White Chicken Chili

We have been making this White Chicken Chili recipe for years, Andy and I love it. Our kids are picky so they don't eat it, but that just means more leftovers for us! 

I wanted to try it out in my Instant Pot, so I'll include the regular stove top recipe as well as pressure cooker directions. 

 

(This pic shows it a little more soupy than chili-like...I added an extra cup of water in the IP, don't! After I boiled it down a little it was the perfect chunky/creamy consistency. So just follow the original recipe amounts for stove top or pressure cooker!)

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes1 medium onion, chopped (or 1/4 cup dehydrated)
  1 taspoon minced garlic
  2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
  2 cups chicken broth
  1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 teaspoon ground cumin
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  1/2 teaspoon pepper
  1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute the chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream.
If desired, top with tortilla chips, cheese and jalapenos or serve with corn bread which is our preferred side.

Pressure cooker version:

Place full (frozen) chicken breast and all ingredients except sour cream in the pot. Cook for 13 minutes on manual setting, I did a quick release of pressure. 

Remove the chicken and shred or rough chop then return to pot, stir in sour cream. 

Enjoy!

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Mac and Cheese - Kid approved!

So I got an Instant Pot for Christmas (just one brand of many pressure cookers out there), and have been loving it!

Last night for dinner I made Mac and Cheese in it, and including the time it took to pressurize to having the food on the table was about 15 minutes total. For made from scratch Mac & Cheese. Amazing!

Here's the "recipe" I combined from others and used.

Mac & Cheese (Pressure Cooker)

Ingredients:

4 cups elbow macaroni noodles
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

4 cups shredded cheese
      I used 1 cup Pepper Jack
                1 cup Cheddar
                2 cups Mozzarella

Directions:

Mix all but cheese in your pressure cooker, cook for 8 minutes on manual then do a quick release to release the pressure. (If there is excess liquid you may want to drain a little of it, otherwise it adds to the creamy-ness of the mac and cheese.)

Add the cheese and stir until melted.

The only thing that I noticed, and this was probably because of the cheese combo I used (fridge special :) ) is that my batch was really stringy, that didn't stop us from enjoying - and devouring - this though. Def making again!

Nutrition Facts: 390 cal per serving, makes 8 servings

Creamy Tomato Soup

This is my all time fave tomato soup recipe. So good. So creamy.
I've heard that not all care for the texture, but we LOVE it!

Creamy Tomato Soup (Crockpot, 6 hours)

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with the juice
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions (I use dehydrated onions, I find them less repulsive)
1 cup finely diced celery (I also skip this, because I don't usually have celery on hand)
2 T tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1 T dry basil
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups half and half (I've also just used milk)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Add diced tomatoes, carrots, onion, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil to your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours until flavors blend and vegetables are soft.

About 30 minutes before the serving, prepare a roux.
In a skillet melt the butter over med-low heat and add the flour. Whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
Slowly add 1 cup of the soup from the crock pot  to the roux, it will make a thick paste, slowly add 3 more cups of warm soup to the mix and stir until smooth.
Add the roux mixture to the crock pot.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese, half and half and salt and pepper. Stir well, let cook on low for another 30 minutes.
Pour soup into a blender (do this in batches), puree until smooth.

Serve with artisan bread, or fresh rolls. So yum!

Baked Chicken Toquitos

This is a favorite at our house! Everyone will eat them, they freeze and reheat well, and anything with cream cheese has to be good, right?!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
5 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T lime juice
1/2 cup green salsa (or red, really whatever you have on hand)
1/4 tsp minced onion
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (I usually use dried cilantro and that works well)
2 T green onions, chopped (again, dried works just as well)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I've used Pepper Jack and Mozzarella)
20 corn tortillas

Direction:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, chili and garlic powder and cumin.
Add the cilantro, green onion, and cheese. Add the shredded chicken last, mix well.

Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave between damp paper towels for 30 second at a time so they're easy to roll and won't crack (as much).

