Chicken Tortilla Soup

I liked this soup, but anyone that knows me knows that I don't like spicy food at all so I would have cut back the rotel a bit next time.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe came from Mom

1/4 cup Butter or Margarine

1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

3 cups Chicken Broth

1 cup Milk

8 oz. Velveeta- cubed

10 oz. can Rotel

2 cups cooked, shredded Chicken

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

Salt and Pepper-to taste

Flour Tortillas-as needed

Shredded Colby Jack Cheese or Mexican Blend Cheese-as needed

In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.

Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.

Reduce heat to low and stir in velveeta cubes; stir until melted.

Stir in rotel, chicken, and spices.

Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.

For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.

Spoon a ladleful of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladleful of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Repeat for remaining servings.

*If you want to save a lot of time, use crumbled tortilla chips instead of tortilla strips. As a substitute for rotel you can use 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Spiciness can be easily adjusted by using spicy rotel or salsa and/or adding cayenne pepper to the soup.

Butternut-Curry Soup

Mom discovered this recipe last year and she really loves it (if the frozen containers full of this soup in the freezer is any sign). Surprisingly I'm a fan of it too, I love it best when it is warm and it is so creamy, yummm!

Butternut-Curry Soup

Recipe came from Mom

6 cups Butternut Squash, cut up (we used a Costco tub)

2 large Sweet Apples, cup up

3 medium Onions, cup up

2 tablespoons Butter

1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Curry Powder

6 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock

8 ounces Mascarpone Cheese

2 teaspoons Salt

Sour Cream

Fresh Snipped Chives

Melt butter in stockpot and add onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add squash, apples, and chicken broth; simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes, or until squash is soft. Remove from heat and puree vegetable mix. Wisk in curry powder and mascarpone cheese.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

For my birthday my Mom got me a stove top popcorn kettle popper (YES!), a couple of weeks ago I wanted to make some kettle corn (my favorite), so I googled to find a recipe and this popped (haha) up. I've already made this twice and it has been a favorite of everyone that has tried it.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

Recipe came from Our Best Bites

Stove Top Kettle Corn

3 T canola or vegetable oil

1/3 C popcorn kernels

3 T granulated sugar

kosher salt

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

Wait until you see your oil smoke. This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important. The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up. That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan. This step should only take about 10 seconds. Cover pot with lid. You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on, so I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well. Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times. Do this every 20 seconds or so. It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops. (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out. Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away). Continue the shaking every 20 second or so until you can tell almost everything is popped. Remove the lid and stir immediately.

Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring. You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer #2: caramelized sugar it HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely. It’s great either way!

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

I seriously have a thing for sheet cakes...they are so easy to make, they make lots and are always delicious! This was perfect for fall...light, chewy, and even better the day after.

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

Recipe came from Picky Palate

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1/2 cup sour cream

15 ounce can pumpkin

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (start w 1/4 cup and add a little more cream if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

3. Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.

4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day. Enjoy with milk!

Makes 16 to 20 squares

Taco Soup

I love, love, love this soup! I grew up with my Mom making this, she would make a big batch and freeze it in yogurt containers. It's a lot like chili but so much better :)

Taco Soup

Recipe from Mom

1 package Ground Beef

1 Onion (chopped)

1 clove of Garlic

1 Green Pepper (chopped)

Brown in large soup pot (drain off fat).

Add 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning

1 (16oz.) can of Stewed Tomatoes

1 (15oz.) can of Tomato Sauce

1 (4oz.) can of Diced Green Chilies

1 (7oz.) can of Green Chili Sauce, mild or hot

1 (15oz.) can of Pinto Beans

1 (15oz.) can of Dark Kidney Beans

2 cups Water

Add above ingredients to meat. Heat and eat. Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed corn chips, instead of crackers. It freezes very well also.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream

I used to only have bad thoughts for buttercream but the last few months I have been finding more and more recipes that are good without being overkill. This recipe is really tasty but you definitely have to eat it only in little bits at a time because it is super good and rich!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream

Recipe came from Sweet Treats and More

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream

1 1/2 stick softened butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp half and half (milk will work too)

Mix butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Alternating, add powdered sugar and half and half. Frost cake.

