Tortilla Soup///Broccoli-Rice Bake

It's time for me to catch up!!! I haven't posted anything in a couple days...I've been lazy. :\ Yesterday I made Tortilla Soup, and the day before I made Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Bake. The former recipe was given to me by my Aunt, way back when I first got married. I haven't tried it until now, but it's really good! The latter recipe I had to test out. I had one version from my Mamaw, and one from a Betty Crocker cook book. There were things I liked about both of them, but I've combined what I liked into one recipe!

First:
Tortilla Soup

3-4 Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
6c water
1 can kidney beans
1 can ranch style beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn
2 cans rotel
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Boil the chicken breasts in a 4qt pot or saucepan. The recipe said 30-45 minutes but I think my chicken was done in about 20-25. Check to make sure it's done by cutting them open and making sure there's no pink in the middle. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Dump out the water you boiled the chicken in, and fill the pot with the rest of the ingredients, including the cut-up chicken. Stir together and warm for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream, if desired.

I actually put this all in the refrigerator before heating it and whenever I'm hungry I just scoop out a bowlful and heat it up in the microwave. You don't really even need the tortilla chips or anything else. This stuff is good on its own! Also, it could feed so many people it'll be awhile until it's all gone. I should have halved the recipe, but I didn't want to only use half of a can of everything. I wouldn't know what to do with the other half.


Next:
Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole

I made both recipes, one from my Mamaw on one side of the pan and one from Betty Crocker's cookbook on the other side. I liked the topping of one, but the thickness of the other, and I liked the seasoning of one but not the extra ingredient it had, and I didn't like how cheesy the other one was. I ended up combining the two recipes to what I thought would be the best of both sides.

1T butter (or Canola oil if you'd rather)

1 large onion, minced (so picky eaters can't tell they're in there)
1 sm. jar cheese whiz
10.75oz can cream of mushroom soup
1/2c milk
1/4tsp pepper
1/4tsp garlic powder
1/4tsp salt
1lb bag of frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed
3c. cooked rice (brown rice is better for you)
1c fine, soft bread crumbs
1T butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10in skillet, melt 1T butter over medium-high heat. Cook onion in butter, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender; reduce heat to medium. Stir in cheese, soup, milk, pepper, salt, and garlic powder and broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently until broccoli is warm, cheese is melted. Add the rice and mix well. Spoon into baking dish. In a small bowl, mix crumbs and 1T melted butter; sprinkle over rice mixture. Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes or until light brown on top and bubbly around edges.

Christmas Day Dinner!!!

I made several recipes today, and all of them turned out AMAZING!!! I found them all out of different magazines awhile back. :)

Beefy Sirloin Tips with Smoky Pepper Sauce

1 1/2lb beef sirloin tip steak
1/2tsp paprika
1T vege. oil
1 12oz-16oz jar roasted red sweet peppers
1/2c barbecue sauce
1/4c chopped fresh italian parsley (if you have it)

Trim meat and cut into 1-1 1/2in chunks; sprinkle with paprika. In 12in skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meat; brown 5minutes or to desired doneness. Remove from skillet; keep warm. Meanwhile, drain roasted red peppers, reserving liquid. Cut up roasted peppers. Measure 1/2c of the reserved liquid (if needed, add enough water to equal 1/2c). Add peppers and liquid to skillet. Add barbecue sauce. Cook, uncovered, 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently until sauce is slightly thickened. Return meat to skillet; heat through. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 4 servings.

I served the meat with Roasted Holiday Vegetables ^^^ (but I halved the recipe)

1/2T fennel seed

1lb yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut in chunks or wedges (I used red potatoes)

1/2 large yellow onion, cut in half and sliced

dried rosemary

1T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toast the fennel seed in a skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, shaking the pan often to prevent seeds from burning. (It releases natural oils in the seeds.) Place potatoes and onion in a large bowl. Add the toasted fennel seed, rosemary, olive oil,  and a few pinches of salt and pepper; toss. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Roast about 35-45 minutes or until vegetables are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven, and serve warm. A halved recipe makes about 4 servings.

Popovers

(I halved this recipe too)

1 1/3c milk

5 eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2c flour

3/4T sugar

1 1/2tsp kosher salt

1 1/2oz shredded monterey jack

nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin or popover pan. In a medium saucepan bring milk to steaming. In large bowl, place eggs and lightly beat. Slowly add 1c. of the hot milk to eggs, stirring until combined. Pour egg mixture into saucepan. Stir to combine. Strain mixture into large mixing bowl. Sift the flour, sugar and salt over the egg mixture. With an electric mixer, beat on lowest speed for 10 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and beat 5 minutes more. Strain mixture. Place empty popover pan in oven until pan is hot (about 5 minutes). Working quickly, fill pans three-quarters full. Sprinkle with cheese. Immediately return pan to oven, and bake for 35 minutes or until popovers are deep golden brown (do not open the door while popovers bake, as this could cause them to collapse). Remove from baking pan; place on a wire rack to cool. Immediately pierce sides of popovers with a skewer to allow steam to escape so they stay crisp longer.

