Chicken Curry Soup

Hi there!

Well, I was going to post a cake today...yes, I'm still going to post cakes from time to time...just not ALL the time!

Anyway, I was going to post a cake today but have changed my mind for 2 reasons.

1) We had a crazy storm last night that woke up me and the kids. Now it's a dreary, rainy day and that always is good weather for soup.

2) I can't find the pictures of the completed and plated cake. Hmmmm... Do not lose hope though! I'm still looking!

I'm definitely still fighting with my head about what this blog was and what I would like it to be.

My header is a bunch of cakes. I am a baker. I love to bake. But if my friends and family can't look at the blog because that's ALL I post, then the blog is worth nothing to me.

I am working on my own weight loss. I have lost almost 12 pounds so far. People keep asking me how I'm doing it.

Yes, I am trying to make healthier decisions, but I'm also participating in the Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge!

You would think that a food blogger would be crazy against meal replacement shakes. But these are so good and there are hundreds of recipes so I actually feel like I'm indulging instead of denying. I mean, how many people can say they had German Chocolate Cake for breakfast and it wasn't cheating?? LOL!!

Even though I'm currently replacing breakfast and lunch, I still love to focus on having a delicious dinner.

One of my ultimate favorite recipes that I make is this chicken curry soup. I got this recipe from My Friend The Chef. I learned so much from her during my time in Middle of Nowhere, Missouri. I am so grateful to have met most of the ladies there, but her in particular.

My favorite part of this recipe is the potato in the soup. Nice curry flavored potatoes. YUM!

This recipe is super easy! You throw the stuff in a pot and let it boil. Serve it over brown rice and enjoy!

Can't really get much simpler can I??

I highly suggest you run out today (if there aren't any floods in your area) and grab the stuff to make this tonight. Looking at these pictures and thinking of this soup, I may have to brave the floods and do the same! Mmmmmm....soup....


Chicken Curry Soup

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Ingredients:

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
• 3 large carrots, cut in 1 inch slices
• 2-3 large potatoes, diced in 1 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut in half then quartered
• 1-2 quarts chicken stock
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 heaping Tablespoons yellow curry 
• water, if needed
• Brown rice, for serving

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in large pot.
2. If not fully covered with chicken stock, add water until ingredients are fully submerged.
3. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and allow to boil until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.
4. Serve over brown rice.
5. Enjoy!!

The Daring Cooks January 2012 Challenge: Tamales

Guess what!


Recently I was honored with the position of The Daring Cooks hostess!! Woohoo!!!


I had such a great time. I loved seeing the creativity amongst these Daring Cooks. The fillings were to die for and just looking at the different types of tamales made me hungry all over again.


Now it's time for me to share with you. Here is my post (I'll warn you now it's very detailed and picture heavy):

Hi! **waves enthusiastically** My name is Maranda and I blog over at Jolts & Jollies.

I am a stay at home mommy to 2 kiddos and an Army Brat turned Army Wife. My husband and I met in El Paso, Texas, which is right on the border of Mexico and New Mexico. Needless to say, Mexican food is at your fingertips throughout the city and beyond.

I LOVE Mexican food. There is something about tacos, enchiladas, green chiles and tamales that really do it for me. When my husband and I moved to Upstate New York we found that our beloved Mexican food was hard to come by. We met a similar culinary devastation when we moved to the Middle of Nowhere Missouri as well.

Luckily, we were able to find a small place in Upstate New York that had decent Mexican food. I was also able to find a lady selling tamales at the Farmer’s Market in Missouri.

One of our family traditions is to celebrate the new year with delicious tamales. Since the Army keeps moving us to places where tamales are difficult to find, I thought it was high time to learn how to make them myself. And since I hate to do things by myself, I figured that I would challenge you to hone your tamale making skills with me!

Tamales can be traced back as far 5000 B.C. Tamale making is usually a social event with the women in Hispanic families gathering together to spend an afternoon making dozens and dozens of tamales.

Tamales are made up of a masa (dough) usually made from a corn base and a filling. These are wrapped in corn husks, a large leaf, or some other wrapping and steamed to cook. The wrapper is discarded before eating.

