White Chicken Chili

This recipe comes from my good friend, Kristen. I modified it to my own tastes! Enjoy! :o)

1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth
2 7 oz cans diced green chiles
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
5 cans great northern beans (white beans), drained and rinsed
4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Add chicken broth, chiles, cumin, oregano, beans and chicken to the pot. Bring all ingredients to a boil; reduce heat and simmer on low heat for 2 hours, or more. Just before serving, add cheese to the pot and stir until thick & melted.

Rice Salad

I got this recipe from my friend, Debra, who got it from her mother-in-law. At the bottom of the recipe, it says that it can be served hot or cold. When I tried this salad, it was cold and it was delish!! Enjoy!

2 cups long grain rice
4 cups water
5-6 chicken bouillon cubes
2 (6oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped reserving liquid from one jar
3/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
8 green onions, chopped
16 (or more) large green olives, sliced
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. curry powder (optional)

Bring water to a boil and add the bouillon cubes; let them dissolve. Add rice to water, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to rice; mix well. Can serve hot or cold.

German Pancake w/ Vanilla Butter Sauce

I love it when I come across recipe blogs that have good, normal, easy looking recipes on them. I came across this blog yesterday and found some great recipes. Below are two of them:

German Pancake:
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter

Beat eggs at medium speed until thick and lemon colored. Add milk, flour and salt. Mix well.
Heat butter in a 9x13 pan until melted. Pour batter over melted butter in pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with syrup or sauce recipe below.


Vanilla Butter Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (I added more than the original recipe...which called for 1 tsp.... since I love the taste of vanilla)

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Freeze leftovers.

Greek Pasta Salad

This is a recipe that I adapted from this recipe. I added a few things (to make it 'greek'), took away a few things and came up with this! Enjoy!

1 (16 oz) pkg. penne pasta
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. dried dill weed
1 tbsp. lemon pepper
2 cucumbers, peeled and cubed
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 (3.8 oz) can sliced olives, drained
1 (4 oz) pkg. feta cheese, crumbled

Boil pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, dill weed, and lemon pepper in a separate bowl; mix well. Add mayo mixture to pasta along with remaining ingredients and combine completely. Chill before serving.

Twice Baked Potatoes

12+ potatoes
salt
cooking oil

3 cups shredded cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup margarine
2-3 tbsp. milk*

1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
paprika

After washing potatoes, pour some oil and salt on a plate. Roll each potato in the oil/salt mixture, and also using your hands, rub each potato until it is covered. Poke holes in potatoes with fork a couple times. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes (for smaller potatoes), or 55 minutes for larger potatoes.

Once potatoes are cooked, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Slice each potato in half lengthwise, and scoop hot potatoes into a mixing bowl; set empty skins aside in a couple 9x13 pans. Add to mixing bowl, 2 cups shredded cheese, sour cream, margarine and milk. Beat on high until potato mixture is well blended and smooth. (*You may want to add more milk, a little at a time, if mixture isn't smooth enough.) Now add garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper to potato mixture; beat well.

Scoop, or pipe, potato mixture back into skins. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tops of stuffed potatoes. Sprinkle paprika lightly over tops as well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until heated through. You can broil for to brown tops for 2 minutes, if desired.

Tater Tot Beef Hot Dish

I got this recipe from my friend, Kristen. It varies slightly from her version! Enjoy!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 can vegetarian vegetable soup**
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 can milk
1 pkg. tater tots
1 cup shredded cheese

Brown ground beef and onion. Place in the bottom of 9x13 pan. Mix two soups and milk together. Pour over ground beef. Layer tater tots over soup/milk mixture. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle cheese evenly over tater tots and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

**(if you use the kind of veggie soup that you don't add water to it, you'll need to drain it just a bit, or the soup mixture will be too liquid-y. If you use the soup that needs water added, just add as is -- no water!)

Karma's Cherry Cheesecake

This is a recipe my family got years and years ago from my childhood piano teacher, Karma Smith.



1 whole prepared Angel Food cake
2 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powder sugar
1 8 oz. tub cool whip
milk
2 cans cherry pie filling

In a 9x13 pan, break angel food cake into bite size pieces. In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and powder sugar. Mix in a splash or two of milk. Then add cool whip to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Add a little more milk to make sure mixture is spreadable. Pour over top of cake pieces. Spread evenly. Pour cherry pie filling over top of cream cheese mixture. Spread evenly. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Sunday Roast & Gravy

1 roast (whichever cut/size of beef you prefer)
2 cans cream of mushroom
1/2 cup beef broth
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together soup, broth, & dry soup mix. Place roast in crockpot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour soup mixture over roast. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low. Remove roast and cut up. Leave gravy in crockpot to keep warm & serve with mashed potatoes.

