Caramel Apple Bites

This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine. If you don't subscribe to it, you should! It's an awesome food/cooking magazine my mom got me hooked on a few years ago. ( Which reminds me, I need to renew my subscription!) If you know me, you know I LOVE anything with nuts. It's a fun recipe that's a little more eater-friendly than carameled apples.

Ingredients:

FILLING:
1/3 cup chopped unpeeled apple
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

DOUGH:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

TOPPING:
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
2/3 cup evaporated milk
Green toothpicks
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions: In a small saucepan, combine filling ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened; set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and salt; beat well. Add flour; mix well. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Flatten and place 1/4 teaspoon filling in center of each. Fold dough over filling and reshape into balls. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a saucepan over low heat, cook caramels are melted. Insert a toothpick into each cookie and dip into caramel until completely coated. Dip bottoms into nuts. Place on wire racks to set. Yield: about 3 dozen.

My Pal Rochelle's Apple Cheesecake Bars

Oh, my goodness. I had these last week and about died. They are so delicious. To kick them up a notch, just drizzle caramel sauce over the top right before you serve them. Or make a streusel topping and drizzle caramel over that (Paula Deen has a pretty good recipe here, and the picture is at the bottom). The nutrition information is here, but I guarantee you just don't want to know.

Apple Pecan Cheesecake
1 1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
4 cup chopped peeled apples (about three)
3/4 cup pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat to 325. Line 13x9 pan with parchment paper, ends sticking out over sides. Mix crumbs, butter & 2 Tbsp. brown sugar; press firmly into pan.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup brown sugar& vanilla in lg. bowl on med speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time; mix on low after each just until blended. Pour over crust. Mix remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, apples, pecans & cinnamon. Spoon evenly over batter.
Bake 55 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. let stand at room temp. 30 min. before serving. Lift cake from pan, cut into 16 pieces.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

I have found that this recipe makes a lot of filling that doesn't fit into just one crust, so I either make my own or make sure I have at least two pie crusts.

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1 12 ox. cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg. (4-serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups whipped topping

1.  Mix cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk and sugar in large bowl with a wire whisk until smooth, gently stir in whipped topping.  Spread on bottom of the crust.

2.  Pour 1 cup milk into bowl.  Add pudding mixes.  Beat with wire whisk 1 minute.  (Mixture will be thick.)  Stir in pumpkin and spices with wire whisk until well mixed.   Spread over cream cheese layer.  

3.  Refrigerate until set.  Garnish with additional whipped topping if desired.  

The Perfect Bread Machine Loaf

A couple of people seemed interested in this recipe so I thought I'd better post it. It took me a long time to figure out my bread machine. We got it for our wedding and my first several tries with it were total disasters so I gave up. Finally, I guess about a year ago, I was trying to start making my own bread to use food storage wheat and I was having a hard time finding time to make it by hand all the time. I kept experimenting, and I was able to figure out how to make good bread the super-easy way. To keep the crust from getting too hard, I take the loaf out when the timer says 20-25 minutes, not zero! (this probably depends on the machine, but don't trust it, watch it yourself to see if it looks done) The stupid bread machine totally overcooks it. To keep the loaf from falling in, add gluten flour (1 T per cup flour). Don't try to make 100% whole wheat bread. It works fine if you want to make the dough by hand or in the machine and then bake it in the oven, but for some reason it never turns out right in the machine. I like my normal program better than the whole wheat cycle, even for whole wheat bread. I make this bread a couple of times every week. Now I can't even stand to eat store-bought bread, this is so much better!

1 1/4 c warm water
1 T sugar or honey
2 T oil or butter
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c bread flour
2 c whole wheat flour
2 T gluten flour
1/2 c instant potato flakes
2 1/2 t yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the pan, and set the program. You're done! The machine does the rest.

Favorite Baking Blog

http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/

Best.Blog.Ever.

Lemon Pepper Recipe

2 teaspoons dried lemon peel
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Add all the ingredients to a coffee grinder/food processor and process into a coarse powder.

Lemon Chicken

Sorry, I'm tried not to monopolize the recipe blog, but I just have so many to share that I think you all will love. This chicken is excellent with paired with the nutty wild rice recipe. It has such a fresh zesty tangy flavor, it gets those taste buds going! I make this recipe for just Paul and I and just use a 1/3 of what the recipe calls for.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. flour
lemon pepper, to taste
1/2 c. butter
2 T. fresh lemon juice

Pound chicken to 1/4" thick. (Can use soup can if you don't have the meat mallet tenderizer.) Combine salt and flour; dredge chicken in mixture. Sprinkle a lot of lemon pepper on each side of each chicken breast. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat and saute chicken for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Add lemon juice to skillet and increase heat to make a glaze. Serve chicken and lemon butter over rice or mashed potatoes.