Snickerdoodle Sheet Cake

This sheet cake was so so so delicious and the added Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream on top made it perfect! I took it to work and it was gone very quickly, luckily I had stolen myself a piece before I went as I am not sure there would have been any for me otherwise.

Snickerdoodle Sheet Cake

Recipe came from Sweet Treats and More

Snickerdoodle Sheet Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 sticks softened butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk

Heat oven to 325.

Butter and flour an 18 x 24 in sheet cake pan {or two round cake pans for layer cake}. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

Alternating, add dry mixture, then milk in three batches.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting (frost with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream found HERE).

Copycat Kneaders Caramel Syrup

This is one of the easiest yummiest syrups that I've ever made (ok there's not really that many but still it's GOOD!). If you've ever been to Kneaders you've probably tried or at least heard about their all-you-can-eat Chunky Cinnamon French Toast (yummm!!). You eat the french toast with a delicious caramel syrup. Last week my family had a our quarterly dinner and we decided to have waffles and other breakfast yummies. I decided that I had to make the syrup so i went to good ol' trusty google and found a recipe. I love this because it is a really fast recipe and it re-heats really nicely to use later.

Copycat Kneaders Caramel Syrup

Recipe came from Confessions of a Bake-aholic

Copycat Kneaders Caramel Syrup

1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Whipping Cream
1 c. Light Karo Syrup
Blend together and heat on stove top until sugar is smooth.
Serve warm.

Mango Smoothie

We didn't follow this recipe exactly...I didn't have fresh mangoes and I used honey flavored Greek yogurt instead. I loved how creamy this was and it tasted soooo good!

mango smoothie

Recipe came from Crunchtime

Mango Smoothie

makes 1 1/2 - 2 cups

1 mango, flesh only

1 small container of vanilla flavored Greek yogurt

1 cup of ice cubes

1. load ingredients into a blender in the order above

2. Blend on low for 15 seconds to create juice from mango

3. Turn up speed to high and blend for one minute or until your blender smokes which ever happens first.

Raspberry-Mango Smoothie

I am a huge fan of smoothies (yum, yum!). When I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites I knew that it was one that I had to try. This was super good and easy but I discovered that because I'm not the hugest fan or raspberries I could have gone with a little bit less or none at all. Be sure to have others to share this with when you make it...Mom and I were very cold by the end and were having difficultly finishing all it made.

Raspberry-Mango Smoothie
Recipe came from Our Best Bites

Raspberry-Mango Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Orange Mango Peach juice
1 cup cubed mangoes (or peaches)
1 cup raspberries
1 1/2 cups (about 3 large scoops) pineapple sherbet
2 cups ice (omit 1 cup ice per frozen fruit used)

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to your blender in the order listed and blend until smooth. Drink immediately. Makes 2 large smoothies or 4 smaller smoothies.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I realized despite the fact that I have made this over 10x in the last year since Brea found this recipe I have yet to share it...and it is one of my favorites! To be truthful every time I decide that I want to make it it is a long process to actually find the recipe again so this will be nice to have it in my "collection." This recipe is super easy and yummy, I love how it makes so many-perfect for potlucks, parties, or just eating at home :)

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Recipe came from Eat At Home

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

16 oz can Pumpkin

2 cups Sugar

1 cup Vegetable Oil

4 Eggs, beaten

2 cups Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 tsp. Salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into a greased 10×15 inch baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool the cake completely and then frost it with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Tbs. butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tsp. milk

chopped nuts for the top, if desired

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and blend till smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a bit at a time until you get it to a spreadable consistency.

Green Beans, Onions, and Bacon

This is a recipe that my Mom taught Kyle when he was younger and first started growing his garden. Kyle told me that it is a recipe that has been around for a long time and that he has seen numerous places. As I was rather picky when I was little there was no way that I was going to sample anything that had GREEN BEANS and ONIONS!! He made it again tonight and I LOVED it! So good and simple.

