Chicken Enchilada Soup

This soup was a hit! I made this for a family dinner this weekend and everyone loved it! And it was pretty easy to make too. I saw this on Studio 5 and have been anxious to try it ever since. Hope you like this one!

The only comments I have on this soup is that I don't really think it's necessary to blend it up. The corn tortillas kind of dissolved on their own and it would have been good, too, with tomato chunks. There is also a little too much Velveeta for my liking so I would half that. And also, regular canned tomatoes worked fine. Roetel tomatoes aren't really a must. So, here's my version.

 

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots chopped
• 2 ribs celery chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 T. oil
• 8 c. chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 10 small corn tortillas ripped a bit
• 2 T. corn starch stirred into 1 c. cold water
• 1 c. cream or half and half
• 1/2 lb. Velveeta Cheese (has to be the name brand. The other stuff doesn't melt well.)
• 3 c. chopped chicken ( I love using a rotisserie chicken)
• 1 can black beans rinsed (optional)
• 1 can corn rinsed (optional)

Directions:

Saute veggies in oil until transparent. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, seasoning and tortillas. Bring to a boil and boil gently for 20 mins. Use a wand blender if you have one and if not use your regular blender to puree all the ingredients together.

Add the corn starch/water combination and bring to a boil. Then add the cream and cheese. **It helps to melt the Velveeta in the microwave for a couple of minutes before adding to the soup. Don't boil the soup again once you add the cream and cheese. It will curdle. Add your mix ins.

Top with tortilla strips, fresh salsa or tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, and chopped cilantro!

Yule Log

There were surprisingly not many recipes to be found on this. And most of them have coffee in it and I think that is what is so different about the Yule Log. But here is the original I found. Mine definitely wasn't as pretty as the one in the picture but it was pretty good. And it did take some time to make.
A quick definition of the Yule Log:
A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.
The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs."

So anyway. I had to alter the mocha butter cream frosting part. There is a lot of butter and without the coffee I think it would have been okay to omit some of the butter.  So here's my version of the recipe.

Yule Log
5 eggs, room temperature, separated
2/3 cup sugar
2T flour
3T unsweetened cocoa
FILLING:
2 1/2T flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 t vanilla extract
BUTTER CREAM FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1T unsweeted cocoa

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is thick and light-colored. Add flour and cocoa, beating on low speed. 
2. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter. mix until no streaks of white remaining. 
3. Grease a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pan; line with waxed paper(a MUST!), and grease and flour paper (LOTS!). Spread batter evenly in pan. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Cool completely on wire rack. 
5. Remove paper; roll cake onto an 18-in. long piece of waxed paper (or damp towel) dusted with confectioners' sugar. Trim edges from all four sides of cake.
FILLING: Combine flour and milk in a saucepan. Cook over low heat; stirring until thick. Cool. In a mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter and vanilla. Add flour mixture; bet until fluffy. Fold in walnuts if desired. Spread on cake; roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from one short end.
FROSTING: Beat butter until fluffy in a small bowl. Beat in sugar and cocoa. Spread over cake, using a fork to create a bark-like effect. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and nuts if desired.

Banana Cream Pie

Tonight was Pie Night at my in-laws since not everyone will be together for Thanksgiving this week. I'm not much of a pie person but I wanted to make a banana cream pie. Yummy. Original recipe can be found here. After reading some reviews and finding out how my mom makes it this is my version. It must have turned out great because there was only 1 piece left.

Banana Cream Pie
3/4 c. white sugar
2T + 1/2 t. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 T butter
1 1/4 t. vanilla
1 nine-inch pie crust, baked
3 bananas, sliced

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Cook and stir for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
2. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture (this keeps the eggs from scrambling). Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
3. Slice 2 bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill over night. Top with more bananas just before serving. 

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I know this wasn't on the schedule but I was craving this last night so I made it. This was a family favorite growing up. I never make mac and cheese from the box. This is just too good to ever go back to that.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
2 cups macaroni (shells, elbow,etc.), cooked and drained
3 T flour
3 T butter
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Over medium heat melt the butter and blend in the flour. Slowly whisk in milk. Cook and stir until think. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and dash of pepper. Stir in cheese until melted. Add noodles. Serve.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pie

I should call this Choco-butter pie for short :) This is one of Sean's favorites and his request for his birthday today. I got this recipe from my MIL, LaNiece, and I hope it tasted as good as when she makes it.

