Chicken Tortilla Soup

This was pretty spicy for my taste buds but my husband really liked it! Maybe next time I would use normal Rotel. 

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken - shredded 
2 10oz cans of Ro-Tel (the lime & cilantro)
1 can kidney (or black) beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn corn
2 14.5oz cans chicken broth
2 cups of water
1 package of taco seasoning

tortilla chips strips 
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Combine everything but the last 3 ingredients in a large pot heat until bowling. 

To serve put a few tortilla chips strips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips if you like. Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe From: My Mom Donna!! 

Soup Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (take all the inners out & rinse it) 

Water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Celery chopped - as much or as little as you like

Carrot chopped - as much or as little as you like

1/4 of a small onion - more if you want

Noodle Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoon salt

pinch of baking powder

3 eggs

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Place the chicken in a large pot and sprinkle with salt & pepper, add the chopped vegetables and then add water - make sure it's enough water to cover the whole chicken at least an inch or so. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for about an hour then check to see if it's all the way cooked. The meat should be white, with no pink in it. If it's not cooked, keep simmering it, if it is cooked remove the pan from the heat take out the chicken and shred the meat. Keep all the other stuff in the pot. You can add the chicken back to the pot once it's been shredded. 

For the noodles in a medium bowl add the dry ingredients, give it a quick stir and then add the eggs and then the water.  Mix with a spoon. The mixture will be really sticky & kinda yellow. Then remove it from the bowl and work some flour into it. Roll it out on your counter REALLY SUPER thin (they will puff up in the soup) Use a pizza cutter to cut into thin noodle strips. Add them one at a time to the pot of veggies and broth. Repeat until all the dough is gone. Simmer until noodles are cooked. It should happen fast - no more then 10 minutes. If you want to thicken the soup you could mix a little cornstarch and some water in a small bowl once it's smooth add to the soup and it will thicken it up. It doesn't take much so don't over do it. Taste it and add any more salt or pepper you think it needs. 

Makes enough food for at least 6 maybe even 10 people, it's A LOT of soup!!! It will not freeze well and doesn't keep too well in the fridge so it's best to eat it all at once. it's so delicious and true comfort food ... Enjoy!! 

HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Ingredients:

• 1/4 french bread baguette, sliced into bite size pieces 
• 3 to 4 Tablespoons melted butter
• 2 to 3 Tablespoons of seasonings of choice - I did garlic salt, pepper, oregano & onion powder 

Directions:

Heat oven to 425.  Place bread pieces into a medium bowl, drizzle with melted butter and then sprinkle on seasonings, toss with a spoon. Make sure each piece is evenly coated with butter and seasonings. Dump onto a small cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes and then broil until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool, serve and enjoy!!!  

Note: you could turn the left over croutons into bread crumbs, just pop into your food processor and mix   until they are fine. 

*Picture from and recipe adapted from: Chezus

The BEST & fastest Chili Ever!!

 

This is another way to use the Frito Pie recipe ...

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 of an onion minced or chopped - however big you like the chunks
1 can (16 oz) chili beans
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes - if you want more add the whole can, we don't
1 envelope taco seasoning
Shredded cheddar cheese 
Sour cream
Frito Corn Chips

Directions:
In a pot brown ground beef with salt, pepper and diced onion. Stir in beans, tomato sauce, taco seasoning mix and 1-2 big spoon fulls of sour cream. Heat until bubbly.

Dish into bowls and top with corn chips and cheese. Serve with warm corn bread and honey butter!!!

Frito Pie

I love Pinterest and all the good finds on there!! Here is what we had for dinner last night. It was AMAZING!! The chili alone was awesome - SO FAST - SO EASY - I think this will be a winter favorite in our home! The recipe & pictures are from Sweet Treats & More - if you go to her blog she has step, by step directions with pictures - that is how I like to cook new recipes, it's nice to see how it should look. The original recipe says it makes 6 to 8 servings but Eric & I ate most of it. I would say it only makes 2 to 3 servings. Serve with warm corn bread topped with homemade honey butter ... yum yum!!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (16 oz) chili beans
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cup sour cream
Frito Corn Chips

Directions:
Cook ground beef until meat is browned; drain. Stir in beans, tomato sauce, taco seasoning mix and 1/4 c. of cheese. Sprinkle corn chips in bottom of 8x8 baking dish or 9x13 dish. Cover with chili. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Spread sour cream over chili. Top with more corn chips and cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I made this last night and it was soooo good!!! If you have had this soup at Olive Garden this tastes just like it.  

