Yummy Comfort Food - Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder

Fall is in full effect here and it's time to bust out the soup recipes. This one is from my sweet friend in Florida. It makes A TON so be sure to use a BIG pot!

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken breast
1 qt half and half
1/4 chopped green onions ( I like a little more)
8 oz cream cheese
2 tablespoons minced garlic (again, a little more never hurts)
3 cans Cream of Potato
2 can Cream of Mushroom
2 cans cream corn
3 cans whole kernel corn
Tony's Chachere's to taste
1 stick of butter


Directions:

Boil the chicken.  Then in a separate BIG pot, melt the butter. Add garlic and onions. Now cut up the cooked chicken. Add cream cheese, soups and half and half to pot. Mix well. Now add all cans of corn including juice. Mix again and let simmer. Add Tony's to coat the top good, stir in and give a rest between sprinkles. The more Tony's you add the spicier it will be. Enjoy.

This soup is so good and every time I've made it, it has been a big hit. I love that it's so easy and pretty quick to throw together. Makes a lot for leftovers or serving a big crowd.

What's your favorite fall comfort food?

Yummy Saturday Morning Breakfast

My girlfriend sent me a recipe for some homemade pop tarts. Yummo!

Here's how we made ours.

Ingredients:

refrigerated pie crusts

jelly/ jam or preserves of choice

powered sugar

milk

sprinkles if desired

First, let the pie crusts come to room temp.

Next cut the pie crust in half. (This makes for BIG pot parts.)

Now spoon some jelly on half of the pie crust.

Fold over and crease edges.

Bake on 425 for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

While it's baking make icing with powered sugar and milk.

(I added just enough milk to make it thick. Probably about 1 Tbs to about 1/2 cup of sugar.)

Pour icing over top and garnish with sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Apricot Chicken

We are getting back into a routine around here and I am back on E-mealz.com and loving it. This was a super simple recipe that everybody liked.

Ingredients:

1.5+ lbs boneless chicken breasts, pounded

1 ½ c apricot preserves

1 packet onion soup mix

¼ c mayo

White rice

1 bag fresh broccoli florets

Directions:

Combine preserves, onion soup mix, and mayo. Place chicken

in 13x9 and spread mixture over top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for

45 min. Serve chicken and juices over steamed rice. Steam broccoli; season and serve.

Easy Peasy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup or chicken pot pie soup

16 oz package frozen veggies THAWED

1 12 oz can chicken (or 2 cups cooked chicken)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 TBS flour

Mrs. Dash garlic and herb

1 pat of butter

2 pie shells

Directions:

Thaw veggies in the microwave (or remember to take them out that morning!) Warm chicken in pat of butter and season generously with Mrs. Dash. Mix flour and broth together. Mix soup, veggies, chicken and broth and pour into pie shell. Cover with remaining pie shell and cook for 35 minutes at 400 until golden. Delish!

Cinnamon Apples and Dip

I had a homeschool mom's meeting tonight and it was my turn to bring a snack. In my efforts to eat something that resembles some sort of nutritional value I took this:

First I cut my apples with my handy dandy Pampered Chef apple slicer/corer thing and put all my slices into a gallon Ziploc. Then I added some cinnamon and shook well. I used about 1/2 teaspoon per 6 apples.

The dip is 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla blended. Supper simple and way yummy!

White Chicken Pizza

Ok, I hope you're not getting sick of hearing how much I LOVE e-mealz, cause here is another fun easy meal.

Ingredients:

Pizza crust mix (Jiffy makes these - about .49)

Olive oil cooking spray

½ t garlic salt

2 T grated Parmesan

3-4 T ranch dressing

3 c shredded chicken ( I used canned chicken, it was great!)

½ c chopped red onion

Sliced mushrooms, sautéed

4-6 oz shredded mozzarella

1 bag salad

Grape tomatoes

Italian dressing

Directions:

Sauté mushrooms in 2 T melted butter until tender. Heat oven as stated on pizza crust pkg. Make pizza crust as directed on cookie sheet. Lightly spray dough w/spray. Sprinkle w/parmesan & garlic salt. Bake 10 min. Spread ranch dressing on crust. Layer chicken, onion, mushrooms & cheese. Bake 9-12 more min.

Toss salad; serve on the side.

I added a bit of bar-b-q- sauce on top of the mushrooms to help counter the red onion. YUMMY!

Yes, I heart e-mealz.com.

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad

Another yummy recipe from e-mealz.com. This was too easy and so good.

Ingredients:

1 bag popcorn chicken

2 oz bag almond slivers (2 T butter)

1 bag ramen noodles, broken up

1 bag salad

½ bag, 8 oz cole slaw

2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained

½ c chopped red onions

Asian dressing

Bagels

(Butter, garlic salt)

Directions:

Bake chicken as directed.

In med skillet over low heat, brown ramen noodles & almonds w/melted butter. Once browned, take off heat; cool.

Toss salad, slaw & oranges with dressing. Top w/chicken, noodles, almonds & green onions. Add more dressing if desired.

Slice bagel halves horizontally to make 4 bagel rounds per bagel. Spread butter on one side; sprinkle w/garlic salt. Toast until crispy.

Have I mentioned I how much I love e-mealz.com??

Santa Fe Soup

Have I mentioned how much I love e-mealz.com? Mmm, mmm, mmm! Here is a recipe that came last week that was a real hit and even easier fix.

1 lb ground beef (I had venison on hand and that was great)

1 onion chopped

1 package of ranch dressing mix

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 cans of corn

2 cups of beef broth (you can substitute water)

Sour cream

Directions: Cook beef with onion, drain. Stir in ranch and taco mix with meat. (DO NOT DRAIN CANS) Add remaining ingredients except sour cream. Simmer 1-2 hours. Top with sour cream an serve.