Spread about 2-3 TBS of the mixture in each tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down on the greased foil.

Make sure the tortillas aren't touching or they will stick together while baking.
After they are all rolled and placed on the pan spray them with cooking spray.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown, some tortillas may crack during baking time and that's okay - they will still be delish! Serve with salsa, sour cream, rice, beans, etc.

Nutrition Facts: 100 cal per serving, 20 servings per recipe.

Cloud Bread

So I've been counting calories lately. Boring right? I know. Anyway, one of the things that I've been most...scared to eat much of is bread. It just has too many calories in it for me to want to waste my time with. Which is sad to me. I've probably had 4 slices of bread in the last month and a half. Maybe.

I saw a recipe for "cloud bread" on pinterest and thought I'd give it a whirl. At only 43 calories each piece how could I not?!

Cloud Bread
(link to recipe I used - http://www.food.com/recipe/carb-free-cloud-bread-411501)
I really didn't make many changes, but my notes are in red :)

• 3 eggs , separated
• 3 tablespoons whole milk cottage cheese or 3 tablespoons cream cheese (I used cream cheese)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (I didn't have any so I looked up substitutes and ended up using 1/2 tsp lemon juice.)
• 1 (1 g) packet artificial sweetener (I used 2 tsp splenda)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Separate the eggs very carefully, there must be no yolk in the white.
3. In one bowl, mix together the egg yolks, the 3 T. of Cottage Cheese OR Cream Cheese and the one packet of Sweetener until smooth. (I softened the cream cheese for about 30 seconds in the microwave)
4. In the other bowl add 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the whites and beat the whites on high speed until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.
   
5. Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites until mixed, but try and not break down the fluffiness of the egg whites too much.
   
   
   
6. Spray two cookie sheets with Pam or other fat-free cooking spray.
7. With a large spoon, "scoop" the mixture into 10 even rounds on the sheets (about the size of the top-half of the McDonalds hamburger bun; roughly 3/4 inch thick and 4 to 5 inches across).
8. Bake on the middle rack. Here is when you have to watch them, because the cooking time the same on any two batches. It is somewhere around 1/2 hour, but it could be less or more. (Mine only cooked for 21 minutes)You just need to watch them until them become nice and golden brown (again, the color of a McDonalds bun).
9. Remove from the pans and cool on a rack or cutting board.
10. While warm they are crumbly and similar to cooked meringue - but don't let this fool you! Once completely cool, seal them in a ziplock storage baggie or a tupperware over night. They will totally change their consistency, to something much more like bread - a softer texture that is nice and chewy. If you do not like softer chewy bread, then eat them as they are, nice and crisp
    
     **I let them cool for about 10 minutes and then spread butter on one and ate it with my breakfast. I was actually pleasantly surprised and how good it was. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten bread in a while? I'm interested to see how the texture changes after they've sat for a while longer. They were so easy to make though, I think I'll be making them again.  I'm also already thinking of things to add to them, seasonings, chopped dried fruit, chocolate???, cheese, mmmm.

Sausage Rice Skillet (aka cheater jambalaya)

For a Relief Society activity a few years ago I organized a 5 ingredient recipe lesson, we gathered lots of yummy, easy recipes for the little cook book. This is one of our favorites here at our house. Super easy and it gives you the jambalaya experience in a lot less time!

Sausage Rice Skillet
1 (4 1/3 ounce) box Rice-A-Roni, Chicken Fajita flavor (we use a generic brand jambalaya flavored rice mix)
3 Polish sausages, cut lengthwise and sliced (I use one of those 12-14ish ounce sausages you can buy in the store by the lunch meat, I've also added chicken but don't every time)
1 medium onion, cut crosswise and sliced (we don't like onions, so I use about 2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion)
1 green pepper, sliced (in the above picture I used dehydrated peppers, I was out of fresh ones)
3 cups water

In skillet saute sausage, onion and green pepper until lightly browned. Add rice mix, seasoning packet and 2 1/2 cups of water, stir. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Add remaining water as needed.
Recipe makes 4 servings (though it usually feeds our family and then Andy and I have the leftovers for lunch, so I'd say it's about 6 servings)

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I love me some comfort food! We don't make this often because it's so fattening...but when we do make it we love love love it!! 

