Chicken Corn Chowder

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law, who the kids call Nana. The last time I made this, I told them I was using Nana's recipe. The response was, "Well, if it's Nana's recipe, you know it's gonna be good!" They were right. This soup is delicious. It's also really pretty quick to make.  I usually make it early in the day, let it cool a little and popped it in the fridge for later that night. (I am a morning person, so if you are not, I would suggest cutting the chicken, chopping the onion and garlic, and shredding the cheese the night before to make it super fast when it's dinner time.)  You really do have to keep stirring this soup during cooking time, or the cheese will stick to the bottom. Enjoy!

Recipe from The Perfect Setting, Aiken, South Carolina

Ingredients:
3 T butter
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 cups half n half
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 (14.75oz) cans creamed style corn (used regular corn)
1 (4.5oz) can diced green chiles, undrained (I didn't have this so substituted 4oz salsa verde)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
2 T chopped cilantro 

Method

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, onion, and garlic, and saute 10 minutes.  Stir in half n half, cheese, corn, green chiles, hot sauce, salt, and cumin; cook over low heat, stirring often for 15 minutes.  Stir in cilantro.  Serve garnished with additional cilantro if you like.
Happy Cooking!

Pea & Basil Soup

This Pea & Basil Soup is one of my favorites, and I can't believe I haven't linked it to the blog before. It is SUPER easy. I sold this tonight as "slime soup" to my boys (this is the second time I've done this...this first time was for Cream of Asparagus Soup), and they bought it...they did call me out, however, that this slime soup was not the same because the other one tasted like chicken. (???) We put it in coffee mugs for them to eat, and they decided to drink it instead. This was NOT their entire dinner, however...I'm no fool, you know. ;) They also had chicken brats, blackberries, and babybel cheese. BUT they ate some of it, which I count as a success. The mozzarella & roasted red peppers make this soup, so don't leave them out! I can't wait to eat this again for lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups frozen peas
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cups chicken broth, divided
2 cups cream
Fresh mozzarella ball, sliced thin
1/4 cup diced roasted red bell peppers

Method:
Complete recipe from Giada de Laurentiis found on foodnetwork.com, HERE.

Happy Cooking!

Curried Squash Soup

This soup is so wonderfully delicious. Squash is one of my favorite summertime veggies, and this soup puts it to great use! It has just the right amount of sweet and spice. Perfect for summer, especially a day like today when it's a little chilly and damp. Don't forget the Sister Shubert's Rolls to serve along with this soup. They make the meal! Recipe from Meet Me at the Garden Gate.

Ingredients;
2 small onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup Granny Smith apple, peeled & diced
6 tsp curry powder
3 cups cooked, sliced yellow squash
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
7.5 oz evaporated milk
1 1/2 T lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Saute the onion in butter in a stockpot until tender. Add the apple & curry powder, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the squash & chicken broth & bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook for 15 miutes. Let stand until cool. After soup is cooled a bit, process the soup in batches in a food processor or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Stir in evaporated milk & lemon juice. Season w/ salt & pepper. Serve warm or cold.

Happy Cooking!

Zucchini and Leek Soup

This soup was so easy. The ingredient list is super short, and it is delicious. Gwyneth Paltrow's recipes rarely disappoint, and this one is no exception. I used an immersion blender to get the texture I wanted and shredded a little zucchini over the top. You could use a food processor or a blender to get the job done as well. Serve hot or cold and enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's from her cookbook, It's All Easy.


Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large leeks, thoroughly rinsed and thinly sliced (white and light green parts)
4 small zucchini squash, roughly chopped, save some for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine (I used chardonnay)
2 cups chicken broth

Method:
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and sautee until tender. Add the zucchini, garlic, salt & red pepper flakes. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let cook for 10 minutes. Add the white wine to the pan and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom. Let liquid mostly evaporate. Add chicken broth and remove from heat. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. If desired, grate raw zucchini over top for texture.

Happy Cooking!

White Chicken Chili

This comes together really quickly.  I put the chicken in the crockpot while we were at church this morning and it was ready three hours later. I then moved it to a stockpot and followed the remaining directions. All three of my children consistently eat it, and my husband and I love it too.  I have a habit of calling my food different things for my children so that they'll be more likely to eat it.  This I call "chicken nachos" and add a few more chips!!


Recipe from The Perfect Setting, Aiken, SC

Ingredients:
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp cumin seed (I couldn't find this so I used ground coriander)

Cooking Spray or 1 T olive oil  

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed of all excess fat 

1 clove garlic, finely chopped  

1 cup chopped onion 

2 ( 9 ounce) frozen white shoepeg corn 

2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, undrained 

1 teaspoon ground cumin  

2 -3 tablespoons lime juice2 

(14 ounce) cans great northern beans, undrained  

Monterey Jack cheese and tortilla chips for serving

Method:
In a 5-qt stockpot, combine 2 1/2 cups water with the lemon pepper, 1 tsp cumin seed, and olive oil.  Bring to a boil.  Add the chicken breast halves and return to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender and the juices are clear.  Remove the chicken from the broth and cut into bite-size pieces, then return it to the broth.  Add the garlic, onion, corn, green chiles, 1 tsp ground cumin, and lime juice to the broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add Great Northern beans to the broth.  Simmer until thoroughly heated.  To serve, crush a few tortilla chips into the bottom of soup bowls, ladle soup over chips, and sprinkle cheese on top.

