Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

2 cans of black beans, rinsed (use plain, not seasoned)
4 cans of chicken broth (or a box and a half)
1 pkg of frozen corn (white corn is good, but you could use sweet)
2 cans of rotel (mild if you've got kids)
1/2 small can of tomato paste (you can use more, but I don't like mine too tomato-y)
Shredded chicken (shred up some from a rotisserie chicken or cook and shred your own)

1 bunch of cilantro chopped, for garnish
shredded cheese, garnish
two avocados chopped into bits, garnish
two limes cut into wedges, for squeezing on top, mmmmmmmm
Tortilla Chips for crunching on top

Put all the ingredients (not garnishes) into a big pot and simmer til hot enough to serve. I added a bit of salt and garlic powder, feel free to add whatever seasonings you'd like. Serve with the toppings. This is so delicious and easy. It makes a ton! Half it if you don't want leftovers.

I got this recipe from a blog, but I changed it up quite a bit after making it. It's really tasty. You could make this in a crock pot as well. Just add the ingredients into your crockpot and a frozen chicken breast or two, and shred the chicken up before eating.

BBQ Brisket

Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

This tastes great! We were a little worried about doing it in the crockpot, but it still had a great flavor even though we did not cook it in the oven. The rub gives it a good kick.

Ingredients:
1 T dried thyme leaves
1 T paprika
2 t black pepper
2 t salt
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t ground cumin
3 lbs beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1/2 t liquid smoke flavoring
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 C barbeque sauce


Instructions:
1. Combine thyme, paprika, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and cumin in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Rub brisket with liquid smoke, then rub with spice mixture.
3. Pour Worcestershire and barbeque sauce into a slow cooker; place beef on top. Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until fork tender.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

(I double this recipe)


4 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 can (4 oz) green chile peppers
1 envelope (2 oz) noodle soup mix with chicken broth
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup tortilla strips
1 onion, chopped


1. COMBINE water, tomatoes, chicken, chile peppers, soup mix, cumin, salt and black pepper in a 4 qt or larger slow cooker.

2. COVER. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Top with cheese, tortilla strips, and onion.

**You can also combine the ornaments and cook on the stove.

Serves 2-4

Cowboy Beans

1 lb. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans (16 oz. each) pork & beans
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBS liquid smoke
3 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Brown meat; drain and put into crock pot. Brown bacon and onions; drain and add to meat. Combine all remaining ingredients in crock pot and stir well. Cover and cook on low heat 4-6 hours, depending on your schedule. Can simmer on low for up to 9 hours. Kids LOVE it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Our family really likes this easy crockpot recipe. I just took it to a church potluck ... it looks nice, too.

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
3 corn tortillas, cut up
1 can corn, drained
1 can garbonzo beans, optional
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup salsa verde (green)
1 can green chilies
1 tsp oregano ... 1 tsp cumin ... salt and pepper
tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese

Cook in crockpot for 7 hours until chicken shreds with a fork. Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. I buy fresh chicken, cut it into large strips and adjust the cooking time, about 4-5 hours on high.

crock pot chicken spaghetti

[Sorry, I forgot to take a picture. But decided to post it anyway.] The recipe, as written, is a diet recipe (6 WW pts for a 1 packed cup serving). Of course you can substitute the full fat versions of everything if you'd like. But it's good this way. Although I don't use the canned chicken (not a huge fan), I just use a couple of breasts of chopped up cooked chicken. The crockpot really just heats everything. But I know at our house sometimes those last couple of hours before dinner is a crazy time of the day, so it's nice to have it done and heating in the crockpot before I pick up from school!

16 oz. spaghetti, cooked
1 lb. Velveeta Light
12.5 oz. can chicken breast, drained & flaked
1 can FF cream of mushroom soup
1 can FF cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
4 oz. can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1/2 c. water
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
salt & papper, to taste

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir just before serving.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
3 lb. chicken thighs and drumsticks
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms (about 10 medium), sliced (about 2 cups)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup each: red and green pepper strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 cups instant white rice, uncooked

HEAT dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until browned on both sides.

PLACE mushrooms, onions, peppers and garlic in slow cooker; top with the chicken. Combine tomatoes, salt and thyme; pour over ingredients in slow cooker. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 5 hours).

