Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken Tortilla Soup

It is a long name for soup, but it was so good. Like really good!! I know I always say that, but I always mean it.

The best part about this soup is that it was made in the slow cooker. The past two nights I have made dinner in the slow cooker and it has been so nice. I still have to do prep work, but I can do it earlier in the day when my kids are in better moods and can play by themselves instead of hanging at my feet crying at 5pm when I am try to get dinner going. Slow cooker meant that at 5pm when they are wanting my attention, I could give it to them. It was lovely!

I was in Cranbrook this weekend and saw this cooking magazine at my friends place (Hi Jen) and copied a few recipes out of it, but then just ended up going to buy it anyways. I have a deep love of magazines and of cookbooks, so when I see a cooking magazine, it is like the best of both worlds, I can't turn it down. This current magazine is the Pillsbury Slow Cooker. It has some really good recipes in it.



In slow cooker combine;

chicken thighs
chicken broth
corn
fire roasted tomatoes (you can use regular diced tomatoes if you don't have fire-roasted)
black beans
red pepper
onion
chilli powder
cumin
salt
cayenne pepper


add in 6 corn tortillas, that have been cut into 1/2 inch strips

Cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Until chicken is cooked.



Once cooked, remove chicken and shred with 2 forks.

Return it slow cooker

Stir in cilantro

In a frying pan heat oil then fry strips of 3 remaining tortillas until crispy.

Serve soup with avocado and strips and lime wedges (I didn't have limes-but I'm sure it would be good)

1lb bonelss skinless chicken thighs

1 carton (900ml) chicken broth

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn

1 can (14.5oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 red pepper, chopped

1 medium onion

9 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2tbsp olive oil

lime wedges, if desired

chopped avocado, if desired

In 3-4 quart slow cooker, combine chicken, broth, corn, tomatoes, black beans, red pepper, onion, 6 of the corn tortillas, chilli powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Cover, cook on low for 5-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked.

Removed chicken and shred with 2 forks. Return to slow cooker. Stir is cilantro.

Heat oil in frying pan. Cook strips from remaining 3 tortilla in oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and light golden brown. Top individual servings of soup with tortilla strips, lime wedges and avocado.

1 serving= 1 1/4 cups - 350 calories, 11g fat, 22g protien, 9g fiber

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

With all this cold Weather I decided that we needed to have some soup to warm us up. The recipe is from my sister-in-law. She served it to us over Christmas and I HAD to get the recipe right away. I don't usually go back for seconds at meal time, but this I did.

To me, this is a dressed up version of chicken soup. The rice is a nice change from classic noodles in chicken soup and the creamy consistancy makes it so yummy.



In a large pot add,

3- 14oz cans of Chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, sliced
3-4 ribs celery, sliced
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper

Cook until tender.

In another pot cook,

1- 180g pkg of Uncle Bens long grain and wild rice mix

Cook according to pkg directions omitting butter.



In a medium sauce pan,

melt 1/3 cup butter

Then add,

1/3 cup flour

Stir until a smooth paste is formed




Slowly add,

2 cups milk

Stiring constantly until sauce is thickened.

Add white sauce to broth and vegatables until smooth

Add,

Prepared rice

2 chicken breasts cook and cubed

Cook soup until hot, do not boil.

I served it with some homemade buns. So good.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 – 180g Uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice mix

3 – 14oz cans chicken broth
1 sm onion
2-3 carrots, sliced
3-4 ribs of celery, sliced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

2 c. milk

1-2 chicken breasts (cook and cubed)

In a large soup pot or saucepan, cook onions, carrots and celery in chicken broth until tender. In a medium saucepan melt butter and add flour, stirring until smooth paste is formed. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened. Add white sauce to broth and vegetables, stirring until smooth.
Cook rice according to packaged directions (do not add butter).
Add chicken and rice. Cook until soup is hot, but not boiling.

