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.

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)

Chicken Ranch Wraps

When I saw these they looked and sounded so yummy! I dipped and battered all of the chicken when Mom and I decided that we wanted to make these more healthy and not deep fry them, instead bake them. These were so delicious! I baked these at 350*F for about 15 minutes on each side I believe. I also added some BBQ sauce with the ranch dressing. I may try these fried next time but I loved them this way.

Chicken Ranch Wraps

Recipe came from Lauren's Latest

Chicken Ranch Wraps

Ingredients:

1 lb Chicken (cut into strips)

1 cup Flour

1 1/4 teaspoons Seasoning Salt {such as Mrs. Dash}, divided

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

2 Eggs

3 tablespoons Milk

oil for frying, such as vegetable or peanut oil

For the Wraps

2 Roma Tomatoes

4 large leafs Lettuce

Ranch Dressing

Cheese

6 medium Flour Tortillas {8 inch}

Directions:

Pour frying oil into a deep skillet until half way full. Preheat to 350-375 degrees {around medium heat}.

Using two shallow dishes, prepare dredging station: fill one with flour, 1 teaspoon seasoning salt, pepper and garlic powder and the other with eggs, milk and remaining 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt. Mix both.

Slice chicken breasts into thin strips. Place chicken into flour mixture to coat. Remove from flour, shaking off any excess and coat in egg. Place back into the flour for a second coat. Shake off any excess flour and place into hot oil to fry. Try not to over crowd the pan! You may have to do two or three batches. {Remember: If you put chicken into the oil and nothing happens, its too cold. If you put chicken into the oil and it sizzles violently, it’s too hot. You need to find a happy medium between those two for frying.} Fry chicken 3-4 minutes per side or until golden in color. Remove onto paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with some salt. Store in warm oven until ready to eat.

To assemble the wraps, place chicken pieces onto a tortilla. Top with lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing. Roll and eat!

Sumptuous Sunday

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting

Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Cheesecake Frosting

Rhubarb, Coconut and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lemonade Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Jelly Bars

Cast Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Pulled Chicken Suiza Sandwiches

Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies

Gluten Free Rhubarb, Almond, and Lemon Cake

BBQ Chicken Burgers

Crunchy Onion Rings

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Chicken Empenadas

Easy Raspberry Lemonade

Grilled Quesadillas

Mandarin Orange Pie

Sumptuous Sunday

Italian Chicken Salad Sandwich

Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffin

Caramel Stuffed Sugar Cookie

Simplest Pasta Dish Ever

American Pie Cupcakes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry S'mores

Seven Layer Southwestern Salad

Honey-Soy Pork Chops

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burrito

Jelly Roll Pancakes

Homemade McGriddles

BBQ Chicken and Bacon Pizza

Sweet BBQ Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Chicken and Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Chinese Chicken Salad

Aloha Chicken Terriyaki Chicken

Strawberry Streusel Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

Chocolate Covered Cashews Filled Caramels

Peanut Butter Dandies

Crispy Chicken and Ranch Wraps

Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Lasagna Roll Ups

Vanilla Bean Cake

Butterbeer Cupcakes

Turtle Cookie Bars

S'mores Pie

Sumptuous Sunday

I've decided to start a new weekly thing (hopefully be able to keep up with it) and that is to just share all the current recipes in my list that I wish to make. Here are just a selection of what I have in my e-mail that I want to make.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chiles Sour Cream Sauce

Sticky Finger Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Caramel Brownie Trifle

Pesto and Crushed Tomato Shells

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Blackberry Cobbler Waffles

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Chicken Pot Pie

Orange Chicken

Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken

Terriyaki Chicken

Parmesan Chicken Sticks

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filled Oreo Cheesecakes

Easy Cheese Danish

Creamy Tomato Soup with Corn, Chicken, Bacon

Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Quick Bread

Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake

Crispy Chicken Skewers

Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad

I showed this recipe to Mom and she just knew that this is what she wanted to make for our dinner on Sunday, we had about 30 people so had to 5x the recipe. It went over very well as we had only about a cup left of salad mix by the end of the night. We just cheated and bought Costco rolls to serve with the salad, some people made it into a sandwich and others just ate it plain (I've been using it for a wrap filling too!). It was really good, I wasn't so sure at first with the cranberry sauce, but it adds a great twist to the salad.

Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad
Recipe came from Eat It Up
Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size
1 cup celery
1/3 cup chopped green onions
Zest of 1 medium orange
1/2 cup craisens
1/2 cup light mayo
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard or coarse grain mustard
2 tablespoons jellied cranberry sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Croissants or rolls
lettuce leaves

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery, green onions, orange zest and craisins.
2. In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together mayo, mustard, cranberry sauce, salt and black pepper. Add the chicken mixture and toss to fully combine. *This salad is best if refrigerated for several hours before serving.
3. Just before serving, add the toasted pecans/walnuts. Serve on toasted buns (with a touch more mayo if desired)and with a leaf of lettuce.

* Combine this with fruit salad and some veggies for dipping and you are set!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These were my first enchiladas...ever! They were so so delicious! I thought that the chicken was a little dry so the only changes I would make was to have doubled the amount for the marinade. I also didn't have extra marinade at the end like it said I was supposed to, so I just threw some more honey and lime in with the heavy cream and green enchilada sauce. I liked that this recipe was so simple but still had so many flavors.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe came from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1/3 cup Honey

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 pound Chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour Tortillas

1 pound Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

2 (10 oz) cans Green Enchilada Sauce

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the honey (their tip: spray your measuring spoon with cooking spray before measuring out the honey), lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in aZiploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).