And for dessert, I made Caramel Apple Peanut Bars :)

1c smooth peanut butter
3/4c caramel-flavored ice cream topping
3T packed brown sugar
3c apple-cinnamon flavored round toasted oat cereal (Cheerios)
1c. coarsely chopped dried apples
1/2c.-1c salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Line a 8x8x2in baking pan with foil, extending foil up over edges of pan. Butter the foil. In a large saucepan combine 3/4c of the beapunt butter, 1/2c of the ice cream topping and the brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat just until mixture starts to bubble. Remove from heat. Add cereal and apples; stir gently to coat. Transfer to prepared pan; press firmly ointo pan. In a small bowl stir together remaining 1/4c peanut butter and 1/4c ice cream topping. Spread evenly over bars and sprinkle with peanuts, pressing lightly. Let bars stand 1 hour to set. Use foil to lift from pan. Cut into bars.

Our Christmas table:

Makes me kinda sad setting a table only for two. :(

Next year I hope we get to spend Christmas with the rest of our family!

Chicken Fajitas

I'm not sure where I found this recipe originally, but I recently discovered it written on an index card, shoved in a stack of recipes in my kitchen drawer. It's been so long since I made these I couldn't remember how they tasted, so I decided to make them tonight. These are amazing!!! :)

3T lemon juice
3/4tsp salt
1tsp ground pepper
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp liquid smoke
1 med. onion, sliced into thin rings
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
8 flour tortillas
3T oil
1 green pepper, cut into little strips

Toppings:
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese of choice
sour cream
chopped up tomato

Combine lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and liquid smoke in small bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat.

Cover and chill 30 minutes. Wrap tortillas in foil; bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. Add chicken (not marinade, but keep it reserved) and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly or till tender. Add marinade, bell pepper and onion; saute until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Remove from heat. Fill warmed tortillas with chicken mixture and, if desired, top with cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream.

This chicken smells and tastes sooo good! :D

Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies

Found this recipe out of a magazine :)

4c flour
1 1/3c unsweetened cocoa powder
2tsp espresso powder
1/2tsp salt
1 1/2c butter, softened
1 1/2c sugar
2 eggs

filling:
1c butter, softened
2tsp vanilla
2tsp peppermint extract
5c powdered sugar
green food coloring
2T milk

In a large bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill 1-2 hours or until dough is easy to handle. (I didn't need to chill mine.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4in thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out dough. Place 1in apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large bowl beat 1c softened butter with a mixer on medium to high speed until fluffy. Add vanilla and peppermint. Beat in 2 1/2c powdered sugar. Beat in 2T milk. Beat in another 2 1/2c powdered sugar until smooth. Tint with green food coloring.
Fill cookies with peppermint cream filling. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Store in refrigerator.

*My filling was way too thin so I had to keep adding more powdered sugar to it to make it spreadable consistency. You might want to try putting in only 1T. milk or none at all.

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

WARNING! This is extra extra cheesy!!! lol
This recipe came from a family friend and was orignally named "Sopa Chicken". We liked this recipe, but I think next time I'll use only half of the velveeta it called for.

1/2c celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2T. oil
4 chicken breasts, boiled and cut up
1 can Rotel
1lb 1/2lb velveeta cheese
1 can cream of chicken
small flour tortillas
1/4lb cheddar cheese, shredded
*cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. In a skillet, saute onion and celery in oil.

Add Rotel, cream of chicken, velveeta, and chicken; heat until cheese is melted. Put a layer of tortillas in the casserole dish, then a layer of the chicken cheese mixture, then another layer of tortillas, then a last layer of chicken cheese mixture.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Cheesy deliciousness.

You might want to toast the tortillas (in a skillet with a little bit of oil) before putting them in the dish. I think it tastes better with crunchier tortillas.

Spaghetti Chicken

This recipe's pretty simple. I got it from another relative. :) Not your traditional kind of spaghetti, a little spicier depending on what kind of Rotel you use.

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast, boiled and cut up
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
16oz can tomato sauce
3/4 stick of butter, cut up
1 small onion, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
8oz spaghetti

Prepare spaghetti as directed; drain. Stir together all ingredients and pour in a casserole dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes (20 uncovered, 20 covered) stirring a couple of times.

This actually tasted pretty good! I've never used rotel in spaghetti sauce before. It gives it a nice flavor without having to add many spices yourself.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

I usually make my cookie dough from scratch. However, I found this recipe out of a magazine and it specifically called for a certain cookie mix, so I went ahead and got a couple packages while grocery shopping.

1pkg Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/3c butter, softened
1 egg
2c semisweet chocolate chips
1/4c flour
1/2c toasted chopped hazelnuts
1/2c cherry-flavored dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Make cookie dough blending cookie mix, butter, egg, flour, hazelnuts, cranberries and 1 1/2c chocolate chips until stiff dough forms. Roll half of dough at a time into 3 x 2 1/2in rectangles.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Cool 15 minutes.
Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3/4in slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, turning once, until crisp.

Cool; place biscotti on cooling racks. Cool completely.

Microwave chocolate chips on High 30-60 seconds; stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over one side of each biscotti.

 Let stand until chocolate is set. Serve with milk! :)

I loved this recipe. The only suggestion I have is to use less cranberries and more nuts!

:)