Wednesday, September 29, 2010

White Chicken Chili



It is officially fall so that means its soup and chili time! Mmmmm.

This week I tried a new recipe for white chicken chili. This one is a creamier version then what we normally have but we loved it. Even Hayden loved it. I wasn't even going to give it to him. I made him something else but he ate from Mike's bowl. Oops!

I think my favorite part of eating soup or chili is having good bread with it. My mom always has the best bread. It must come from shopping at 3 am or whatever horrid time she goes.

Here is the recipe:
White Chicken Chili

Serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 medium onion, small diced

1 T vegetable oil

2 cans cannellini beans

14.5 ounces chicken broth

2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup half & half

8 ounce reduced fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken and chopped onion and saute for about six minutes, or until the chicken is seared and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another three minutes.

Add the beans, spices, chicken broth and green chilies and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the sour cream and half & half. Serve with cheddar cheese and additional sour cream to top.

I got it from this site: http://eatliverun.com/

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Chocolate Pudding Crock Pot Cake


This is a great cake served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Ingredients:

* 1 pkg. two layer chocolate cake mix
* 3 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup water
* 2 cups sour cream
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation:
Spray a 4 quart crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the water, then add the sour cream and oil and beat until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into crockpot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until top springs back when touched very lightly with finger. 8-10 servings

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Crockpot Dump Cake


On Labor Day we had 2 cakes...both made in the crockpot. One was a chocolate cake that I will post later. One was this one. Both are delicious. Feel free to try with other types of pie fillings.

Crockpot Cherry Dump Cake

1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
1 package yellow or white cake mix
8 tablespoons butter, cut up


Rub the slow cooker generously with some of the butter. Place pie filling in the slow cooker. Mix dry cake mix and remaining butter until crumbly, sprinkle over filling. Cover and cook on low for 2 – 3 hours. Serve warm in bowls.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Buffalo chicken dip



Everyone loves buffalo chicken dip. It is always gobbled up at every party. We had it twice just the weekend at a birthday party and then my labor day picnic. There are tons of different ways to make it but here is how I make mine.

Ingredients

* 1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained (I just use cooked chicken breasts)
* 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
* 1/2 cup and 1/8 cup hot sauce ( I only use franks)
* 3/4 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)

Mix all ingredients together (saving most of the cheddar cheese to bake on top). Top with rest of cheddar. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve with chips or crackers.



Adapted from this recipe:dip and a few others

Friday, August 27, 2010

Beefy Biscuit Cups


Here is a quick and easy recipe we use when we have left over ground beef. Hayden really enjoys these so they are kid friendly. Nothing gourmet but good for a busy night.

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce
* 2 tubes (8 ounces each) large refrigerated biscuits
* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

* In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce; cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until heated through.
* Press biscuits onto the bottom and up the sides of greased muffin cups. Spoon 2 tablespoons beef mixture into the center of each cup.
* Bake at 375° for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 8 servings.

Recipe from the taste of home magazine

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Pizza Dip


I haven't been cooking much. Hayden and I had dinner at one of our favorite pizza places Burgh's last night. If you haven't been its yummy. They have a great lunch buffet too.

So anyways I thought I would post a recipe for pizza dip. It is nothing special but most everyone likes it. When Mike and I were younger we sometimes had this for dinner. Shame!

Ingredients:
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 cup pizza sauce
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil.
Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and add any toppings you may like.

Heat in the microwave, covered for 5 minutes. Serve with chips, crackers, warm bread, or breadsticks.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Souvlaki


We love gyros. Mike and Tony's on the Southside is our favorite. Obviously I don't have the equipment to make a gyro (nor do I want it). Souvlaki is similar.

I found a recipe and bought lamb for the first time this week. It needs to marinade for a long time but it sure was good. Mike really enjoyed this, Hayden did not. I don't think he liked the marinade. I served this with some warm fry bread,cucumber sauce and some greek roasted potatoes. I would have added feta cheese but I forgot to pick it up at the store.

We bought a piece of lamb and cut into about 1 in pieces.

The recipe called for this marinade:
In a bowl, put 1/2 cup lemon juice, 4 tsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp oregano, and 6 cloves minced garlic. I used less oil.

Marinate it for at least 8 hours.

Cook on the grill.

MMmmmm!


Recipe from here. She has lots of great recipes!