Chicken Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from my BF Jami. It is seriously the best tortilla soup I've ever had. It always tastes better when she makes it too. I can't believe I'm just now putting it on the blog, because this has been a favorite for years!

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1-2 chicken breasts , boneless and skinless
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel
1 can beef broth
1 can chicken broth
1 can tomato soup
1 cup corn (I use frozen)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drains or 1-2 cups mexican black beans
1-2 cans water
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
fresh tortillas/tortilla chips and cheese for topping

Directions
Saute onion and garlic in oil. Add all ingredients except for tortillas and cheese. Simmer for 50 minutes. Remove chicken from soup and shred. Return chicken to soup and serve with toppings. This is SOOOOO good and you can make it in a crockpot too!

Toasted Quinoa with sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas and feta

I originally saw this idea here. I changed it up a little bit the basic recipe is the same.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked), prepared according to pkg
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bunch green onions, divided
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes and feta

Heat 2 T olive oil in skillet until hot. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Remove garlic and dispose. Add half green onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add cooked quinoa and saute for 10-15 minutes until brown and crispy. Add toppings of choice.

Mozzarella stuffed bruschetta turkey burgers

These burgers were great! I found this recipe on Iowa Girls Eats. She always posts really yummy recipes. The peanut butter jar tip for making the patties worked great too! You can watch a video tutorial here.

Ingredients:
Burger:

• 1 lb 99% fat-free ground turkey breast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided into 4
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar

Bruschetta mixture:

• 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Simmer balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat until it is the consistency of
thin maple syrup – about 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, salt, pepper, dried basil and parmesan cheese. Divide
turkey mixture into four, equal portions.

3. Wrap an old peanut butter jar lid with foil, then lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top.
Divide one portion of the turkey mixture in half, then press one half into the bottom of
the lid. Heap 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese into the middle, then top with the other turkey
half. Press together, then invert the patty by pulling up on the plastic wrap. Seal the edges
with your hands, then place on the grill. Continue with other turkey portions until you
have 4 patties total. Grill burgers for 4 minutes a side over medium-high heat.

4. For Bruschetta mixture: combine all ingredients, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Top grilled burgers with Bruschetta mixture and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Chicken Chili

This is my fool proof Chicken Chili recipe and one of our winter staples.

Put the following ingredients in your crockpot:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups of tomato sauce (I usually use 1/2 of an extra large jar of Prego spaghetti sauce from Costco)
2 cans beans, drained & rinsed (I usually like pinto and black beans)
1 chicken breast, uncooked
2-3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
Season to taste with: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
1 cup frozen corn (I usually add this at the end of cooking)

Set crockpot on low and cook for 7-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve. Makes 6-8 servings.

Time saving tip: I often put 1-2 extra chicken breasts in the chili to cook for another use later in the week.

Toasted Pita Panzanella

This is an Italian dish with a twist. Panzanella is widely known in Italy as a "bread salad" or "leftover salad", so the sky is the limit with this one as far as which ingredients to use. It is great for an August meal with so many fresh ingredients readily available this time of year!

Ingredients:
2 whole wheat pitas
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 of a red onion, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t sugar
1/4 cup EVOO
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Chop pitas into 8 sections(like cutting a pie) and toast for 14 minutes, turning halfway through. Set aside and cool. Once cool break into smaller pieces.

Combine tomatoes through basil and add pita pieces. Combine lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper and slowly add the olive oil. Drizzle dressing over salad and let set at room temperature 20-30 minutes before serving. This serves 2 adults and one baby James!

Pork Spare Ribs

I must admit, I was a little intimidated about making ribs, BUT not anymore. These were so easy, delicious and really impressed my husband! The best part is after a little prep work they finish cooking in the crock-pot and simmer all day!

Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds spareribs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion sliced
2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce

Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Place ribs(meaty side up) under broiler for 15 minutes to brown. Put sliced onion in crock-pot. Slice ribs into serving pieces and put in crock-pot. Pour in BBQ sauce. cover; cook on Low 8 to 10 hours (high for 4 to 5 hours). Enjoy!

Asian style bbq pizza

This is adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe that I've been making for years and it is one of my favorites. I love bbq sauce. What can I say, I'm a KC girl! The main difference from the original recipe is I use more plum/bbq sauce than the original.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound thin cut (cutlets) boneless, skinless chicken breast
Extra-virgin olive oil
Grill seasoning blend (I use Montreal Seasoning by McCormick) or salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cornmeal or all-purpose flour
1 package store bought pizza dough (you are making 1 12-inch pie)
2 to 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/3 cup plum sauce or Peking Duck Sauce
1/3 cup barbecue sauce, any variety or brand(I usually use KC masterpiece).
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heat a grill pan or skillet over high heat. Drizzle oil over chicken cutlets and season with grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper. Grill chicken 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Cut chicken into bit size pieces. You can also omit this step and use leftover chicken.

Sprinkle a pizza pan or baking stone with cornmeal or flour. Press the dough into a pizza shell, working all the way to edges of the pan. Sprinkle the edges of your dough with sesame seeds. Cover the dough with sauces. Cover pizza with cheese. Top with sliced chicken and scallions and red pepper. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until crisp and cheese is bubbly. Cut into 8 slices.

Huevos Rancheros

I've been meaning to make these for a long time, but never did until tonight. We had some amazing Huevos Rancheros 6 years ago in Durango, CO at a quant diner on main street. We were visiting Durango for the wedding of our friends Chris and Maleah Stroud. It was a quick, easy dinner and did not disappoint! I've had some queso fresco cheese in the freezer for quite a while and was looking for a good recipe to use it for. I have a chicken chimichunga recipe that I'll post later this week that calls for that cheese too.

Huevos Rancheros

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 topped tortilla)

Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Cooking spray
4 large eggs (a big eater,aka Todd, would want 2 eggs)
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese or any other cheese will work fine too
Avocado, sliced (optional)

Combine the tomatoes and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and juice. Set aside.

Place water and beans in a microwave-safe bowl, and partially mash with a fork. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until hot.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread about 1/3 cup beans over each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1 egg. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce around each egg; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. If made with 1 egg and no avocado these are about 350 calories each.

Italian Meatloaf

This is a recipe from a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. She was on Oprah last year long before James was born, but I just had to have the cookbook. It is all about sneaking healthy food into regular food. It is not a replacement for fruits and veggies on your childs plate, but rather, an extra opportunity to boost the nutritional value of their food. This is officially the first thing I've made from the cookbook and I thought it turned out great. I will definitely be making this again!

Italian Meatloaf
-Nonstick cooking spray
-1 cup Italian-style (seasoned) breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
-2 T olive oil
-1/2 cup onion
-2 celery stalks
-1 lb lean ground turkey (I used a 1.2 lbs pkg of 99% fat free turkey)
-1/2 cup parmesan or any blend of Italian cheese
-1/2 cup carrot puree(I used finely chopped 3 carrots in my mini food proccesor)
- 1/4 cup ketchup plus more for dipping
- salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup bottled tomato sauce (I used some leftover Chunky Garden Prego sauce)
-4 slices turkey bacon (I didn't have any bacon so omitted it)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in milk

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat and add olive oil. Cook onion 7-10 minutes until soft. Add the celery and cook another 3-4 minutes. Take off heat and let cool a few minutes. Add the breadcrumb mixture, onions and celery to all the other ingredients. Stir to combine and add the mixture to the loaf pan. Spread tomato sauce to cover the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the edges brown. This was super delicious and healthy too!