Tamales are not so much about the food but about the memories created when making and eating them. So gather some friends and family together and get to making some tamales! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

Place the dried corn husks in a large pot and cover with water.

Place a heavy plate or a smaller pot full of water on top of husks to keep them in the water. Let soak for 3 hours or up to 1 day, flipping occasionally until husks are softened.

Once husks are softened, boil chicken about 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

Immediately place hot chicken into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn mixer on high to shred chicken (this takes about 3-5 seconds).

Place an oven rack on the top setting. Turn the oven on broil. Peel and rinse the tomatillos.

Line a heavy baking sheet with foil. Place tomatillos on baking sheet and place under broiler.

Broil (grill) until black spots form on tomatillos, then flip and broil (grill) other side. This takes about 5-10 minutes per side depending on the strength of the broiler.

Place roasted tomatillos and juices from the pan into a food processor and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chopped Serrano chiles and process until smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

Add the tomatillo puree and boil, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes (it should turn thick like a paste).

Add in the chicken broth, stir to mix well. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture coats the back of a spoon and is reduced to about a cup.

Stir in the chicken and cilantro. Salt to taste.

Prepare the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium high heat, cream together the lard or vegetable shortening, baking powder and salt.

Mix in the masa harina, one cup at a time.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add in 1 ½ cups of the chicken broth.

If the mixture seems too thick (you can taste it for moistness) add up to ½ cup more of the broth 2 tablespoons at a time. (The dough should be a cookie dough like texture).

Take 3 large corn husks and tear them into ¼ inch strips. (I would suggest you put these back in the water until use because they dry out and start breaking when you try to work with them.

Take a large pot with a steamer attachment. Pour about 2 inches of water into the bottom of the pot, or enough to touch the bottom of the steamer. Line the bottom of the steamer with corn husks.

Unfold 2 corn husks onto a work surface. Take ¼ cup of dough and, starting near the top of the husk, press it out into a 4 inch square, leaving 2-3 inches at the bottom of the husk. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in a line down the center of the dough square.

Fold the dough into the corn husk.

And wrap the husk around the dough.

Fold up the skinny bottom part of the husk.

And secure it with one of the corn husk ties.

Stand them up in the steamer. If there aren’t enough tamales to tightly pack the steamer, place crumpled aluminum foil in the excess space.

Steam the tamales for about 40 minutes or until the dough deepens in color and easily pulls away from the husk.

For the black bean tamales: Follow the directions from the above recipe for soaking the corn husks.

Make the filling. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a medium mixing bowl.

Make the masa dough. Combine the olive oil, salt and masa mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add 2 cups of vegetable broth. If the mixture seems to dry (you can taste it for moistness at this point) add more broth 2 tablespoons  at a time.

Follow the directions in the above recipe for filling and cooking instructions.

Serve and enjoy!!!!!!

Green Chile Chicken Tamales

Adapted from Epicurious

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Ingredients:

1 – 8 ounce (225 gram) package dried corn husks (If you cannot find corn husks, you can use parchment paper or plastic wrap.)

For filling:

• 1 pound tomatillos (can sub mild green chilies – canned or fresh)
• 4 – 3 inch serrano chiles, stemmed and chopped (can sub jalapeno)
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 2/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro (also known as coriander)

For the masa dough:

• 1 1/3 cups lard or vegetable shortening
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt (omit if already in masa mixture)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (omit if already in masa mixture)
• 4 cups masa harina (corn tortilla mix), I used instant masa mix
• 1 ½-2 cups low sodium chicken broth

Directions:

1.  Place the dried corn husks in a large pot and cover with water.
2. Place a heavy plate or a smaller pot full of water on top of husks to keep them in the water. Let soak for 3 hours or up to 1 day, flipping occasionally until husks are softened.
3. Once husks are softened, boil chicken about 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
4.  Immediately place hot chicken into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn mixer on high to shred chicken (this takes about 3-5 seconds).
5. Place an oven rack on the top setting. Turn the oven on broil. Peel and rinse the tomatillos.
6.  Line a heavy baking sheet with foil. Place tomatillos on baking sheet and place under broiler.
7.  Broil (grill) until black spots form on tomatillos, then flip and broil (grill) other side. This takes about 5-10 minutes per side depending on the strength of the broiler.
8.  Place roasted tomatillos and juices from the pan into a food processor and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chopped Serrano chiles and process until smooth.
9. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
10. Add the tomatillo puree and boil, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes (it should turn thick like a paste).
11. Add in the chicken broth, stir to mix well. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture coats the back of a spoon and is reduced to about a cup.
12. Stir in the chicken and cilantro. Salt to taste.
13.  Prepare the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium high heat, cream together the lard or vegetable shortening, baking powder and salt.
14. Prepare the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium high heat, cream together the lard or vegetable shortening, baking powder and salt.
15. Mix in the masa harina, one cup at a time.
16. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add in 1 ½ cups of the chicken broth.
17.  If the mixture seems too thick (you can taste it for moistness) add up to ½ cup  more of the broth 2 tablespoons at a time. (The dough should be a cookie dough like texture).
18.  Take 3 large corn husks and tear them into ¼ inch strips. (I would suggest you put these back in the water until use because they dry out and start breaking when you try to work with them.
19. Take a large pot with a steamer attachment. Pour about 2 inches of water into the bottom of the pot, or enough to touch the bottom of the steamer. Line the bottom of the steamer with corn husks.
20.  Unfold 2 corn husks onto a work surface. Take ¼ cup of dough and, starting near the top of the husk, press it out into a 4 inch  square, leaving 2-3 inches at the bottom of the husk. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in a line down the center of the dough square.
21. Fold the dough into the corn husk.
22.  And wrap the husk around the dough.
23.  Fold up the skinny bottom part of the husk.
24. And secure it with one of the corn husk ties.
25.  Stand them up in the steamer. If there aren’t enough tamales to tightly pack the steamer, place crumpled aluminum foil in the excess space.
26.  Steam the tamales for about 40 minutes or until the dough deepens in color and easily pulls away from the husk.
27. Serve and enjoy!!

Vegan Black Bean and Green Chile Tamales

Adapted from GoodVeg on Squidoo

Ingredients:

1 – 8 ounce (225 grams) bag dried corn husks

For the filling:

• 1 – 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 – 14 ounce can diced tomato with green chiles, drained
• 1 – 10 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

For the masa dough:

• 4 cups masa harina (corn tortilla mix), I used instant masa mix
• 2 ½-3 cups vegetable broth
• ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Follow the directions from the above recipe for soaking the corn husks.
2. Make the filling. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a medium mixing bowl.
3.  Make the masa dough. Combine the olive oil, salt and masa mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until combined.
4.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add 2 cups (480 ml) of vegetable broth. If the mixture seems to dry (you can taste it for moistness at this point) add more broth 2 tablespoons (30 ml) at a time.
5.  Follow the directions in the above recipe for filling and cooking instructions.
6. Serve and enjoy!!

Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Casserole

Please forgive me for this dish.

I know it does not look very appetizing...but it really and truly is delicious!

What makes it even more delicious, to me anyway, is the local ingredient!

LOL!!

I FINALLY was able to make it out to the Farmer's Market out here.

And you know what?? In Texas, the Farmer's Market doesn't close! Isn't that great?? I'm used to them having to shut down for the winter season. But this one doesn't!

Probably because it doesn't ever really get cold here.

Anyway, last weekend I was finally able to make it out there. Granted, I went about an hour before they were supposed to close up shop. But I was still able to get a pound of some beautiful Baby Bella mushrooms.

Now, The Hubble HATES mushrooms. I, on the other hand, LOVE them!

So while he is gone, I need to get my fill of dishes made with these beautiful gems. What better way than to center an entire dish around them??

This dish was perfect! And healthy! Which is something I'm striving for lately.

Hey, I've lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks! So I'm definitely enjoying the healthy train! LOL!!

Anyway, onto the dish! Let's cook!