Recipe From: Sarah

In stock pot ~
Brown:
½ lb. Bacon (or more)
½ lb. Sausage (spicy or regular) (or more)
take it out of the pan and put it in a bowl
In leftover grease ~

Sautee:
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced

Drain out rest of oil, put bacon, sausage, onion, and garlic back in pot
add water (about 10 cups)
4 or 5 thinly sliced potatoes
6 chicken bullion cubes
let it boil until potatoes are soft

Stir in 1 pint of whipping cream
bring to a boil

Add 1 bundle of chopped Kale 2-5 minutes before you are ready to dish it up. Just so that it has enough time to get soft (if you put it in too soon it will turn brownish!)

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Recipe From: Southern Living Magazine

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 (32-oz.) container low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (10.2-oz.) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced

Preparation:
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a low boil.

2. Place biscuits on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.

3. Drop strips, 1 at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Add carrots and celery. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

I made this the other day & I put in a bag of cubed cooked ham with all the other ingredients and I cooked it all on low for 6.5 hours (before adding the milk/flour mixture) and it was awesome!! Since I did the ham, I didn't do the bacon pieces or the green onion. I also seasoned it all with salt, pepper & a tiny bit of dried minced garlic and let that all cook together. Then served it with home-made corn bread!

Makes: 6 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag (32 oz) southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup medium stalk celery, diced
1 carton (32-oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup real bacon pieces
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
Optional - you can add 1 can of corn


DIRECTIONS:
1) In 4 to 5-quart slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, carrots, corn, celery, ham (if used),broth and water.

2) Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.3) In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual servings with cheese, bacon and green onions. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Potato &Ham Chowder

Recipe From: Holly


Servings: 8 (about 2 quarts)


Ingredients:
3 cups water
4 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 can (regular size) of corn


Direction:
Chop up potatoes, carrots, celery & onion.


In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender; drain and set vegetables aside.

In same pan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add ham and reserved vegetables. Cook on low until heated through. Do not boil.


note: this is not a soup it's chowder so it will be thick, if it's too thick for you, just add more milk until it's the consistency you want. You can freeze what you don't use.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min
Ready In: 45 Min

Servings: 8


Recipe From: Jonno


Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
2-1/4 cups fresh broccoli florets
11 ounces processed cheese, shredded
1-1/3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese


Directions:
*Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and mix in the flour. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.

*Mix in the chicken stock and milk, and season with salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 10 minutes.

*Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the broccoli in the boiling water, and cook 2 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

*Gradually mix the processed cheese and Cheddar cheese into the large pot until melted. Mix in the broccoli. Continue cooking about 5 minutes.

Baked Potato Soup

Makes: 8 servings

What you need:4 lg. baking potatoes
2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
5 C milk

1 C sour cream

4 thinly sliced green onions
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Make It:
Scrub potatoes, pat dry & cover with foil. Bake for 75 minutes at 350 or until tender; cool completely.(Or use leftover potatoes from another meal) Peel and cube potatoes.

In a large pot melt the butter, stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Use a whisk to make sure any lumps from the flour are smoothed out.

Gradually add milk a 2 cups at a time. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for a couple minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cubed potatoes. Heat until warm. Mix in sour cream.

Garnish with bacon, cheese, sour cream and green onions.

White Lightning Chicken Chili

Serve with sour cream, fresh cilantro & avocado .... yum!


From the Kitchen of: Bridgette


Serves: 8


Ingredients:
3 Cups cooked chicken
6 Roasted garlic cloves
1 Cup onion - chopped
1/3 Cup fresh jalapeno peppers chopped
3 Cans (15oz. each) great northern beans - drained & rinsed
2 teaspoon Vegetable oil
3 Cans chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
2 Tablespoon cumin
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
Sour Cream
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Avocado


Directions:
*Chop onion & jalapeno peppers


*Drain 1 can of beans - transfer to small bowl - gently squeeze garlic into bean bowl - mash - drain into another can of beans and set aside


* Heat oil - add onion & jalapeno peppers - cook 4-5 minutes - add chicken, mashed bean mixture, whole beans, chicken broth, cumin and lime juice - bring to boil - reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.


* Combine cornstarch & water - stir until smooth - add to chili and cook 5 minutes - stir constantly


* Serve with sour cream, cilantro & avocado