Cheesey Chicken Soup

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 qts. water
1 tbl. better than bullion chicken base
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb. velveeta - cubed
1/2 stick butter
2 c. egg noodles
black pepper

They have a reduced sodium, organic version of the chicken base at the Costco here. Otherwise, look for it on the soup aisle at the grocery store. Boil the chicken in water with bullion base until done. Remove chicken, cool, and cube. Strain water threw seive, reserving 1 qt. Return water to pot and boil. Add remaining ingredients plus cubed chicken and cook until thick. This makes a big batch. When I've cut recipe in half, it's still fed us for two meals easily.

"French" Chicken and Dumplings

Soup:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed small
3-4 tbl. butter
3 large carrots - peeled and coined
1 med yellow onion - diced
big handful hericot verts - cut in 2" pieces
1 bunch scallions - chopped
2 tbl. olive oil
3 tsp. bullion base
1 tbl. Herbes de Provence
1 tbl. black pepper
salt to taste
1 carton chicken broth
1/2 carton water
1/2 c. half & half

Dumplings:
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
2 tbl. canola oil

In a large pot, cook carrots, onions, and the whiter half of the scallions in the butter for ~10 mins over med heat. Remove veggies from pot, add olive oil, increase heat to med-high, and add chicken and seasonings. Cook until chicken golden brown and almost cooked thru. Add back in the cooked veggies along with hericot verts, broth, and water. Bring to a low boil. Mix dry dumpling ingreds together, then mix in the wet as well. Drop in dumpling mixture by tsp into boiling soup. Add green half of scallions, reduce to simmer, and cook covered for 15-20 mins. Remove from heat and finish with half and half.

Pork Ribs

Dry Rub
3 tbl. brown sugar
2 tbl. seasoned salt
1 tbl. smoked paprika
1 tbl. garlic powder
1 tbl. onion powder
1 tbl. black pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. cayenne or chipotle pepper

2 racks of pork spare or baby back ribs
Your favorite BBQ sauce
charcoal and wood chips

Coat ribs on both sides with dry rub and really work it into the meat. Put the ribs on a large baking sheet, cover them with foil, and let them sit in the fridge overnight. To cook, place in single layer on foil-lined baking sheets in 275 degree oven for about 3 hours, with ribs loosely covered with foil, rotating racks every hour or so. Meat should be pulling back from bone, but not yet falling off. Brush with BBQ sauce on both sides, and finish on grill. We have a smoker, so Jamie makes a smallish fire with charcoal, adds some wood smoking chips, and cooks the ribs (uncovered) in the smoke box for at least 30 mins. Rotate the ribs every 15 mins so they all get a turn close to the heat. You want some of the fat to render off, but be careful not to dry out the meat too much!

Pumpkin Cake

For Cake:
15 oz. can pumpkin
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

For Nuts:
1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Optional glaze:
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with a TINY bit of milk or water until you get a white glaze.

This is my FAVORITE fall cake. I'm not a pumpkin pie fan, but this is really good. Mix all of the top cake ingredients in a big bowl. Combine the nut mixture in a separate bowl. Fill a greased bunt pan half way with the cake mixture. Bang down pan a few times to remove air bubbles. Add in nut mixture, then top with remaining cake mixture. Bang it again. Bake at 350 for about 45 mins, but keep an eye on it! I always underbake bundt cakes a little because they'll continue to cook after you pull them from the oven. If you glaze it, glazing a hot cake with help the glaze "soak in", or wait until completely cooled to keep the glaze on top.