Serves 4-6

Vanilla Bean Scones

A few weeks ago I went to Starbucks and saw that they had some new little scones on the menu. They looked so good that I had to get them and try them. I was right. They were so good. I knew that I had to find a recipe that would be just like (or pretty darn close) to these bite sized little gems.

I was so glad when I was able to just google it and found so many recipes. I guess lots of other people tried these scones and wanted them too. I chose the first recipe I found (because they all looked good).

I found the recipe at The Pioneer Woman. Petite Vanilla Bean Scones.

I loved them.

I didn't take pictures of the process because she did such a good job of it for me. I just took a picture of the finished product.

Enjoy!

Mayonnaise Biscuits

Almost 10 years ago I started collecting recipes from Weight Watchers. I figured they were healthy recipes, so not a bad idea to collect and use them. I have a huge binder full of recipes. I decided that it is about time that I start to make some stuff from it. The other morning I felt like baking something, but was alittle short on time. So I opened up the binder and picked something that looked easy. I have to admit that when I first read the recipe I was a little unsure. So unsure that I didn't take any pictures of the process, because I wondered how they would taste. I made them and then tasted them and decided that I would share the recipe with you. They were actually good. I won't lie, I was shocked. Even Brett came home and ate most of them (not all at once).

Mayonnaise Biscuits

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Fat Free Mayonnaise

1 Cup Skim Milk (can use 1%)

2 tbsp Baking Powder

Dash of Salt

Combine all ingredients. Drop into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes about 12 Biscuits.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I must be in the mood for cookies because here I am posting about more cookies. I have always wanted to make white Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. I love them. I have never made them before, so I didn't have a recipe or really know anyone with one that they liked. So I turned to the trusty old internet and found one on Allrecipes.com. There were alot to chose from on there, but I chose the one that sounded the best. And I was right, they were good.



Cream together:
1 Cup butter, softened
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Sugar

Cream till it is smooth


Beat in:

2 Eggs, one at a time
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract



In a seperate bowl combine:

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt




Gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture.

Add:

1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Macadamia Nuts

1 Cup White Chocolate Chips (I actually added the whole bag, which was about 1 1/2 cups)

Mix until just combined

Drop by teaspoon on to an ungreased cookie sheet

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

Look how good those look!!!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (healthy)

No, there is nothing wrong with your eyes, these cookies are orange. The special ingredient in these cookies makes them orange in color.

I got this recipe from a friend of mine in Cranbrook. I think she has made it her life mission to make every recipe as healthy as possible. But she does a great job because she still keeps the recipes tasting so good (through trial and error I am sure).

The orginal recipe calls for a cup of unsweetened apple sauce, but Heidi switched it to a cup of sweet potato. I think it was a great switch. I thought these cookies were really good.


Start with a large sweet potato and cute into small piece. Cook the sweet potato anyway you like. I steamed mine, but you can boil too.


Once the pieces are soft let them cool. The puree them. I put mine in the blender.


In a medium bowl combine

2 1/2 cups Flour
3 tsp Baking powder
1 1/4 tsp Salt






In another bowl combine:

1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar Splenda (if you want you can use 2 cups regular brown sugar)
1/2 cup butter, softened

Beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.



Add:
2 tbsp Vanilla extract
2 large eggs




The add:
1 cup Pureed Sweet Potato

Beat until blended

Add the flour mixture

and add:

1 cup Chocolate chips

Drop by tablespoon 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

Cool on pans for 2 minutes

Removed from pans and cool completely on wire racks

Candy Cane Popcorn

Come on Candy Cane popcorn.

It doesn't get better than this. 3 yummy ingredients come together and BAM! How can you go wrong? It really doesn't get easier than this or yummier.







24 cups of popped popcorn


Try to sift through it to make sure there are no kernals.




Melt 3 cups of white chocolate

Crush 18 Candy canes



Por the melted chocolate over the popcorn and mix till it is well coated.

Pour the crushed candy canes and mix again.

Spread over a greased cookie sheet and put int he fridge for 30 minutes. I took mine out after 15, mixed it up and put it back for another 15 minutes.

Try not to eat it all at once.