Chicken broccoli casserole
layer #1 - 2 10 oz packages frozen broccoli (cooked)

layer #2 - 2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 Cup Mayo
1 tsp lemon juice
2 lbs cooked.diced chicken

layer #3 - 3/4 Cup grated cheese

3/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 Melted butter

layer in 9x13" pan top with crumbs and drizzle butter
Bake at 350 for 1 hour (or less, as long as cheese is melted and it's warmed through)

The easiest bread ever AKA: Artisan Bread

Artisan Bread
3 Cups Flour
3/4 Tablespoon Yeast
3/4 Tablespoon Salt
1 1/2 Cups warm water

Mix together, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 3 hours (longer if you want, or need. I often let it rise either over night, or from morning til late afternoon)
With Olive Oil on your hands and counter take the dough (which will be gooey and sticky) and form into a round/circular loaf and place in a *round casserole dish with lid(no need to grease it, thanks to all the olive oil!).
Cover and bake at 450 for 30 minutes. Take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes.

Let it cool so it's easier to cut and enjoy. Don't forget the butter :)

*I've also done it on a pizza stone, and it works fine. Just bake it for 40-45 minutes if you do it this way.

This is the dish I use to bake it in

The olive oil seemed to make a big difference in the crust to me as opposed to using flour when forming the dough.
We love it, and we hope you do too!

Cream Cheese Potato Soup

Andy doesn't especially like soups. I do, and I've tried to push share my love of a good soup with Andy. I especially like potato soup, but until I found this recipe I didn't have Andy convinced. We love this creamy soup, and make it about once a month (more often sometimes!). We like to look past the fact that it's not super healthy.

Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup (Original recipe in black, my notes/changes in red)

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth (I just use the water/bullion method)
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes (I do closer to 5 cups, I like it a little thicker)
1/4 cup minced onion (I use about 1 Tablespoon dehydrated onion)
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I don't have this, so I just use pepper...)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (Instead of ground, I use red pepper flakes.)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks

Directions
Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. Reduce to low heat. Add cream cheese. Heat, stirring frequently.

Best served with Artisan bread. Yum!

Faux Great Harvest Bread

Andy and I have fond memories of walking around the Thanksgiving Point farmers market eating samples (which were really not sample sized at all, we're talking fat slices of deliciousness) of Great Harvest Bread. One of our favorites is the White Chocolate Raspberry bread.(Sadly for us there's not Great Harvest near us)

Last week I formed my bread loaf by rolling it out in a rectangle then and rolling it, instead of just forming it into a loafy blob. When I told Andy about my new loaf technique (which makes beautiful loafs, btw) he was a little excited saying that this opens up so many bread possibilities. Enter Great Harvest Bread inspiration.

 So today we experimented with some bread of our own. I used my regular bread recipe (found here). When it was rolled out we spread some cream cheese mixture on it (cream cheese softened and mixed with a little powdered sugar to taste), and we were really crazy and did half the loaf with cinnamon and the other half spread with homemade strawberry jam.

I baked it for about 5 minutes longer than my recipe called for, I was worried with all the goo that the bread dough would take longer to cook. Not sure if it really needed the extra 5 minutes, but it was cooked all the way through.

In the end, the loaf didn't last long. We loved it and between the 4 of us we gobbled it up in an afternoon.

We're excited (and a little scared for our waist lines) for all the different flavors we can try!

*Sorry, this isn't really in recipe form. It's just to inspire you to try your own filling. Enjoy!*

mmmmeatballs

The other day i decided (for the millionth time, maybe) that I miss living close to Ikea. They have cute toys, adorable kitchen gadgets, and wonderful (and cheap!) food. We like the Swedish meatballs with Lingonberry sauce.

