with the flow and see where it takes you. Usually to something good.
Ok, enough of my ramblings. I know you really just came here for the recipes anyway. 😉
Here’s a link to the chicken & dumplings recipe. I changed it only in that I used the leftover chicken and I substituted half whole wheat flour for my dumplings. BigGirl said it was the best chicken and dumplings I’ve ever made. She ate two helpings.
Here’s the chicken salad recipe. It is an approximation of the chicken salad my friend Donna makes. It’s got some non-traditional ingredients, but I love it. I eat it all by itself, unadulterated with bread or crackers (although it is good that way, too)
I hope you enjoy.
Thoughts Along Life's Highway 