Kitchen Adventures 17.2

Branching out and trying something completely different can be intimidating. When it comes to my food, I tend to stick with the usual, or at least around the usual. I dread the thought of making something that I would hate, wasting the money and time I spent making the dish. Every now and then, though, just the right thing comes along to push me outside my normal comfort cooking zone.

This recipe is not extremely outside my zone, but it is a little different. I have not had dumplings very often, but I do know that I like them. My boyfriend, however, does not. Most weeks I make dinner during the week and he pays for or makes food on the weekends. It usually ends up balancing out. When I told him this involved dumplings he was not terribly excited about it, but we went on the quest for gnocchi at the store. However, we came up unsuccessful. We looked in the refrigerated section and frozen section to no avail. Later I found out they are probably on the pasta row, but at the time we did not think of that. So, we avoided the dumplings and instead used tortellini. It ended up being a good substitute, but I would still like to try this with the gnocchi.

I discovered that this dish definitely takes some time. I decided that I needed to switch the steps in the directions, at  least for what I did. The changes are below. Hopefully it makes sense when going through it.

This recipe came from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Creamed Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings (or Tortellini)

Ingredients:

One 1lb. package potato gnocchi (or tortellini)
4 T. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
2 T. flour
1 c. half-and-half
1 c. chicken broth
2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until toasted, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring continuously, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Right before adding the chicken to the onion and pepper combination, prepare the gnocchi or tortellini according to the package directions. Make sure the water is boiling well before you add the gnocchi or tortellini. Drain when done and set aside.
4. When the sauce is thickened, stir into the chicken mixture and then add the gnocchi. Bring to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper and top with the scallions.