Nutty Wild Rice

So this is the recipe I was going to bring but I didn't have all the ingredients. It is so good though!

1/3 c. slivered almonds, or pinenuts
1 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (16 baby carrots chopped)
2 cloves garlic, (1 t. minced)
1 c. + fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 c. wild rice (uncooked), or combination of brown, wild, white... whatever you have on hand.
2 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 t. salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
1/3 c. Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread slivered almonds on jelly roll pan, greased with a tiny bit of olive oil or butter. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes. Let cool and chop almonds.
2. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, carrots, garlic & mushrooms. Saute until tender and onions are translucent. Add rice and cook until it is lightly browned. Add broth, wine, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Toss with parsley and nuts and serve.
*I like to make this dish with a mix of wild & brown rice. If I have any white rice I need to use up, I will throw it in at the very end and it mixes very nicely.
**This tastes excellent when paired with a lemon chicken.

Unfold the Turkey

I found this recipe in my Human Development textbook today. It was so cute I decided to share it. This recipe was originally from "Smashed Potatoes," edited by Jane Martel.

1 big bag full of whole turkey (get the kind with no feathers on, not the kind the pilgrims ate.)
A giant lump of stuffin'
1 squash pie
1 mint pie
1 little fancy dish of sour berries
1 big fancy dish of a vegetable mix
20 dishes of all different candies; chocolate balls, cherry balls. good'n plenties and peanuts.

Get up when the alarm says to and get busy fast. Unfold the turkey and open up the holes. Push in the stuffin' for a couple of hours. I think you get stuffin' from that Farm that makes it.

I know you have to pin the stuffin' to the turkey or I suppose it would get out. And get special pins or use big long nails.

Get the kitchen real hot, and from there on you just cook turkey. Sometimes you can call it a bird, but it's not.

Then you put the vegetables in the cooker- and first put one on top, and next put one on the bottom, and then on one in the middle. That makes a vegetable mix. Put 2 red things of salt all in it and 2 red things of water also. Cook them to just 1/2 of warm.

Put candies all around the place and Linda will bring over the pies. When the company comes put on your red apron.

Ghosts in the Graveyard

I made a recipe in Taste of Home for this, but found the picture and a similar recipe on KraftFoods. The only difference is cream cheese. I like it with cream cheese, which does make it kinda rich, but without is good too, it's light and fluffy! So, take your pick! It's pretty easy and feeds about 13 people...and it's yummy.

3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 tub (12 oz.) Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
15 OREO Cookies, crushed

8 oz. cream cheese *if you want

**Assorted decorations: Either Cameo Creme Sandwich Cookies or Nutter Butters or a cookie tall and thin resembling a tombstone! Decorating gel, candy pumpkins, pieces of candy corn, and I like to put on gummy worms!

For cream cheese- In a bowl whip cream cheese until smooth. In another bowl mix up pudding and when set, add whipped topping and pudding in small amounts at a time to cream cheese until smooth, scraping sides of bowl.

Otherwise, POUR milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Let stand 5 min. Gently stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping and half of the cookie crumbs. Spread evenly into 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, decorate creme sandwich cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones. Set aside until ready to use.
INSERT decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining whipped topping onto dessert to resemble ghosts. Cover and store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Slow-Cooker Applesauce

4 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
½ cup sugar
3 T brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
¼ cup water

Fill crock pot with apple slices until they reach about 2 inches from the top. Combine sugars and spices in a bowl and mix into the apples. Pour in the water. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Mash with a potato masher.

Autumn Pumpkin Squares

Autumn Pumpkin Squares
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (I also added a tsp pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp baking soda

*Combine and mix ingredients and spread in (jelly roll) baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle chocolate chips over batter (or just mix it in). Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cube butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
*Mix... if too dry add 2 or 3 tsp water.

Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken

This was absolutely delicious! This only tastes better as the left-overs continue. I highly recommend each of you try this, you'll find your new favorite flavor... that is if you like curry!

4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet yellow onion, sliced
8 oz baby carrots
1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Curry Sauce
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 c chicken broth, homemade is best
1 T curry powder (or more/less to taste)
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp.+ coarse salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

For serving:
Hot cooked sticky jasmine rice
Toasted flaked coconut

Spray the inside of the crock-pot with non-stick cooking spray. Place the prepared potatoes, onion, and baby carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Scatter the minced garlic over the carrots. The slow cooker is about half-full at this point.

Brown the chicken: Heat 1 T vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken breasts in two batches until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken breasts to a plate to drain.

Make the sauce: In a medium size bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, chicken broth, curry powder, and hot pepper sauce until smooth. Whisk in the salt and pepper.