Green Beans, Onions, and Bacon

2-3 Slices Bacon

1 lb Green Beans

1 Medium Onion

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch pieces, cook until crispy.

2. Chop onions- medium/fine pieces.

3. Remove bacon from pan. Cook onions in bacon fat until soft and mostly transparent.

4. Meanwhile, steam beans for 12-15 minutes until al dente.

5. Combine all ingredients in pan over heat until flavors are combined.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Coconut Curry Soup

Kyle and I made this tonight for dinner, I was first impressed that it was a really good curry and could be made with ingredients that most people are likely to have in their homes (rather than some of the other curries that Kyle and I like to make on a normal basis). We felt though that there were some ingredients missing (aka garlic, ginger, carrots, and potatoes), so we threw them in. That's one thing that I love about curries is that you can throw a lot of different vegetables in and it tastes delicious (I had never put red peppers in my curry before but LOVED IT!). I loved how simple this recipe was and how quickly it came together.

Coconut Curry Soup

Recipe came from Peachtree Cooking

Coconut Curry Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, (about 3), cut into 1-inch (or smaller) pieces

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 can (14-ounces) unsweetened light coconut milk

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1 medium lime)

¼ cup fresh cilantro

3-4 cups hot, cooked rice for serving

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until it is hot and shimmering. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Add them to the hot oil. Let the chicken cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and red pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions and peppers are slightly softened. The chicken and vegetables don’t have to be fully cooked as they will simmer and cook further in the next step.

Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and curry powder. Stir to combine. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, gently, for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve a ladle or two of the soup over a scoop of rice and garnish with more cilantro, if desired.

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

This was really delicious, I'm not usually a fan of BBQ sauce but in this recipe it was perfect giving a little bit of added flavor without being over the top. Mom and I thought that

a whole chicken breast was a little too much and that next time we would use the chicken tenders instead. We loved the different flavors together and thought it tasted like a quick/easy version of Chicken Cordon Bleu.

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Recipe came from Blog Chef

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves

¼ cup BBQ sauce

8 slices bacon

8 slices Swiss cheese

2 large tomatoes (sliced)

lettuce

8 slices sour dough bread (to toasted)

½ cup ranch dressing

1 small avocado (peeled, pitted, and sliced)

Cooking Directions

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Brush both sides of the chicken breasts with bbq sauce and place onto the baking sheet. Top each chicken breast with 2 slices of bacon.

Step 2: Bake chicken breasts for 25 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. During the last couple minutes of cooking top each chicken breast with 2 slices of Swiss cheese and allow it to melt. Remove from the oven. While chicken is cooking in a food processor blend together ranch dressing and diced avocado. Set aside.Step 3: Lay down one slice of sour dough bread. Top with lettuce and 2 slices of tomato. Top the tomato with a chicken breast. Spread avocado ranch dressing onto the bottom of the top slice of bread. Place on top of the sandwich.(Makes 4 Servings)

Roasted Potato Tacos

This is by far one of the best recipes that I have tried in a long time and it has quickly made it to the top as a favorite recipe. The recipe is actually vegetarian based but Mom felt that it should have some form of protein in it so we just cooked up the couple strips of bacon that we had and put it on top...so, so, so good (the house smelled simply divine as it was cooking--we even cooked it in the toaster oven rather than heat the regular oven)! We didn't have the other stuff to do the dressing to with it so we just used sour cream, I can't wait to try real dressing.

Roasted Potato Tacos

Recipe came from Handle The Heat

Roasted Red Potatoes

4-5 Red Potatoes, coarse chopped

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, coarse chopped

1/2 medium sized Onion, coarse chopped

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Tortillas

Lime wedges, for garnish

Dressing

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Combine potatoes, bell pepper, onion, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and oil. Toss until potatoes and other vegetables are well coated in oil and spices. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet and place on the middle rack in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and browned. Spread the mixture on tortillas and top with a spoonful of dressing (recipe below). Serve with fresh lime wedges.