Cook the chicken in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil until cooked all the way through.

Remove the chicken from the pan, add a bit more olive oil, then add in the mushrooms and cook them up a bit.

Add in the onion and garlic, cook that until the onion is translucent.

Add back in the chicken.

Now remove the whole thing from the heat and stir in the brown rice.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper until smooth. Then add 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese.

Stir in the rice mixture until well blended.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with most of the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake it up for about 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or so, or until the top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Let stand about 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Casserole
Adapted from Annie's Eats

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Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound brown mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped (I used Baby Bellas)
• 1 large onion, largely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, cooled to room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup reduced fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with baking spray. 
2. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the chicken until white inside and the juice runs clear. Remove from pan.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan then add the mushrooms. Cooke the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid, about 5-7 minutes. 
4. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes. 
5. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
6. Add back in the chicken and stir until combined.
7. Remove from the heat. Add the rice to the skillet and stir to combine.
8. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper until smooth.
9. Stir in 1/2 a cup of the Parmesan cheese. 
10. Add in the rice mixture and stir gently until well blended. 
11. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.
12. Sprinkle most of the remaining Parmesan over the top, reserving a bit for finishing. 
13. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 
14. Remove the foil and bake for 20-30 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned. 
15. Top with remaining Parmesan.
16. Let stand about 10 minutes.
17. Serve and enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Hi there!

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did!

I took last week off from blogging to spend some time with my family.

It was wonderful.

Did you get any great presents?? I got an ice cream maker!! I'm so excited! Now I just need to get a recipe book for it.

So what was your favorite present this year???

Now that we are looking to the New Year, I've started thinking a lot about my health and losing weight again now that Baby N is a little older and gives me some time to do anything but feed him.

I've also been thinking about this blog a lot. I had a friend tell me that she doesn't look at my blog anymore because she was trying to lose weight and everything I was posting was so unhealthy.

When did this happen? When did I let go of the healthy, fitness crazed person I was?

No matter when it happened, it's time to get it back.

So that is your warning. I'm looking to overhaul this blog and try to make it more health minded.

Sure, I will have cakes. After all, I love to bake. But they may not be every day anymore.

With that being said, I do still have a few treats to post still. Including the most obnoxious cake in all of the land.

Today though, I'm bringing you something a bit more healthy. I figure you all are either tired of turkey and ready to move on, or you can use any leftover turkey you have in this recipe if you so desire.

A while back I made these buffalo chicken enchiladas. I love that whole wheat tortillas were used in the making of this dish.

I never post about the healthy changes I make to the recipes I create. But luckily, this one I had to change nothing, except the cheese. The original recipe calls for gorgonzola on top but I don't dig on that so I used more monterey jack cheese.

These were the perfect combination of two of my favorite foods. Enchiladas. And buffalo wings.

They were spicy and cheesy. The cilantro gave a fresh flavor. They were gooey and delicious. Don't believe me? Go make them yourself!

Mix together your enchilada and buffalo wing sauces. Then add together the chicken, some cheese, the onions, and some of the sauce mixture.

Drizzle some sauce into the bottom of your baking dish.

Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Finish filling the tortillas until the mixture and tortillas are all used up.

Top the enchiladas with some sauce and cheese then bake it up baby!

Immediately after removing from the oven, top with the remaining cheese and cilantro. Let stand about 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!


Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from How Sweet It Is

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Ingredients:

• 8 large whole wheat tortillas
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 (28 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (or more, depending on desired heat)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the enchilada and buffalo wing sauces. Start with 1/4 cup of the buffalo wing sauce, taste, and add until desired taste and heat are achieved.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, green onions, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture. Mix until well coated and fully combined.
4. Drizzle a bit of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the baking sheet.
5. Place a few heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture into each tortilla. Roll the tortilla over the filling and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until all tortillas and filling are used.
6. Pour another 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture over the enchiladas. 
7. Top with another 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. Immediately after removing from the oven, top with the remaining cheese and the cilantro.
10. Let stand about 10 minutes.
11. Serve and enjoy!!