Choco-butter Pie
Mix in pan:
1 1/4 C. milk
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
Cook until thick. Remove from heat then add 1/4 c peanut butter. Cool -- it helps to cover with saran wrap and cool in refrigerator while making chocolate part. When cool, add 1/2 tsp softened butter (a little less than you would spread on a piece of toast) and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Pour into baked, cooled pie shell.
For the chocolate part, you can use any halved chocolate pie recipe or 1 package chocolate pudding. (I used pudding. Too scared of melting chocolate). Pour chocolate on top and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

I have been dying to make this recipe! I even used a REAL pumpkin for the pumpkin part of the recipe. There were directions on the bottom of it to make your own pumpkin puree. Totally simple. I'll add the directions for that at the bottom of this post. It was so cool using my own pumpkin puree but it took me 30 minutes just to get the seeds and string out. Probably not doing that ever again. Anyway, enjoy this recipe! We sure did!
Pumpkin Cake Roll
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 c pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir together all dry ingredients. Fold in pumpkin mixture. Spread onto greased and floured cookie sheet. Top with nuts, if desired. Bake @375 for 15 mintues. (Watch it to make sure it doesn't over cook). *Turn onto damp dishtowel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll towel and cake together until cool. Unroll and spread with filling. Roll up (without towel) and chill.

Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
6 oz. cream cheese
4 T butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat together until smooth

*I didn't really know what "Turn onto" meant. All you do is remove the cake from the pan and set it on the damp towel.
TIP: Line the baking sheet with wax paper. It will make it easier to remove the cake from the pan.
Also, this was really sweet so it probably wouldn't hurt to use the entire 8oz package of cream cheese.

Pumpkin Puree: Cut the pumpkin in half (w/o stem), scrape out seeds and string. Place on cookie sheet lined with foil, then cover the pumpkin with foil. Bake at 350 for 90 minutes. Cool.  Spoon out flesh and mash with fork. Done!

Alfredo Sauce

Last night I waited until Sean got home from work to have dinner (around 8:30pm). We were both starving. After making that pizza I wanted to try making the sauce and using it over fettuccine noodles. Omg, it was DELICIOUS! Sean and I were huge fans of it. Sean said it was really good comfort food. It would be even more delicious with chicken and broccoli. It is so easy to make. I am never buying bottled Alfredo sauce ever again.

Alfredo Sauce
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in the cream, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour over 8 oz. fettuccine noodles. Can add chicken and broccoli if desired.

Sorry...

I know the menu says I'm supposed to make Baked Spaghetti tomorrow but turns out it's not going to happen. So sorry. Maybe next week. But I posted a few recipes I've already made this year that were a hit at our house. I thought you would all enjoy them.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

A great recipe I got from Campbellskitchen.com A healthy and delicious alternative to real alfredo.

1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets
2 tablespoons butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine mixture well in a colander.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, stirring often.
• Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture in the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Makes: 4 servings (about 1 3/4 cups each)

Nutrition per Serving

Calories: 526

Fat: 15g

Fiber: 4g

Protein: 39g

Sodium: 845mg

Strawberry Bread

I got this recipe from Studio 5

Ingredients:
* 3 c. flour
* 2 c. sugar
* 1 t. baking soda
* 1/2 t. cinnamon
* 1 t. salt
* 4 eggs
* 1-1/4 c. vegetable oil
* 2 c. fresh, sliced strawberries

Directions:
Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, oil and strawberries and mix just until moistened. Spoon into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in the pans for several minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Instead of oil, I used 3/4 cup of applesauce. It wasn't as moist as I would have liked so I would maybe use 1 cup next time. Or half oil and half applesauce or something. And I would add a whole teaspoon of cinnamon so it has more flavor. Also, it was ready after 45-55 minutes with the applesauce.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
6 c. milk
4 c. baked potato cubes (I used 2 giant potatoes. It needed more. I would use 5-6 regular potatoes or 3 giant potatoes)
1 bunch green onions, sliced (I didn't have green onion so I just used a quarter of a regular onion.)
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. sour cream
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I hate mushrooms so I omitted this. Maybe that's why it needed more potatoes)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter, add flour, and slowly stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened. After mixture thickens, add remaining ingredients; serve and enjoy. Makes 4 servings. (Ha! This made at least 6-8 servings)

This would be so good with rolls or a bread bowl! Oh, and if you're counting calories, I'd say this has somewhere between 550-650 calories per serving.

