Cheater Chicken Soup

So I was craving chicken soup.  Here in Houston - in November - it finally dropped below 60 for a daytime high.  It will be warm again in 24 hours but for today I wanted some cold weather comfort food.  I did not have good roasted chicken or chicken stock in the freezer (which is a sin in my family, btw) so came up with a "cheater" version of down home goodness!

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless, frozen chicken breasts
1 T + 1 T + 3 T butter
1 T thyme
A few dashes of garlic powder, salt & pepper
1/2 C chopped onion
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
4 T flour
3 C chicken stock (in a pinch use a good chicken base & water, NOT the bullion cubes)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the 3 chicken breasts in a foil-lined baking dish, spread a tablespoon of butter & sprinkle the thyme, garlic & some salt & pepper over them.  Bake for 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, chop your veggies, melt 1 T butter in a medium sized pot & throw in your onions, celery & carrot, cooking until onions are turning translucent.
4. Add the other 3 T butter, let it melt, then add flour.  Stir it all up & cook for several more minutes, stirring a few times to cook the flour.
5. Add chicken stock to the pot, stirring well, bring to a simmer.
6. Take the chicken out of the oven & let it rest while your soup is simmering.
7. When the soup starts to thicken up, chop up the chicken - don't worry if it's a little pink still. It will finish up in the soup.
8. When the soup is thickened (after about 15 minutes simmering) stir in the chopped chicken & simmer it a few minutes more.  Salt & pepper to taste.
9. Serve your soup over your favorite biscuits or noodles!  Enjoy!

Green Chili Pork Stew

This is a spin on Chuy's Green Chili Chicken Stew.  Mine calls for pork and a crock pot!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 chiles roasted, peeled & seeds removed (instructions below), chopped
    **I used 1 poblano & 3 Anaheim peppers
4 tomatillos husked and quartered
3 garlic cloves minced
1 onion chopped - a heaping cup or so
1/4 C flour
4-5 large carrots chopped to 1/2" pieces
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 C chicken stock
1 tsp cumin
    **I was out so used Penzey's Bold Taco Seasoning!
About 1 C chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
About 3 pounds of pork loin cut into 1" cubes
Salt & Pepper
Sour cream & corn tortillas for serving

Instructions:

1.  In a heavy skillet heat a few tablespoons of oil & toss in tomatillos.  Sauté for a few minutes then add garlic.  When garlic is fragrant add the onions.

2.  After sautéing a few more minutes add flour, stirring it in to make a roux.  Put all of this into your crock pot along with the peppers, carrots, tomatoes & seasoning.

3.  Wipe out the pan if needed & return to a medium high heat with a little oil.  Sear pork in batches, add to the crock pot.

4.  Pour in stock and stir all together.  Set crock pot on high, cooking until carrots are soft & pork is tender (About 3 hours).  Throw in the cilantro & salt/pepper (if needed) during the last hour or so of cooking.

Serve topped with sour cream, fresh cilantro & freshly heated tortillas.

For some extra variety you can add some black beans, corn and diced potatoes for an even heartier stew.

To roast your peppers put them under your broiler or on your grill.  Watch closely & turn as needed to blacken them all over.  Immediately put them in a ziplock and let the steam do it's thing.  Once they're cool enough to handle you can peel off the skin & remove seeds then they're ready to chop up.

Pesto Zoodles and Chicken

This is a super easy dinner!  Perfect if you're looking for something fresh and low-carb.  Enjoy :)

Ingredients:
2 large zucchini, julienned
1 large handful of fresh basil or about 4 T minced
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 C parmesan
3 T + 1 T EVOO
Grilled chicken, sliced
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Feta cheese

1. In a mini food processor, blend basil, garlic, parmesan and about 3 T EVOO.  Set aside.
2. Heat about 1 T EVOO in a skillet and sauté the julienned zucchini until heated through.
3. Remove from heat and toss zucchini with pesto.
4. Plate it up.  Zucchini 1st, topped with grilled chicken, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Kitchen note: If you don't have a food processor, you can finely mince the basil and garlic together then stir in parmesan and olive oil.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas - sort of!

Ok, so this recipe is not completely crock pot… but the meat of it is and that's the hard part!  I can't remember where I found this recipe.  I jotted it down from a website somewhere so can't take all the credit but either way, they were yummy so here ya go!