Assemble the ingredients:
Place half the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables. Cover with half the sauce. Place remaining chicken and sauce in the slow cooker. Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook covered on HIGH for one hour.

Turn heat to LOW and cook for another 4 to 4.5 hours. Do not remove the lid. Do not stir the ingredients while they cook.

Serve with hot, cooked rice. If desired, sprinkle with optional toasted coconut.

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Cake:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 T. butter, melted (this is why it is sooo good!)
Filling:
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
8 T. butter, melted (okay, so this help alot too!)
1 16 oz. box powdered sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg & butter in bowl and mix well with electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.
3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter. Beat together. Next add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey still. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Variations:
Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20 oz can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.
Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.
Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

Butternut Squash Pasta

1 T.+ olive oil
1 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. (1/2") cubed, peeled butternut squash
1 T. chopped fresh or 1 t. dried rubbed sage
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice (just equal parts nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, & black pepper)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
2 c. penne pasta, cooked according to box

Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic & red pepper; saute for 3 minutes. Add squash; saute 10-20 minutes or until soft and tender. Stir in sage, nutmeg, allspice, 1/4 t. salt & 1/4 t. pepper and remove from heat. Mix the pasta with the squash/ spice mixture, then add just enough olive oil to lightly dress the pasta.

I mixed the spices with 1 c. half & half, 1 c. ricotta cheese, & 1 t. salt. Then I added that mixture to the pasta. Looking back, I would not add the crushed red pepper. I would put a sweet yellow onion in instead of a white. I would use butter instead of olive oil. I would add 1 T. of brown sugar. I would add parmesan cheese and use fresh sage instead of dried. That would make it. I know, there are a lot of changes there--but hey you don't know what it's going to be like the first time!

Caramel Pumpkin Cookies

These are my absolute favorite pumpkin dessert. They literally just melt in your mouth. Please don't ask me how many I've eaten this weekend. I won't ever tell.

Cookie Ingredients:
2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg. mini chocolate chips

Caramel Icing:
6 T. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
8 T. milk
2 c. powdered sugar (maybe more)
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions
1. Cream together shortening, white sugar and pumpkin in very large bowl. Add eggs (one at a time) and mix well. Sift together twice; baking soda, cinnamon, salt & flour in separate bowl. Add to pumpkin mixture & mix well. Mix whole bag of mini chocolate chips in with wooden spoon.
2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. I like to make mini cookies rather than big ones, so just a regular spoon drop works great. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or no longer gooey.
3. To make frosting, cook butter, milk & brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over warm cookies.

Yummy Ants on a Log

This has nothing to do with the theme, but I fixed them for a snack, and I swear I blinked and they were gone. Note the little hand already reaching into the picture!

Make them with carrots, celery, or apples, and peanut butter and raisins, or other dried fruits.

Variation: cream cheese and little ham cubes, get creative!

Pumpkin Cookies

These are so yummy and easy, and they are lowfat! I know it sounds weird, but I promise it works.

1 spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips (mini are super cute for these)

Mix the cake mix, dry, with the pumpkin until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Tortellini with Garlic Sage Butter Sauce

I made this for the first time a couple nights ago, and oh man, is it good! It's basically garlic-infused butter sauce with a little spike of sage and pepper at the end. Oh! And the garlic gets crispy! Yummmm!

6 T (yes T!) butter
6 cloves garlic, very roughly chopped
pepper
ground (teaspoon or so)or fresh sage (6 leaves)
tortellini (the Winco bulk kind is really good)

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and gently simmer the garlic until golden. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in salted water until done. Add sage and pepper to butter sauce, sautee for a couple minutes, then serve over cooked tortellini. Eat lots and lots.

Apricot Salad

This is actually for last month...

This is my grandma's recipe and I love it. You don't use actual Jello, but gelatin and apricot nectar so it has a stronger flavor and a different texture.

Heat in a medium saucepan:
1 (12 oz.) can apricot nectar
1/3 cup sugar
a few grains of salt

In a separate bowl, soften 1 package gelatin in 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Add gelatin and lemon mixture to nectar and refrigerate until slightly thickened. Remove from refrigerator and put into an 8 X 8 pan (double the recipe for a 9 X 13 pan).

Fold in 2 sliced bananas, 1 can mandarin oranges (drained), and 1 can pineapple chunks (drained). (The pineapple chunks are optional -- my grandma never puts them in, but I like them.)

Chill until firm. Serve with whipped cream on top.

Spider Cake

I found this picture, and it is the closest I could come to what my cake looks like. I like how they used cupcakes on the side of the cake. Cute touch for kiddies.