This was so great and so easy and makes a HUGE potful! The kids loved it and there is plenty for leftovers. Mike thought it'd be great over rice too.

I heart e-mealz.com. Click on the banner below to check it out.

My New Favorite Thing

E-mealz.com is the best thing ever to happen to my kitchen. I need serious help when it comes to planning menus and cooking, and I have found an answer!

This website is the best idea ever! For $5 a month (bought in 3 month increments) you click and download a weeks worth of meals, directions and grocery lists. All the information comes in 2 sheets. One sheet is the menu with instructions and the other sheet is the grocery list DIVIDED BY SECTIONS OF THE GROCERY STORE! (This is the worst part of my lists I make - I always crisscross the store 15 times!) There is also blank space to put extra item you need.

This is such a well thought out system. You can choose your family size (2 people or 4-6 people) as well as number of meals you want (5 or 7). You also choose which grocery store you shop at (Publix, Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc) and what type of meals you'd like to prepare (low carb, low fat, weight watchers, vegetarian etc.)

Get this: each week's menu is budgeted between $70-80! Granted, this does not include breakfasts or lunches but Dave Ramsey endorses this website, so you know it's budget savvy. In fact, if you type his name in the coupon code area, you get a discount of $2.50. That comes to $1 per week of someone else deciding the menu, organizing the preparations (aka no more hunting for recipes in cook books) and giving me a grocery list! I don't think there is dollar a week better spent!

We tried the sample menu on the site and the kids loved the meals, even my picky eater. Also the menu is rotated out so that a couple of favorites are tossed in every 5-6 months. There is my other dilemma - always cooking the same 4 meals. How much spaghetti can one family eat anyway? This is SUCH a GREAT help to me!!!

Finally, no more staring into the fridge at 5:00 thinking what in the world are we gonna eat tonight! And no more kids whining "Spaghetti again?!"

I heart e-mealz.com.

Fierro Chicken Recipe

I'm not a real good cook, but every once in a while I find a recipe that seems to be a hit with my family. This is one of those. My friend BJ passed this one to me and I thought I'd share.

INGREDIENTS

• nonstick cooking spray
• 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3/4 cup enchilada sauce
• 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, green chilies, chili powder, enchilada sauce, button mushrooms, and heavy cream in a large bowl. Arrange chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish; pour sauce over.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the juices run clear, about 40 minutes.

It is really good over some rice (I bet pasta too). I add extra mushrooms and about that much Tabasco sauce. It's super easy, which is my favorite kind of recipe.

Yummy Omelets

The girls and I have found a new fun way to make specialty omelet for everyone in just a few minutes.

Step 1: Write your name on a quart size Ziploc back with a sharpie.

Step 2: Crack two eggs into your Ziploc bag.

Step 3: Add what ever you like into your omelet bag. The girls like cheese and ham. I like sauteed onions and peppers with mushrooms. Salsa, hash browns or green onions might be good too.

Step 4: Squish the bag to mix the ingredients. This is my kids favorite part.

Step 5: Let all the air out of the Ziploc and put all your bags in a boiling pot of water for 13 minutes. (If you bag is particularly full, leave in for another minute or two)

Step 6: Remove the bag from the water (carefully, the bag will be HOT!) and serve. The omelet will slide right out of the bag.

Yummy, easy, made to order omelets!

Granola

I have recently discovered that I LOVE granola!  A buddy of mine bought my family some of this trail mix and I was hooked! Since then I have thought I could make this and it would be cheaper and better for me.  Well, I finally made the time to research it and I have found a recipe that looks pretty good.  Here it is: ( from food.about.com)

To make granola, you'll need:

• 4 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup of wheat germ
• 1 cup of wheat flakes
• 1 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 a cup of coconut
• 1/2 a cup of raisins
• 1/2 a cup of chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 a cup of canola oil
• 1/2 a cup of honey
• 1/2 a cup of coconut
• 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the Dry Granola Ingredients

The first step is to measure your dry ingredients into a big bowl. So that's the oats, the wheat germ, the wheat flakes, the pecans, and the coconut. Give them a quick stir with a spoon, and you're done with step one.

Combine the Granola Wet Ingredients

Next, combine all of your wet ingredients in a medium saucepan: the oil, the honey, and the vanilla - and heat them together over low heat. You don't have to heat them long, just long enough to get them all combined.

Mix the Granola Ingredients

When the wet ingredients are warmed up, pour them into the dry ingredients and give them a good stir. At this point, your granola is ready to bake. While your oven preheats to 350, spread your granola mixture evenly onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or shallow pan.

Bake the Granola

Bake for about 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the granola over with a spatula. Bake for another 5 minutes – until the granola is lightly toasted – then remove it from the oven. 

While it's still warm, pour the granola into a big bowl and add the raisins and the apricots, and stir. Now it just needs to cool down a bit and it's ready to serve. 

And that's it - your own homemade granola that the great Ewell Gibbons would be proud of! 

Delish!

Last night I had a mom's meeting (a homeschooling thing) and I was signed up to bring a dessert. So, I pulled out a Pampered Chef recipe from long ago and it turned out so cute!  It evidently was a hit too because there was none left!

It is super easy!

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 pint of Strawberries (give or take)

2 Bananas (give or take)

1 Hershey's milk chocolate bar

Directions:

Mix brownies as directed on box.  Cover PC pizza stone with parchment paper and pour brownie mix on top.  This will not run off while cooking unless your oven is not level.  After brownies are finished let them completely cool.  In the mean time mix powdered sugar with cream cheese on low till blended. Spread cheese mix onto brownies.  Slice and place strawberries onto cheese mix. Slice and place bananas onto strawberries. Shave Hershey bar on small grate to garnish top (and then eat leftover chocolate bar!) and serve.