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Taco seasoning (I used a couple tablespoons of Penzey's Chicken Taco)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t chili powder
Small onion, chopped
4 oz green chilis
1/4 C water

1. Put the chicken in the crock pot (mine started out frozen).  Sprinkle all the powdered seasonings over the chicken then spread the green chilis over the chicken… then in go the onions and water.
2. Cook on low 6 hours.
3. Remove chicken from pot and shred with 2 forks; set aside.

Ingredients - part 2:
1 C sour cream
1/4 C (or so - didn't measure) broth from crock pot
2-3 C shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
1 can enchilada sauce
Tortillas - flour or corn, your choice
Sliced black olives
Chopped green onions

4. Mix together sour cream and 1/4 C broth and stir into shredded chicken.
5. Roll enchiladas with chicken mixture and cheese and place in a baking dish.
6. Pour enchilada sauce over all… then top with more cheese, sliced black olives and green onion.
7. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes and serve!

NOTE:  I made about 8 enchiladas in flour tortillas the 1st go-around and froze the remaining chicken filling.  I later used that leftover filling for another batch made with about 10 corn tortillas so the filling part of this recipe really made enough for 2 whole batches!!

Crockpot Chicken Barbacoa

I lose the love for cooking sometimes when it's required at the end of a long day that was preceded by and will be followed by more long days… so had to get organized.  My sister inspired me to finally get a new crock pot that does more than turn on and off - and to plan ahead with freezer-to-crockpot meals!  My 1st one was super tasty so I decided to share… you can make this on the spot or freeze ready to go in the crockpot… enjoy!  Recipe inspired by www.slenderkitchen.com

Ingredients:

2# boneless, skinless chicken breasts

7 oz can Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, chopped (find in the Mexican food isle)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, quartered

1 tsp oregano

1/2 C chicken broth

1. Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer.

2. When ready to cook, dump everything in a crockpot and set to low for 8 hours.

3. Remove onion pieces and shred chicken with 2 forks.

4. Serve in warm soft taco shells, topped with fresh corn relish (recipe below), cheese and sour cream!

To make "on the spot", use raw chicken and cook on high 4 hours.

Fresh Corn Relish:

Simply cut kernels off an ear of corn and combine with chopped red bell pepper, red onion and cilantro!

Kitchen note:  This would also be delicious with pork!

Accidental Chicken Chili Soup

I didn't know what else to call this one since it turned out totally different than what it started out as... It was supposed to be a Mexican chicken with creamy, cheesy sauce but here's how it turned out:

Ingredients:

2# chicken tenderloins

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

EVOO

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 C sour cream

1 C salsa verde

1 T chili powder

1 C water

1. Layer chicken in the crock pot.

2. Start sauteing onion & garlic in a little EVOO, until soft.

3. While onions & garlic are cooking, mix together soups, sour cream, salsa & chili powder.

4. Add onions to soup mixture then pour over chicken.

5. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hrs then turn to low for another 1 1/2 hrs.

Here's where things got "accidental"... the plan was to have the chicken with sauce over it next to a salad.  But when I tried to take the chicken out it FELL APART!  So I shredded it & returned it to the pot, added a little water & served up with shredded cheese, sour cream & sauteed peppers.  Next time I'll add some veggies!

Enjoy :)

Leslie's Italian Stuffed Peppers

Threw this together as an experiment & it turned out pretty yummy!!  Hope you like!

Ingredients:

1# ground Italian sausage

2-3 bell peppers

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C chopped cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Small can tomato sauce

1 T Butter

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Start sausage browing in a skillet over medium heat & crumble as it cooks.

2. Meanwhile, cut bell pepper in half lengthwise & remove seeds. Place in a baking dish.

3. When sausage is cooked, set aside in a collander to drain well.

4. In the skillet, melt 1 T butter & saute onion, garlic & cabbage.  Add tomatoes & sauce, simmer to break down tomato chunks.  Season with an Italian blend if desired.

5. Return sausage to skillet & mix everything together.  

6. Spoon some into bell pepper halves, layer with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Stuff as much as you can in there & top with cheese.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly & browned on top.  Enjoy!  :)

Note:  I made about half this much for 2 pepper halves & had a little filling leftover.