Happy Cooking!

Award Winning Chili

I am always looking for new chili recipes. I love any kind and have several linked from this blog. A couple of my favorites are Skinny Taste's Sweet Potato & Turkey Quinoa Chili and White Chili. If you are looking for a good traditional tomato based chili, this is the ticket! It's not called "Award Winning" for nothing. I didn't have any venison on hand (no one hunts in my family, so if you have some lying around, we will gladly take it off of your hands), so I used ground beef. My six year old helped me make this chili. It's always so fun to have him in the kitchen, and this time was no exception. He told me that he pretends like our house is a restaurant everyday and that he calls our restaurant "Home." I thought that was a pretty clever name. I told him that maybe we should open a restaurant together; he informed me that we won't be able to do that until he turns 15. Deadpan. Try this recipe for a hearty, yummy, satisfying weeknight meal! And don't forget your toppings!

Recipe found on Food.com

Ingredients:
1 lb ground venison or ground beef or ground turkey
2 onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 T jalapeno, finely chopped
14oz can Rotel tomatoes
16 oz tomato sauce
2 T cumin
2 T chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup water

Method:
Complete recipe found on food.com, HERE.

Happy Cooking!

Sausage & Tortellini Soup

This was so easy and such a hearty, wintertime soup.  I made this for me and my husband and took half to a friend as I wasn't certain that the textures of this soup would work for my kiddos...and honestly, I didn't feel like testing those waters that night ;)  They had leftover pizza!

Recipe from Doggone Good! submitted by my friend, Kristen Zaks




Ingredients:
2 14.5oz cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes
3 c water
2 c frozen cut green beans or Italian green beans
1 10.5oz can condensed French onion soup
8oz smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 c packaged coleslaw mix
1 9oz packaged refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
Shaved Parmesan

Method:
In a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker, combined undrained tomatoes, water, frozen green beans, onion soup, and turkey sausage.  Cover and cook on low-heat for 8-10 hours or high-heat for 4-5 hours.  If using low-heat, turn to high-heat.  Stir in cole slaw and tortellini.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes more.  Top each serving with Parmesan cheese as desired.  Makes 10-12 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Stock in the Crockpot

I made this for the first time last week. I used it in some risotto, and it was awesome! I mean, this could not be easier! There are several things that I love about this recipe. One is that you are using every part of the bird in your cooking and not just throwing the bones away. The second is that you know what's going into this stock and you can adjust it to your liking. Along that same vein, you can season the stock as much or as little as you prefer, which is always a plus. I will say that this stock is stronger than store bought stock/broth, so you may want to take the suggestion to dilute it a little before you use it in your recipes. Use your creative license with this and just clean out your fridge. Use whatever you have even if you don't have all of the ingredients listed below.

Recipe inspired by 100 Days of Real Food's Chicken Stock in the Crock found HERE.

Ingredients:
Leftover skin and bones from roasted chicken
3 carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, quartered
3 celery stalks chopped into 1 inch pieces
2T salt
1T pepper
1 bay leaf
parsley, thyme, rosemary, (use whatever you have in your pantry/fridge)

Method:
Place all ingredients in large crockpot. Fill crockpot with water up to about an inch below the rim. Cook on low for 8 hours or overnight. Strain broth and store in airtight containers.

Happy Cooking!

Silky Tortilla Soup

Silky Tortilla Soup: Recipe from Food & Wine
Recipe found HERE

NOTES: Okay, y'all...I do not say this lightly. This is the BEST soup I have ever eaten. The spiciness from the chipotles in adobo and the saltiness from the queso fresco along with the freshness from the cilantro make this soup out of this world. The last time I made this I had already fed the boys dinner before sports and made this for just me and my husband...the boys came home and devoured it along with us. It really is that good. Makes a bunch and leftovers for lunch are always a favorite of mine.

Happy Cooking!
















NOTES: This soup was the BEST tortilla soup I have ever had. It uses simple ingredients and is easy to put together.

• Rather than a rotisserie chicken, I used some leftover shredded chicken that I made in the crockpot and froze last week. 
• I used 5 chiles rather than the 4 it calls for to give it an even richer color and a little more kick. This made it pretty spicy, so if you're not into that, you may want to stick with 4 chiles. 
  
• I also used canned tomatoes and cut them in half. 
• I used my handy immersion blender rather than pouring it in batches in the food processor.
  
• You can certainly use tortilla chips if you don't want to go to the trouble of frying the corn tortillas, but if you have time, make the extra effort ;)
  
• I am not a huge fan of cilantro, but I decided that it was worth a try on this (plus it would make the picture prettier ha!). I am so glad that I did. It was awesome with the homemade tortilla strips!
•  I didn't feed this to my kids this time as it was my first time making it, but I think I'll cut down on the heat and try it for them sometime soon.

Happy Cooking!

Tortellini Soup in the Crock Pot

NOTES:  This is probably my favorite tortellini soup that I have found to date.  It is creamy and delicious, packed with spinach, and only has FIVE ingredients.  This is super easy, and my entire family absolutely loved it for dinner, then for lunch, then for lunch again!  I will say that the cream cheese did not melt as quickly as I thought it would, so I would probably break it in smaller pieces and perhaps stir it a few times during cooking so that it blends together more easily.