So I decided to try an easy Swedish meatballs recipe. Pretty sure it's not even close to authentic Swedish meatballs, or the ones at Ikea. But it's been so long since we've eaten at Ikea, so we couldn't tell. We did like it though, so that works for me!

This is the recipe I used, except I bought frozen meatballs. The sauce is very creamy, and super easy!
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/4 pound Jimmy Dean sausage (or favorite ground sausage)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• .
• Sauce:
• 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 cup milk

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together for the meat mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX! Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 45 minutes or until browned. In a medium bowl mix sauce ingredients together. Place meatballs in a skillet or crock pot. Simmer for 45 minutes. May be used as main dish served over rice or noodles or as an appetizer served with toothpicks.

Also, big surprise, Cameron Walmart doesn't sell Lingonberries! So I made some easy cranberry sauce (used the lingonberry sauce recipe, but it's just the same as cranberry sauce), which added just the perfect sweet compliment to the creamy sauce.

Overall, even if this isn't the "real deal" we like it. Yum!

Cracker Barrel Mac and Cheese- extra cheese, please!

Several months ago Andy and I took the boys to Cracker Barrel for lunch. And big surprise Avery didn't eat all his food, which included some delicious mac and cheese.

And so the search began. Andy has never really liked the mac and cheese recipes I've tried...too dry, too bland...blah blah.

As is the recipe is good, but we've made minor changes to make it acceptable to be a keeper in our house. In the end I've ended up with the happiest husband when I double the cheese sauce recipe, so it stays nice and moist after baking, and it's still plenty moist as left overs.

Cracker Barrel Mac and Cheese (6 servings) (my changes are in red)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth (I made my own with bullion and water, for a more flavorful batch add double the bullion to the 1 cup of water)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 1/2 cups shredded colby cheese (I've used colby, I've also just done cheddar. both are good)
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked pasta
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup bread crumbs, give or take

Directions

1. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat; add the flour a little bit at a time whilst whisking to make a roux. (if you don't know what a roux is, read this)
2. Heat the broth.
3. Next, add the broth to the roux, and stir with the whisk; this will thicken as it heats.
4. Add a little cream, watching for the desired consistency. (desired consistency is...really whenever you feel like being done. IT should be thicker than water, but it doesn't have to be very thick)
5. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a separate pot; add salt and pasta.
6. In the other pot, add shredded cheese a 1/4 of a cup at a time whilst (I like that this recipe has the word whilst, people should use that more) stirring with a spoon. When you have about one cup of cheese in you can add the rest of the cheese.
7. Cook the pasta until al dente; strain and combine with the cheese sauce.
8. Pour the mix into a casserole (cover with bread crumbs) and bake uncovered in a preheated oven set to 350°F for about 10 minutes.
9. Keep an eye on the mac & cheese, you want it to brown around the edges and in patches on top.
10. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
    

So, try it the original way and make your own adjustments, try it my way or not at all. 

I haven't been back to Cracker Barrel since making this recipe...so maybe we're WAY off, but the way I make it works for us. And whether it's like Cracker Barrel mac and cheese or not, we definitely have CB to thank for our new favorite Mac and Cheese recipe! :)

 

Enjoy! 

New Challenge: Eat delicious food!

I had a moment of panic when Selissa called and said "You know how we like to eat out a lot? Well, I have a proposition for you".

I am the first to admit, I like my sub sandwiches, burgers from the dollar menu, eating grilled chicken salads while my boys chow down on chicken nuggets and fries (am I killing my children?!), and I have a major weakness for Chinese restaurants and buffets.
Though I am happy to report I've been doing much better when it comes to eating out and nickle and diming myself to death...or debt.

So you can imagine my relief when not only did Selissa tell me no, I don't have to stop eating out...but I get to eat out and try and recreate the yummy food at home, and then blog about it! You know what this calls for...dinner out. SOON.

I'm looking forward to being a regular and diligent contributor on this blog. You know...to help other people out!