Sunday Quote is ill, then
Read More“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
~ George Orwell
27 days to an 88000-word rough draft
Things I do not recommend:
-using a hair dryer while sitting in a bathtub of water
-crossing a street while texting
-writing a rough draft novel in 27 days
Sure, it’s cool to be able to say “I wrote a book in 27 days!” but there are a lot of negatives around that, too. Like… barely leaving the house. Being a nervous wreck when I did leave the house.
When I told my husband that the draft of Call of Fire was done, his response was to cheer and say, “Yay! I’ve got my wifey back!” According to him, I am a frazzled wreck when I’m in the thick of revisions, too, but nothing compares to that first draft stage.
I have taken things a bit easier today, but it’s not a day off. I’m already starting on revisions. This book needs fixin’.
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not: Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
There are a lot of slow cooker chicken and dumpling recipes out there, but I sought out one that makes everything from scratch. I made it, tweaked it, and loved it… so here it is!
There is just something about chicken and dumplings on a cold winter’s day. It is soul food. The recipe I made for years required me to basically camp by the stove for two hours. I wanted something a lot more convenient.
Most of the slow cooker recipes for this use lots of canned stuff and grocery store biscuits. I found a from-scratch recipe on How Sweet Eats and have tweaked it to use less broth, more seasoning, and boneless thighs. I find thighs work a lot better to the crock pot since they are less likely to dry out over the long cooking period.
If you’re in need of something to warm your gullet and your soul, make this. The leftovers are darn good for the next few days, too, with or without the dumplings.
Modified from How Sweet Eats.
Bready or Not: Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 1 cup baby carrots whole and halved
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 1/2 - 3 pounds boneless chicken thighs cut into halves
- salt and pepper
- 40 ounces low-sodium chicken stock or broth
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup half & half or milk
dumplings
- 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
- herbs to taste parsley, basil, etc
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup half & half or milk
Instructions
Start the chicken
- In the bottom of a 5 or 6 quart crockpot, layer the diced onion half, carrots, and garlic. Lay the chicken thighs on top and season them with salt and pepper.
- Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it's melted, whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to create a roux. Once it's golden in color, add 2 cups of chicken broth. Mix it well as it rises to a boil; it'll thicken considerably.
- After about 4-5 minutes, pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Add the remaining chicken broth/stock. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
Add the dumplings
- Change the slow cooker to high heat. Shred or cut up the chicken; it's okay if it's not fully cooked since it has more time to cook. Stir the half & half into the crock pot, and put the cover on again as you make the dumplings.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, herbs, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Use a fork or fingers to crumble in the butter until it's evenly dispersed. Add in the half and half or milk until a sticky dough forms.
- Use a tablespoon to dollop the dough into the crock pot. Cover and cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The dumplings will expand to cover the top. The dumplings are cooked when they are soft and no longer raw and sticky in the middle.
- Serve immediately. Leftovers are fantastic heated in the microwave. If you need to make more dumplings, use the same recipe again and heat the leftovers and fresh dough on the stovetop.
- OM NOM NOM!
Sunday Quote loved meeting Connie Willis last year
Read More“I think what saved me is I have always viewed writing as a sort of a holy vocation, like becoming a nun or something.”
~ Connie Willis, interview in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine
C is for Chimera
The Alphabet Anthology series continues! You might recall that I had stories in A is for Apocalypse and B is for Broken. Well, the newest volume is C is for Chimera, and it’s out on April 19th. The cover debuted today! Loooooooook.
What’s more, there’s a giveaway on Goodreads! Enter and you just might win the book.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
C is for Chimera
by Rhonda Parrish
Giveaway ends February 29, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