COOK rice as directed on package. Serve chicken mixture over the rice.

I must admit, I skip the browning part and just put the thawed (ok, sometimes frozen) chicken into the crock pot with the dressing.

This is really good, easy and healthy.

Pico Pork

I had a pork roast to throw in the crockpot for Sunday dinner, but I wasn't in the mood for the traditional roast. So, I threw in 1 cup of Salsa Verde and 1 cup of Pico de Gallo and 2 Tbsp. of McKormick Taco seasoning. Needless to say when we got home from church our mouths were watering before we even got into the house, it smelled so good and tasted even better.
We slapped on some guac, bean dip, cheese and sour cream (all the mexican we could muster up on a Sunday evening) it was fabuloso!!! It went perfect with the football playoffs. Easy and yummy, now thats good.

Crockpot Beef Stew

To help you stay warm this winter season...and it freezes well for future use! Also, this is a great one to start before church and enjoy at dinnertime.

Ingredients:
 1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
 1 medium onion, chopped
 1 package (8 oz) baby-cut carrots
 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
 1 can (10 1/2 oz) condensed beef broth
 1/2 C flour
 1 T Worcestershire sauce
 1 t salt
 1 t sugar
 1 t marjoram leaves
 12 new potatoes (1 1/2 lbs), chopped

Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients except beef in crockpot.
2. Add beef; do not stir.
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until vegetables are tender.
4. Stir well before serving


I have never made this in the oven, but if you are limited on time, here you go...

Oven directions:
**Additional ingredient: 8 oz can tomato sauce**
1.Heat oven to 325°.
2. Mix all ingredients except potatoes in ovenproof 4-quart Dutch oven.
3. Cover and bake 2 hours, stirring once.
4. Stir in potatoes.
5. Cover and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender.

Pot Roast for Dummies

Okay, I'm sure that most of y'all know how to make a good roast ... this is for those who want to learn. Oh, and this isn't my picture ... it's Food Networks ... but it will do. I had 12 ravenous adults eating at my house yesterday and I think they would have KILLED me on the spot if I asked to wait to take a picture. But I still wanted something to get your taste buds going.1 eye of round roast
1-2 onions; depending on their size
6-20 potatoes; depending on how many you're feeding
a whole lotta carrots; everyone loves carrots
8 beef bullion cubes; I don't use beef broth because I like the concentrated flavor from the bullion.
garlic salt (I love Lawry's)
crushed pepper

*This is the most crucial step: Coat all sides of roast with garlic salt and pepper; sear roast in screaming hot skillet, coated with olive oil, until all sides are caramelized. This step is so crucial because it locks in and seals all the juices into the meat. Add the bullion cubes and 1 cup of water to the bottom of a crock pot, and turn it to HIGH. (if you don't have a crock pot ... go get one ... I don't know how you've made it this far without one) Cut up the onion; don't dice it ... you want rings ... think onion rings, or half rings. Place fully seared meat on top of bullion cubes. Dump onions on top of meat. Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on HIGH. The meat will be falling apart ... this is what makes a good roast! For the last hour, add your carrots and potatoes, unless you plan to make mashed potatoes and gravy from the beef drippings ... which is what I did yesterday ... it's all gone now. It was that good. Then again, we had 12 adults eating. That could have had something to do with it. Oh, and don't forget to make some peas ... there's nothing like gravy with peas. YUM!

Carnitas- YUM!

Ok- this is my first post since being added to this blog- thanks Janette for thinking of me! I love to cook- so this is right up my alley. You've gotta try these- it makes a ton of food and you just stuff it in a tortilla...its so good that you don't need anything else in there with it, but, if you must, its great with sour cream, salsa, lettuce, guac, etc. :) Enjoy!

CARNITAS:
3-4 lbs. pork roast (shoulder, Boston butt, sirloin)
1/2 bunch cilantro (stems removed)
1 can Mexi-stewed tomatoes (undrained)
1 tsp. minced garlic
Shredded cheese
Olive Oil

Season pork roast (I used salt and pepper) and brown on all sides in hot olive oil. Then, put in crock pot. Pour garlic on top, then add tomatoes and cilantro. Cook on high for 4 hours, or until pork falls apart. Remove from crock pot, shred, remove fat, and place in pan. Sprinkle cheese over top and cook at 375 for 30 minutes, until crispy on top. Serve with tortillas. So yummy!

