If you want to give her a real "warm belly" kind of meal, nothing is better than some good 'ol southern soul food. I have a fabulous recipe for chicken and dumplings that will blow her mind. It's really easy to make and the hardest part is rolling out the dough for dumplings. Another great thing about chicken and dumplings is that it won't fill you up so terribly that you can't move and your choices for sides are rather endless since it tastes wonderful with anything! I'll make some suggestions, but you can vary them based on your own personal tastes
Ingrediants/ Materials:
1 small whole chicken
A box of Bisquick (and ingrediants listed on the back that are required for biscuits)
All-purpose flour (make sure it isn't the self-rising kind)
Salt
Pepper
Wax-paper
Roller
Directions:
1. Clean chicken and chop it.
Do not remove the chicken from the bone! And make sure that the chopped pieces are large enough that they will not fall apart when boiling! Boil the pieces until it is tender, you may want to sprinkle some salt and pepper into the pot as it is boiling. When the chicken is tender, turn off the heat and remove ONLY the chicken. Leave the water/natural juices in the pot!
2. After the chicken has cooled to a manner where it is easy to handle, remove all of the meat from the bones and place into a bowl. You'll notice that as you are removing the meat, juices will gather at the base of the plate. Take these juices and just pour it on the removed meat that is in the bowl, this will ensure it stays moist and add lots of great flavor. Put some salt and pepper on the chicken in the bowl, cover and set to the side.
3. On the back of the Bisquick box, there are multiple recipes depending on how you plan on using the mixture. Follow the preparation directions for BISCUITS. As you are mixing the dough in a bowl, sprinkle pinches of flour into the mixture. Once the mixture is kind of sticky, take a few more pinches of flour and cover all the sides. This will ensure that it is smooth enough to handle and won't stick all over the darn place!
4. Wet the back of the wax paper (just the corners will suffice) and lay it on the counter, that way the paper won't move on you! You will want to make sure this is a long peice of paper. Put lots of flour on the exposed side of the paper, you want a good thin covering all over it. Remove the dough mix and begin to roll it out with your roller. You want it to be about as thin as a slim cd jewel case (ya know, the extra cases you buy for all of your burned cds). As you're rolling the dough, you might find it helpful to cover your roller in flour. Simply cut them into about 2" squares and stack them onto a plate. Sprinkle flour inbetween each stack so the squares don't stick together.
5. Add about 4-5 cups of water to the pot that was used to cook the chicken. Bring this to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the bisquick squares, as well as the excess flour on the plate. Add your bowl of chicken, salt, and pepper. Leave the heat where it is at so that it continues to boil. You may have to GENTLY stir things around to make room in the pot for the chicken and expanding dough. Cover and let everything boil for about 10-15 minutes. The dumplings (bisquick) should be fluffy by this time meaning they are ready to eat!!
Sides:
Green Beans
Cornbread (white)
Salad
Neat tip for green beans:
1. Sautee some onions and fresh garlic. Once this is done, add your can of green beans, just a pinch of garlic powder, and salt. Let it boil until warm! Tastes soooo good this way. Yum.
Now I know it sounds like you are using lots of salt and pepper in this dish, but most of it cooks off. It may also sound difficult, but once you start cooking the dish- it's really easy.
Also a wine like Pinot Grigo (sp?) tastes wonderful with this meal!
Nearly any desert will do. You can actually find some really great tasting frozen cheesecakes in the frozen section at your local grocery store. I personally adore
http://www.edwardsbaking.com/ brand pie slices (especially the oreo cream pie!).
Oh and if you feel really daring... I can give you some great Pakistani recipes. I mostly cook Pakistani food and haven't had a complaint yet! Spicy, healthy, and just oh so yummy.
Good luck!!!!!