Bunco night fun!

I am still trying to play catch-up! So please bear with me :)

Thursday was Bunco night! I had tons to do still to get ready for the party though. Needless to say I was stressed, because of everything I had to do once I got up! I had to get the Southern Chicken and Dumplings started for dinner, take Sophie to the groomer, finish writing the recipe cards for the thank yous, put them together with my oldest sister Carrie, get the tables set up for Bunco, visit mom, bake my Fallen Soufflé Chocolate Torte, finish the chicken and dumplings, clean wine glasses, and clean up my sty of a kitchen. Phew! It was so much to do!

I had to get Sophie into the groomer because I was running behind, so while I dropped her off I had TJ help me out with Southern Chicken and Dumplings. This recipe is so simple, and it's really good. I found it in a slow cooker cookbook that my parents got me for my 21st birthday in November. I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head, but I will be sure to add a link to it when I get back home. I believe it's by Gooseberry Patch though.

Anyways! You'll have to forgive me for not having all the pictures for the steps as I usually do. I completely forgot about taking pictures because of everything I was trying to get done, but thankfully this is a very simple recipe!

For this recipe you need 3 cans of cream of chicken soup, 1/4 cup diced onion, 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3-3/4 cups of water, and 3-12oz tubes of refrigerated biscuits. Add your 3 cans of cream of chicken soup to your slow cooker. Then add your diced onion and chicken to the slow cooker. Add the water so that it completely covers the chicken. Put the cover on the slow cooker and plug it in. Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours.

After I had the chicken and dumplings going, Carrie came over to help finish the thank yous and get the tables ready! W00t! After I finished writing the recipe cards, I had to go pick up Sophie from the groomers. She was so fluffy and cute and definitely ready to party hardy at Bunco!

Here are the beautiful thank yous! We put the cookies in a bag, and tied them closed with some ribbon that had the recipe attached to it. I think they turned out really great :)

 

Next on my list was to go visit my mom and bring her the flowers I had gotten for her at Sam's Club. They were beautiful and I know momma would have liked them. Love you momma <3

After I got back home it was time to get the cake made! I love this cake so much. I found the recipe in this book, it was one of my momma's cookbooks. It describes this cake as "the closest you'll come to eating a truffle with a fork".

For this recipe you'll need 8oz semisweet chocolate, 1 cup unsalted butter, 8 egg whites, 1/8 tsp salt, 3/4 cup sugar divided, 6 egg yolks. The cocoa powder and strawberries are for serving the cake.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease it generously.

In a double boiler over low heat, add your semisweet chocolate and butter. Once it's melted, set it aside to cool.

While it melts start separating your eggs.

You need 6 egg yolks...

..and 8 egg whites.

The chocolate can take a little bit to melt. But stir it around a bit with a spatula to help move things along.

While you're still waiting on that dang chocolate to melt, add your egg whites and salt to a mixer and beat on low until it starts to foam a little.

Increase the speed to high and dust in your 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to whisk until fluffy and stiff.

Transfer the egg whites to a large bowl, but be sure to not use the size bowl I used! I was in such a hurry that I wasn't thinking straight and just grabbed a bowl. By the time I realized that it was too small, it was too late so I just went with it lol Yay for an overflowing bowl of egg whites!

t

I believe the recipe wants you to use the same mixer bowl to whisk together the egg yolks and the remainder of the sugar, but I was very pressed for time and didn't feel like rewashing the bowl so I did it by hand.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until very pale.

Then add the melted chocolate-butter mixture to it.

Fold in a little bit of the egg whites to lighten the chocolate, then mix thoroughly. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. As you can tell, I used my handy-dandy whisk! I never really learned how to properly "fold" ingredients, so I just added the egg whites and whisked as gently as I felt I had time to spare. But to be honest I'm not sure what difference it makes because I've made this cake many times without "folding" the egg whites in and it still turned out great!

Spoon the batter into the springform pan and put in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

When it's done baking, it should be barely set and still a bit wobbly. When you go to test your cake, it's alright if your cake tester comes out with some batter on it, that's totally fine.

After the cake was finished I had to get the dumplings into the crock pot (and boy was I rushed for time at this point)! The dumplings are so easy. All you do is open your container of biscuits and pull them apart. Then you just quarter them and add them to the crockpot.

Be sure when you add the dumplings you mix them around inside the crock pot and that you turn the heat up on the slow cooker to high.

Just before everyone arrived for Bunco I dusted the cake with cocoa powder and cut up the strawberries. Mmmm soooo yummy!

I got a block of cream cheese out and poured some Spicy Pineapple Rum Sauce over it and served it with wheat thins. The sauce is from Pampered Chef, and you can purchase the sauce from my sister Erin here!

We had a super yummy salad...

...and plenty of wine!

Everyone had a great time at Bunco, and I even won my $5 back because I won the roll off for most losses. It's so nice to know I'm such a high achiever! :P

<3 Kate

Southern Chicken & Dumplings        [click to print]

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 cans of cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup onion, diced

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3 3/4 cups water

3 12oz. tubes refrigerated biscuits, quartered

Method

Pour soup into slow cooker; add onion and chicken. Pour in enough water to cover chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours.

About 35 to 40 minutes before serving, turn slow cooker to high setting. Drop biscuit quarters into slow cooker; stir well. Replace lid and cook for 35 minutes more, or until dumplings are done. Stir and serve.

Fallen Soufflé Chocolate Torte          [click to print]

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

8 oz semisweet chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter

8 egg whites

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar, divided

6 egg yolks

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and generously spray parchment and inner sides of pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a double boiler set over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool.

In a mixer bowl, using whisk attachment on low speed, whisk egg whites with salt until they foam a bit. Then increase to high speed and dust in 1/4 cup sugar until fluffy and stiff. Transfer to a large bowl.

In mixer bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until very pale. Stir in melted chocolate-butter mixture. Fold in some egg whites to lighten chocolate and whisk very thoroughly. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in batches, showing more restraint and calmness so as to have a light, chocolaty batter.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake about 35 to 45 minutes until barely set and still a bit wobbly. If you test your cake at this point with a toothpick, it will come out with bits of batter on it--that is fine. Take cake out and, after 15 minutes, unmold onto a serving plate.

When cool, dust generously with cocoa powder or serve each piece with some chopped strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.