Spray a 9X13 pan and a 9X9 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of each baking pan to create a thin layer on the bottom. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (you might not need to use all of the enchilada sauce depending on how saucy you like yours). Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. I served mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, rice and black beans.

Chicken Nachos

I have to admit I was a little nervous about this recipe, I've never done much with Velveeta, not because it isn't good but it was not something that I grew up using. This recipe came together really well and quickly, I adapted it from a crockpot recipe, I had planned on doing it in the crockpot but ran out of time and did it over the stove top. It was a little spicy, if you aren't a fan of that omit the Rotel.

Chicken Nachos

Recipe came from A Year of Slow Cooking

(adapted from) Chicken Nachos

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 package Velveeta

1 Can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

Bag of Tortilla Chips

Other Nacho stuff: beans, sour creams, onions, olives, tomatoes, etc.

1. Cook chicken (I boiled)

2. Cube Velveeta and put in sauce pan with rotel over medium heat.

3. Add chicken to Velveeta mixture as it begins to melt, turn heat down a little.

4. When Velveeta completely melted and warm put on top of tortilla chips along with other yummy toppings!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

WARNING! Extremely fatty goodness!

This recipe was so delicious but next time definitely needs the salad to offset all the different dairies that are put into it. It's a good thing that I served this at dinner group because if I tried eating it all by myself I would have been in major trouble!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Recipe came from Tasty Kitchen

Creamy Chicken Pasta

1-1/2 pounds Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast

2 Tablespoons Mrs. Dash seasoning

1 pound Pasta

8 Tablespoons Butter

1 medium Onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon Salt

Pepper, to taste

4 cloves Garlic, finely minced

8 ounces Light Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Sundried Tomatoes (packed in Oil), finely diced---I was too cheap to buy these

2 cups Low Fat Half and Half

1/2 pound Cooked Bacon, crumbled (I didn't measure this I just put a handful in of Costco's pre-cooked and crumbled bacon)

1-1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Sprinkle Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning on both sides of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Place breasts in a medium sized skillet and cook on medium high heat until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes depending on thickness. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes. Shred meat with two forks or by hand. Then set aside. If the pan is dry, while cooking, I usually add a couple Tablespoons of water to the pan.

In a large Dutch oven bring some salted water to a boil to cook the pasta to al dente (according to package instructions for al dente). Drain pasta but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onions, salt and pepper to butter and saute until onions are soft and starting to “melt” in the pan, about 10 minutes. Do not let onions brown. Add garlic and cook for 5 more minutes at low to medium low heat. Add the cream cheese to the pan in pieces and stir until melted. Add the diced sundried tomatoes to the pan along with the half and half. Stir until combined. Bring to a low simmer. Add the shredded chicken, bacon and parmesan cheese to the pan. Stir until cheese is melted. Season sauce with additional salt or pepper if necessary.

At this point add in pasta water if it is needed. Add water bit by bit. You do not want the sauce to become too thin. (I have added a bit more half and half as well if I forgot to hold back the pasta water.) Add the cooked pasta into sauce and toss. Pour this into a beautiful pasta bowl and garnish with a little fresh cracked pepper on top. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

It was my turn to make dinner! If you don't realize I read probably somewhere around 20 different cooking blogs regularly and I found another one yesterday, as I was looking through what they had made before this little number jumped out at me and sounded delicious (or as my roommate likes to say DE-LISH!). I ran to the grocery store and grabbed the ingredients this morning and threw it in the crock pot before I left for work. Because it was my first time trying the recipe I followed it exactly and didn't make any changes. It was really good but there are a couple of things that I would do a little differently next time I make it, it was really meaty, I would scale it back to 2 or 3 chicken breasts instead of 4; and it felt like there wasn't a lot of it besides the meat so I would probably put in another can of corn and at least one more of beans. This recipe was really good but I think it could be made even better by making those little changes.

Recipe came from Sprinkled With Flour

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili
Prep: 5 min; Cook: 8 hr; Servings (1 cup): 10

1 onion, diced (optional)
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 8-oz can corn
2 (14.5-oz) cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder (can reduce this amount for less spiciness)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package shredded cheddar cheese

~ Combine beans, onion, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, garlic, taco seasoning in crockpot.
~ Place the chicken on top and cover.
~ Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours.
~ Before serving, use a fork to shred the chicken, and stir to mix.
~ Serve over cooked rice and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Tip: This is also great topped with fresh cilantro, sour cream, and jalapenos. It keeps very well in the refrigerator and tastes even better the next day. For additional flavor, squeeze a little fresh lime juice (to taste) into the meat and stir.

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

I think that I need to start spending more time on All Recipes, my roommate always finds delicious dishes from it. Tonight she made a yummy casserole with salsa, chicken, rice, and cheese---how could you go wrong? She had a mixture of cooked veggies on the side-corn, peas, carrots, and beans; it was really good mixed in with the casserole also. I ate way too much of this and I'm sure it will be something that I will make sometime soon!

Recipe came from All Recipes

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

• Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
• 1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa

Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.