Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - Bon Appetit's Chicken and Ricotta Dumplings

I am not a big dumpling fan so when I saw this Bon Appetit recipe for chicken and 'dumplings' that used ricotta gnocchi instead I had to try it. This recipe did not disappoint! It is a bit of a pain to prepare so I recommend breaking this into steps and doing some of it ahead of time. You could even skip the gnocchi and have a pretty killer chicken soup. Unless you are feeding a ton of people I would also recommend cutting it in half. Half is enough for at least 4 servings if not more. Hope you enjoy!

Bon Appetit's Bacon-Infused Carolina Fish Muddle

I've been all over Bon Appetit magazine lately. Seeing their magazine really inspires me to try new recipes even if they are sometimes overly complicated. This Bacon-Infused Carolina Fish Muddle was a perfect use for some of the fish we have in the freezer so I gave it a go, with some changes of course. After trying it, I would say it needs a little extra something. If I made it again I would definitely add some chopped fennel bulb to the sauteed veggies and kick up the heat with some extra jalapeno, hot sauce or Cajun hot seasoning. I cut the recipe in 1/2 and easily had enough to serve 4 people. I skipped the toast but it sounds pretty good, doesnt it?! I served it one night with grits and the other night over brown rice and surprisingly I liked the rice better. I posted what I did below but you can get the original recipe here.

Southern Italian Wedding Soup

I first saw this recipe for Southernized Italian Wedding Soup on Deep South Dish. I loved the idea of using up some frozen collard greens and black eyed peas I had leftover from new years so I gave it a shot. It was delicious and SO filling. I think this recipe could really help stretch a buck if you are feeding a large family. I did tweak the recipe a little so if you want to see the original please click on one of the links above. Enjoy!

East Coast Cioppino

Cioppino is a fish stew invented in San Fransisco. The dish traditionally uses whatever was caught that day (think dungeness crab, mussels, haddock, squid, etc) and adds the catch into a wine and tomato based soup. I spotted a recipe for cioppino in Bon Appetit and had to try it. Being that I live in Florida and would rather cook with local ingredients, I figured I would switch the recipe around a bit and make a East Coast version of the classic. I hope you enjoy!