My recipe is pretty darn easy. Just make two 8 or 9 inch round chocolate cakes and let them cool. Meanwhile, mix pistachio pudding according to the pie directions on the box and chill in the fridge. Once the cakes are cooled, Put one cake on your serving dish and cut out a 4 inch round piece out of the middle of the cake. You can use this piece for a spider head if you want. Take your pudding and put that in the hole. Cover with chocolate frosting and then add the top cake. Frost like you would a normal cake and then decorate it however you want. I like twizzlers for legs, m&m's for eyes, etc. The cool part is when people cut into it, the pudding comes gushing out like the spider's guts. It is pretty awesome. You could do the same thing in cupcakes, just cut out the middle after they are cooled and then put the middle back in, frost, and decorate.

Halloween Tacos

My Grandma LOVED Halloween. Then my mom loved it, which is probably why I love it so much as well. Tacos are a Halloween tradition at our house. We make them every year, and we make them just the way Grandma made them. She died about a year and a half ago and I miss her like crazy, but carrying on her love for the spooky holiday is a way to stay connected. Plus it's just so much fun. More recipes to come, but I thought I'd post this one while I was thinking about it.

Ground beef

Potatoes (somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 a medium potato per pound of meat)

Taco Seasoning (I like the Taco Bell brand)

Taco Shells

Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese and any other toppings you enjoy.

Shred raw potatoes into raw ground beef in a skillet. The potatoes help the meat stick together in the shell, while also adding bulk to the meat, making it easier to cook for a lot of people. Brown meat and add taco seasoning according to packet directions.

Chop toppings. Toast shells on broil for just a couple minutes. I always burn one batch, so make sure you keep an eye on them. Just broil long enough to make them crispy. Serve.

(Love the new look Leslie! Well done!)

Banana Pudding

Okay, so I got this recipe on the back of a Keebler Vanilla Wafer box, but it was a favorite for us this past summer. Yummy, pretty light, and it's easy! I meant to post this all Sept...I'm just a day late. Everyone's desserts look soooo good!

48 Vanilla Wafers , divided
3 cups milk
1 package (4-serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding & pie filling
4 medium bananas, sliced, divided
Frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed

1. Line bottom and sides of 8 x 8 x 2-inch square or 1 1/2-quart dish with half of wafers.
2. In medium bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 mins, go by directions on box.
3. Top wafers with half of banana slices, then half of pudding. Repeat layers using remaining wafers, banana slices and pudding.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set. Serve with whipped topping. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator. Servings: 9

Chicken & Dumplings

I finally attempted it. Last week I made my own chicken broth. I was really sick and there wasn't anything else that sounded good to eat. It turned out delicious! Last night, I turned it into chicken & dumplings. I used to love to eat these when I was smaller and they were just as good as I remembered them to be.

Chicken Broth:

1 Rotisserie-style Chicken, torn up
3 celery ribs without leaves, cut into chunks
3 medium carrots, cut into chunks
2 medium onions, quartered
2 bay leaves
1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 t. dried thyme
8 whole peppercorns
2 quarts cold water

(I didn't have rosemary or thyme or whole peppercorns on hand, so I just used oregano, ground black pepper, and a tiny bit of basil, also added salt.)

1. Place all ingredients in to soup kettle. It is best to cut vegetables into large chunks, as smaller chunks will lose their flavor faster. When it appears as if stock will boil; reduce heat to low immediately or the fat will never rise to the top to skim off. Skim foam. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones. Discard bones; save meat for another use. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings. (I always wondered why you had to throw the vegetables away, it's because they are tasteless after cooking for 2 hours.) Squeeze all the juice out of the veggies first though through a small strainer.) Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Skim fat from surface.

** I liked using the Rotisserie-style chicken because all the flavor roasted into that, went straight into the broth. If you don't use this chicken, I would add a small cube of chicken bouillon to the broth, for that kick of flavor.



Chicken & Dumplings:

2-5 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
4 c. chicken stock, recipe above
2 onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 t. salt
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 T. butter
2 T. chopped, fresh parsley (optional)
1/2 t. ground black pepper

1. In a large pot, place chicken pieces and add the chicken stock, onion, celery, carrots and 2 t. of salt. Put heat on medium low and simmer, partially covered, 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
2. To prepare dumplings: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg and milk. Add the flour, remaining salt, pepper and baking powder and mix all together. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly. Add 1 T. of chopped parsley and mix. In 6 large spoonfuls, drop dumpling mixture onto the top of the simmering chicken. Cover the pot and let all simmer for 10 more minutes.
3. To make gravy: Remove 2 c. of liquid in pot and place in small pot. Add 1/2 c. cold water to 1/4 c. flour. Stir well until blended. Then add flour mixture to liquid in pot and bring to a boil. It is ready when thick and bubbly and cook 1 minute more. Dish up chicken and dumplings and pour gravy on top. Sprinkle fresh parsley on top.