84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 9, 1991
Mm MICROWAVE
f~ JM MINUTES
'a
Plump dumplings steaming in a
pot of bubbling stew, sauerkraut
or chicken soup can bring memo
ries of old-fashioned, cozy winter
meals.
In your microwave, dumplings
cook in about five minutes.
They’re an easy-to-make “com
fort food.” And they stretch a stew
to feed a few extra or make a soup
more filling for hungry winter
appetites.
Start out by making the main
dish, usually a stew or thick soup.
It can be cooked “from scratch” in
your microwave, like today’s chili
recipe. It can be reheated from
yesterday’s conventionally
cooked slew, soup or similar dish.
Or you can start with a can of
store-bought stew or a combina
tion of your favorite condensed
and ready-to-eat canned soups.
Microwave this stew, covered,
until it’s almost boiling or is very
hot. If it’s not hot, the dumplings
will cook slower on the bottom.
Which means they’ll probably be
tough and dried out around the top
edges! Use a deep, rather than
shallow, casserole to speed
cooking.
While the stew heats, stir up the
dumplings. Have them ready to
add as soon as the stew is hot.
Drop the dumpling dough in small
spoonfuls onto the hot stew. For
the most even cooking, make the
dumplings small (they get bigger
as they cook), and leave a half
inch or so between them. Arrange
the dough around the edges of the
dish and leave the center open.
Cover the dish with a lid or waxed
paper.
Microwave on High (100 per
cent power, 650 to 700 watts) for
four to five minutes. Cooking time
By JOYCE BATTCHER
may be longer in recipes where
dumpling dough is thinner than
today’s recipes or when dum
plings are cooked atop a very thin
soup. Cooking time will also be
longer in a lower-wattage
microwave.
Check dumplings for doneness
after 3/4 minutes. When done, the
dumplings will no longer be
doughy-looking. Try to separate
them with a fork. If necessary, re
cover and continue microwaving
for intervals of 30 seconds. If your
microwave cooks unevenly, rotate
the dish once during cooking.
And, if one dumpling just won’t
get done, finish cooking it, with a
little stew underneath, in a custard
cup covered with waxed paper.
The easiest dumplings are made
with biscuit mix. I’ve included a
basic recipe, which you can cook
atop any of your favorite stews or
thick soups. Today’s other recipe
includes a different kind of dum
pling. These com dumplings are
delicious, too. They go well with
the thick, spicy chili to make a
comforting and cozy winter meal.
Easy
Microwave Dumplings
1 cup buttermilk biscuit/baking
mix (spooned into measure)
'/) cup milk
Stir biscuit mix and milk
together until mixed. Do not beat.
(Some small lumps should
remain.) Drop by 8 small spoon
fuls around edges of hot stew,
thick soup or other main dish,
leaving center open. Cover with
lid or waxed paper. Microwave
(High) 3'/j to 4'/z minutes or until
dumplings no longer look doughy
on top (and when pulled apart with
fork, inside parts are cooked).
Serve warm. Makes 8 small
dumplings.
Hint: For fastest cooking:
Microwave stew or soup in a deep
casserole until almost boiling
before adding dumplings; make
small dumplings, as directed (not
large); and set a glass upright in
center of stew before cooking.
Variations: For chicken com or
stew, stir in A teaspoon poultry
seasoning to biscuit mix before
adding milk. For beef stew or
soup, add A teaspoon dried basil
leaves.
Each dumpling: 65 calories, Ig
protein, 3g fat, llg carbohydrate,
18Smg sodium, 2mg cholesterol.
Chill With
Corn Dumplings
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
'A green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced or A teas
poon garlic powder
3-4 teaspoons chili powder
VA teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and peppere (optional)
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (16 ounces) tomatoes in
juice, undrained
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans,
drained
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire
sauce
Corn Dumplings (below)
Crumble ground beef into a
deep microwavable 2- to 3-quart
casserole; add onion, green pepper
and garlic. Cover casserole with
waxed paper. Microwave (High) 6
to 7 minutes, stirring after each 2
minutes, until beef is barely
cooked. Drain fat, if desired. (If
using lean beef, there may be a
very small amount of fat that adds
flavor to the finished chili.) Stir in
chili powder, cumin, and salt and
pepper to taste. Stir in tomato
sauce, undrained tomatoes,
drained kidney beans and Worces
tershire sauce. Microwave (High),
covered with lid or waxed paper, 9
to 11 minutes or until chili starts to
boil, stirring once.
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Whili chili cooks, mix Com
Dumplings (below). Set a small,
glass drinking glass upright in
center of chili. Drop dumplings by
8 small spoonfuls around edges of
hot chili. Cover with lid or waxed
paper. Microwave (High) 4 to 6
minutes or until dumplings no lon
ger look doughy on top. When
pulled apart with a fork, inside
edges-and bottoms are cooked. Let
stand, covered, 5 minutes. Serve
hot. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
To make ahead: Prepare chili as
above. (Dumplings are best made
right before serving, although
small portions of chili with
cooked dumplings reheat well.)
Cover tightly and refrigerate until
serving time. Then microwave
(High), tightly covered, for 8 to 11
minutes or until hot, stirring once
or twice. Add dumpling dough
and continue as above.
Each serving A of recipe,
with Com Dumplings: 297 calo
ries, 18g protein, 1 Ig fat, 31g car
bohydrate, 570 mg sodium, 64mg
cholesterol.
Corn Dumplings
V* cup all-purpose flour
'/ cup yellow commeal
% teaspoon baking powder
'A teaspoon salt
'A cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
In a medium mixing bowl, stir
together flour, commeal, baking
powder and salt. In a separate
bowl or measure, stir together
milk, egg and oil; add to dry ingre
dients and mix well. (Do not beat.)
Cook according to directions
above. Makes 8 small dumplings.
Questions for Joyce?
Do you have a question about
microwave cooking? Send it to
Microwave Minutes, % Extra
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Help For Child
Care Directors
CREAMERY (Montgomery)
Directing a child care center or
nursery school requires not only
skills in child development and
people skills, it also requires ad
ministrative skills. Penn State Co
operative Extension is offering a
one-day seminar for child care
directors on Tuesday, March 5,
1991 at Bentley’s Restaurant in
North Wales, Montgomery Coun
ty. Registration begins at 9 a.m.
and the workshop is from 9:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The day will begin with Gre
gory Bruce, director of the MBA
program at LaSalle University,
speaking on leadership styles and
how this affects one’s ability to
work effectively with others. Bet
sy Caesar, from General Recrea
tion, Inc., will share the latest de
sign and safety ideas in play
ground equipment. Dave
Suchanic, extension agent will
share tips on conducting an effec
tive interview. This will include
forms, check lists and other valu
able tools to use during an inter
view. Rhonda Einstein, from
Family Services of Montgomery
County, will focus on stress man
agement for child care directors.
The cost for the day is $25 and
includes lunch and reference ma
terials. Participants will receive .5
CEU from Penn State University.
Registration is required. To re
ceive your registration form, call
the Montgomery County Exten
sion office at 489-4315.
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