Black Bean Soup

This recipe can be found here

1 can (10 1/4 ounces) Campbell's® Beef Gravy
3 cans (about 15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup V8® 100% Vegetable Juice
1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Place the gravy and 1 can beans into a blender. Cover and blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the gravy mixture into a 3-quart saucepan.
2. Stir the remaining beans, vegetable juice, picante sauce and cumin in the saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Serve with the sour cream and cheese.

We LOVED this. We ate it with tortilla chips and it was so yummy! I calculated the calories myself and one serving is about 417 calories.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I saw this recipe on Food Network and really wanted to try it. I think this is the first recipe I’ve made that I’ve watched on Food Network so I was really excited to try it. The recipe calls for grape tomatoes but Sean and I didn't like them on this pizza. Next time I will just use regular tomatoes. So here is my version of the recipe:

1 (3/4 lb)  boneless skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 Pillsbury pizza crust
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled


1. Flour your work surface and roll the pizza dough into a 13-inch diameter. Cook pizza crust at 375F for about 15 minutes, until slightly golden but not all the way cooked.
2. In the meantime, preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and dice. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in the cream, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Ladle the sauce to cover the bottom of the pizza. Evenly top with the baby spinach, tomatoes, grilled chicken, bacon and the mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted. Slice and serve.

Overall, this pizza was delicious. We LOVED the sauce and I want to try using it over pasta. YUM!! Tip: ALWAYS cook pizza dough first before adding toppings. Mine always turns out doughy in the middle and burned on the edges.

Texas Cake

This is a family favorite that I got from my mom. I’d never made this before so I was a little on the edge while baking. It turned out a little dry but that just means I get to eat my cake with a big glass of milk. Mmm.

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 lb. butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1 c. water
2 eggs
1 t. soda
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
Stir together flour and sugar. Bring butter, coca, and water to a boil. Stir until blended then pour over the flour and sugar. Mix together remaining ingredients then add to the mixture.Bake 30 minutes @ 400F in sheet cake pan.

Frosting
1/4 lb. butter
1/4 c. cocoa
6 T canned milk
On low heat bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cool. Then add 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 t. vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.





Tip: Take the cake out of the oven a 2-3 minutes early. That may help it to not be so dry.

Shepherd's Pie

Apparently, Shepherd's pie is made with lamb. Cottage Pie is made with beef. Anyway...

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com but after reading the reviews I did make a few changes. So here's my version.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 package frozen mixed veggies
2 T vegetable oil
Salt to taste
2 cups instant mashed potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in frying pan. Add chopped onions, and fry until golden brown. Add ground beef, and keep stirring until meat is browned. Add diced tomatoes, and continue to cook until liquid from the tomatoes evaporates (about 15 minutes). Salt to taste.
2. Add vegetables during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
   
3. In the meantime, prepare the mashed potatoes as directed on the packet. Add sour cream.
4. Spread the meat mixture into the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cover with a layer of mashed potatoes, and top with grated cheese.
5. Bake for 10 minutes at 400F until cheese has melted and browned. Makes 8 servings.
   

Nutrition Information: 315 calories per serving, 20g fat, 100% yummy! Sorry I don't have a pic.

Welcome

I love to cook. Currently we are living with my husband's parents and I don't get the opportunity to cook as much as I used to. This is a way for me to do something for me - get some time in the kitchen, make my favorite foods and also try new recipes even though I don't have my own kitchen. I can share recipes without taking up space on my personal blog. My goal is to cook something once or twice a week. We'll see how it goes.