Dressing

2 tablespoons Sour Cream

1 tablespoon Mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh Goat Cheese

1 clove Garlic

1 teaspoon diced Jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon fresh Lime Juice

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Gooey Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Bars

I wonder if maybe these actually ought to be called triple chocolate. These bars were so delicious and actually not that much work. Be prepared with a glass of milk near-by though as you eat these and cut them into little squares so that you don't feel quite as guilty eating them (as I might have eaten way too much of the double batch that I made---I mean who would ever do that?)

Gooey Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars

Recipe Came From Picky Palate

Gooey Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Bars

1 Devils Food Cake Mix

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

14 Oreo Cookies, broken into bite size pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 9×13 inch baking pan with tin foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, butter and egg into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Use your hands, it works much quicker Press into prepared baking pan. Top with broken pieces of cookies.

3. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cookies and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 23-25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven.

4. After 5 minutes of cooling, run a plastic knife around edges to loosen, this makes it much easier to remove from foil. Let cool completely, remove foil from pan, then cut into squares. I cut off all of the edges before cutting into squares (makes for neater squares), but do whatever you’d like!!

Sumptuous Sunday

Brownies with Marshmallow Fudge Frosting

Cherry Limeade Popsicles

Bacon Tomato Macaroni Salad

Pull Apart Pizza

Cookie Dough Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping

Turkey Bacon Bleu Cheese Sliders

BLT Brunch Pie

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

Watermelon Feta Salad

Chips and Salsa Cookies

Healthy Crunchy Onion Rings

I first clicked on this recipe because I know that my LOVES onion rings and if they were a healthier version that is always a plus. I didn't have any panko which I think might have been a negative, they weren't as crunchy as I hoped they would be, plus I think that next time I would add a bunch more spices because it seemed kind of bland. Mom and Libbey liked them and thought that they were good otherwise.

Healthy Crunchy Onion Rings

Recipe Came From How Sweet It Is

Healthy Crunchy Onion Rings

serves 2-4

2 large vidalia onions

1 quart of buttermilk

4 egg whites

1 cup medium ground cornmeal

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

12-24 hours ahead of time, slice onions into 1/2-inch thick rings. Season the onion rings with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper each. Place in a baking dish and pour buttermilk over top. Let soak for 12-24 hours.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 450 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk egg whites. In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour and panko with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon paprika. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray the wire rack with non-stick spray.

Remove each onion ring from the buttermilk and dip in egg whites. Immediately dip in the breadcrumb mixture and press to coat. If bread crumbs won’t adhere, dip in egg whites and try again. Lay each ring on the wire rack. When all rings are ready, give each a quick spritz with olive oil or non-stick spray. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently flip with tongs and spray again with olive oil or non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes more.

Sweet Potato Fries

These Sweet Potato Fries are almost like my Oven Fries, so simple and delicious. I'm not sure which one that I like better. I remember when I was little that if anyone mentioned sweet potatoes my face immediately scrunched up and I would give you a very loud "ewwww," who would have ever thought that I would like them and even get excited about them. If you are like I used to be, give sweet potatoes a try (and I would strongly suggest this be where you start!)

Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe Came From Eat At Home

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Wash the sweet potatoes and cut them into sticks. Put them in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place them on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Sumptuous Sunday

I can't believe that it has almost been a month since I last posted...terrible! I have been working almost everyday and as such haven't had as much time for the cooking/baking/blogging world, but I'm working on getting back on the wagon again. I may not have had the time to try new recipes but I definitely have a very long list to share, so here it it...

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Mississippi Mud Brownies

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread

Oreo Brownies

Easy Ice Cream Without a Machine

Southern Skillet Corn

Fruited Chicken Pasta

S'More Stars

Corn Potato Chowder

Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

Pizza Bagel Bites

Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Chicken Bacon Avocado Quesadillas

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Gooey White Chocolate Fluffernutter Bars

Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake

Mashed Potato Chicken Bowl

Homade Cheeze-Its

Roasted Potato Tacos

Triple Layer Bars

Chicken, Apple, Cheddar Sandwiches

Peach Bread

Grilled Breakfast Pizza