Eat from the Pantry: dinner & dessert recipe

We ate dinner using 2 successful Eat from the Pantry recipes I tried for the first time this week. My efforts at eating from the pantry have taken me on adventures in cooking and baking this month, but I received enough compliments on these two to convince me to share them here.

Mel's Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, diced
4 ribs of celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1 potato, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage
Spray slow cooker with Pam. Place chicken and vegetables in slow cooker. Pour chicken broth, cornstarch and seasonings into a plastic container with a leak-proof lid. Shake ingredients until smooth. If the cornstarch still has lumps after shaking, crush lumps with a fork.
Pour liquid over chicken & vegetables. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Add dumplings one hour before serving and turn setting to low.
* Serves 4-6

Dumplings:
1 cup Bisquick (I used the Heart Healthy kind)
1/4 - 1/2 cup skim milk or more
Mix milk and Biscuick to a relatively liquid-y consistency. It should almost be pourable. Dot stew with teaspoonfuls of dumpling batter, stirring to incorporate. We like smaller dumplings in our house!


Mel's Yellow Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Glaze
* adapted from the "Starlight Yellow Cake" in Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 small package vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups milk (I used 1 cup skim, 1/4 cup half & half)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg + 2 egg whites

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1 tablespoon flour

Heat oven to 350. Spray Bundt pan with cooking spray. Stir dry ingredients together in prep bowl. Beat butter in stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar to butter 1/2 cup at a time, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add eggs one at a time and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk & vanilla. After all ingredients have been added, beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. To keep chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the cake, stir 1 tablespoon flour(or more) into chips until well coated before adding to batter. After cake batter is whipped enough to look lighter in color, fold in chips by hand and pour batter into pans. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour. Invert and remove cake carefully on plate, then pour chocolate glaze (recipe below) over cake and cool.
* Serves 12-15

Chocolate Glaze
* from the "Chocolate Glaze" recipe in Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup (I used the dark corn syrup I had in the pantry)
1 to 2 teaspoons hot water

Heat chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate chips are melted. Cool 10 minutes.

Stir in hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until consistency of thick syrup. Pour over Bundt cake, cool, then cut and serve.