Shredded Beef Empanadas

1 eye of round roast
1 jar salsa (I use homemade, but I'm sure you would love it with your favorite salsa)
1 pkg refrigerator crescent rolls OR 1 pkg refrigerator pie shells (the ones that are rolled)
cheddar cheese
* diced sauteed potatoes, optional

Prepare the beef by searing the roast, seasoned with garlic salt, on all sides. Place the roast in the crock pot with jar of salsa dumped on top. Cook on high for 5-7 hours ... until the beef begins to pull apart with ease. Remove beef from pot and allow it to rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes before shredding it. Shred beef using 2 forks. Place shredded meat back in crock pot to soak up salsa juices.

Using crescent rolls

Unwrap the crescent rolls and place a good portion of meat on the middle and pile cheese on top of that ... roll pastry until each end touches and seals. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 12 minutes.

Using pie pastry shells

Unroll pie pastry. Using a large cup or small bowl, cut out circles of dough. Place a pile of meat in each circle and a little cheese on top. Dab the edge of one side of pastry with water. Pull the other side over to meet the damp edge and seal. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes. ***Gary likes to add sauteed diced potatoes in these kind of empanadas.

* For those of you that came to the Halloween Party, this is how you should make your empanadas ... I was in a hurry. lol. ENJOY!

Chicken Fiesta Soup

1 can chicken stock

1 small can diced green chiles
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 can of dark red kidney beans (or any bean that you really like)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 12oz can of white chicken breast or 1 large chicken breast
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp cumin

Dump everything into a pot (including all the liquids from the cans). Cook on medium heat until it comes to slow boil (about 30-40 minutes) and voila you are ready to eat. Serve with sour cream, chips and cheese.

Shredded beef tacos

1 eye of round roast, cut into 3 hunks

1 1/2 cups homemade "Church Family Salsa" (look under "appetizer" for the recipe)

garlic salt (I use the Lawry's garlic salt)

olive oil

tomatoes

salsa

sour cream

shredded cheese

lettuce

Heat 2 TBS olive oil in a skillet. Use garlic salt to salt all sides of the hunks of meat. Sear every side of meat until caramelized. Move meat to the crock pot. Pour salsa into the crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Meat will be super tender. Remove meat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Using two forks, shred meat into strips. Serve in your favorite tortillas, with your favorite fixings.

Chile Verde

4 T cooking oil
1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped cilantro
3-4 jalapeno peppers
4-6 lbs boneless pork, cut into 1" cubes
1 can chopped green chiles
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
3 minced garlic cloves
1 cup mild salsa
14.5 oz chicken broth

In a frying pan, brown the cut up pork in olive oil. Pour into crock pot. Sprinkle with flour to coat meat. Add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer on high for 6-8 hours. Serves 8.

(My friend who taught me this actually halves the amount of pork and keeps the rest of the ingredients the same.)

Taco Soup

So, if you're a Mormon, you've probably already eaten this or seen this recipe, but since I already had a picture of it, I thought I would post it. I got this from my Mom. I think this would be a great food storage meal because it's basically all canned items and you can whip it up pretty easily. (That's garlic bread on the side and shredded cheese on top, in case it looks odd to you).

Serves 10-12

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 tsp garlic
3 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can chili with beans
2 cans corn (I think the vacuum packed kind has the best texture)
2 cans kidney beans (please drain AND rinse these, otherwise it's yucky!)
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 packages taco seasoning
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste


Brown beef, add onions & garlic & cook until onions are translucent. Add canned ingredients undrained. Simmer on low 1-2 hours.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, fritos, chopped tomatoes, or guacamole.

My husband is a very picky eater, and even he likes this recipe (as long as we cut back on the onions and chop them very finely).

Enjoy!

Shrimp-less Jamabalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound jalapeno sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups cooked rice

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, peppers, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce. Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Spoon mixture over cooked rice ... do NOT add the rice to the crock pot.

**Disclaimer, this is most likely a little too spicy for kiddos. For a milder version, use andouille sausage instead of jalapeno.