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

4-6 thin slices of ham
4-6 slices of mozzarella
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flattened to aout 1/4 in. thickness
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/2 - 1 cup bread crumbs

Place a slice of ham and a slice of mozzarella on each chicken breast; roll each chicken breast and secure with a tooth pick. Place chicken rolls in a greased crockpot. Mix soup and milk and pour over chicken. Sprinkle bread crumbs over soup mixture. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low. Remove toothpicks before eating. Serve with rice or potatoes.

Chicken in the Crockpot

I know...it's not super descriptive...but that's what we've always called it!

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-5 carrots, cut up
4-5 celery ribs, cut up
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of celery
1 can water
1 tbsp. poultry seasoning
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a crockpot. Cook on low 8 hrs. Before serving, make sure chicken is broken into bit size pieces. Serve over mashed potatoes, or cooked rice.

Chicken Taco Soup

3 cooked and cut up chicken breasts
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans refried beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can green chiles
1 tbsp. taco seasoning (more if you want it spicier)

Heat all ingredients in pan on the stove or in a crockpot until refried beans dissolve. Serve warm, with sour cream, cheese and corn chips on top.

Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
1 (.7 oz) pkg. Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can golden mushroom soup
4 oz. chive & onion cream cheese (this usually only comes in an 8 oz. tub, so just scoop out half)
salt & pepper to taste

Place chicken in a prepared 9x13 pan. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Then add dressing mix, chicken broth, and soup; stir. Blend in cream cheese until smooth. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees. You can serve chicken and sauce over hot pasta.

Cheesey Shells Florentine

10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained (I didn't use the spinach at all and it was still fine)
1 3/4 cups cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese + extra for topping (I used the shredded stuff)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup fresh parsely, or a couple shakes of the dried stuff
salt & pepper, to taste
7 oz pkg. small shell macaroni, cooked
1 jar alfredo sauce

Cook pasta, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine spinach (if using), cottage cheese, egg, parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, parsley, salt & pepper. In another bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the jar of alfredo sauce. Arrange half of macaroni mixture to the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Layer spinach/cheese mixture over pasta, evenly. Cover cheese mixture with remaining pasta, mozzarella and extra parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Mozzarella Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 slices mozzarella cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup water
1 cup herbed stuffing mix, crushed
1/4 cup melted butter/margarine
salt & pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in greased 9x13 pan and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place a slice of cheese on each chicken breast. Combine soup & water and pour over cheese slices. Sprinkle crushed stuffing mix over soup, spreading evenly. Drizzle melted butter over stuffing crumbs. Bake 55-60 minutes at 375 degrees.

The Best Darn Chicken Salad

When I moved to The Woodlands, TX many years ago, there was a tradition amongst some of the girls in the neighborhood. When it was somebody's birthday, we would all get together at someone's house and serve this chicken salad on croissants!! It is SO tasty.

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 Gala apples, chopped
3-4 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 tbsp. sweet pickle relish, to start (you can add more if you like)
1/2 - 3/4 cup mayo, to start (add until it is the consistency you want)
A couple dashes of celery seed or celery salt (whatever you have)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Serve on bread of choice, though I prefer croissants! :o)

Chicken Noodle Soup

4-6 chicken breasts
10 cups water
4-5 chicken bouillon cubes
3/4 cup chopped onion, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups wide egg noodles

In a heavy pot, combine chicken and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Skim off anything that rises to the surface. Add bouillon cubes, 1/2 cup onion, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered for an additional 35-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth and cut into bit size pieces (I actually shredded mine, because it was tender enough). Skim fat from top of broth. Return chicken to broth. Stir in celery, carrots, and 1/4 cup onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender. Bring back up to a boil. Drop noodles into boiling soup. Cook, uncovered for 5-10 minutes until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

2-3 carrots, finely chopped
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
2-3 celery ribs, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups vegetable water*
5 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheese

Boil vegetables in unsalted water until tender. *Reserve water. In a heavy pot, melt butter. Stir in flour. Add milk; stir until slightly thickened. Add water and bouillon. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add vegetables and cheese; stir until cheese is melted.

Sorry

I'm not trying to neglect this blog...I promise! December was a super busy month, and January hasn't slowed down either! When I have time, and get my act together, I'll come post more recipes! :o) Hang tight!