Taco Ole Soup with Tortilla Chips

This recipe is another one I have adapted from the Crockpot cookbook I have. This is a lot like the salsa chicken I have made before, but I think I like this one better!

3-4 frozen chicken breasts

1 can corn

2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes

1 10 oz can tomatoes with diced chilies

2 cans ranch style beans

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet ranch dressing mix

Put it all in a crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours!

Tortilla Chips:

I had store bought chips, but I wanted to try this to see how they turned out. They were good! I cut whole wheat tortillas into eighths and placed in a single layer on baking sheets. I sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with salt. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes...keep an eye on them!! You could use a lot of different seasonings on these to make them different ways!

I've been tagged!!

Ok, so I've been tagged by Chelley from my cooking board...her blog is sugar and spice...great one! So, this means I need to tell you 8 fun facts about myself and then tag 8 more people!

1). I am a HUGE Cincinnati Bengals fan. Two of my three pets are named after players. My favorite player is TJ Houshmandzadeh...my dog's name is Housh. I once stood in line for 4 1/2 hours for TJ's autograph. I also like Chad Johnson...my cat's name is CJ.

2.) Number one brings this fun fact...I love lions. I collect things with lions. I don't know how this started. My other cats name is Leon, becuase it means lion in some other language I forget :)
3.) I have a BA in advertising/public relations and then went back to school and got an associate's degree in American Sign Language just becuase I wanted to learn.
4.) I don't sleep at the top of the bed...I sleep about 1/2 way down. This originated from my heated matress pad...the bigger coils are at the bottom of the pad to keep your feet warm...I always snuggled up over those :)
5.) I am a reality tv show junkie. My all time favorite is of course, Survivor.
6.) I love watching UFC. My fiance got me started becuase he was friends with Rich Franklin in high school. I love Rich Franklin and Tito Ortiz!!!
7.) I LOVE Mexican food. I would eat Mexican food every single day and never get sick of it. I especially like their margaritas!
8.) Last fun fact....I'm getting married in November!! I am extremely busy with all that planning, but am looking forward to it!

Black Eyed Pea Stew and Red Lobster Buscuits!

So, my fiance has found that he really likes split pea soup. I tried making it twice, once it was decent, the other time was awful. I found this recipe in a cookbook I have called Easy Slow Cooker Cookbook. I was thinking slit pea soup the whole time, but it was really black eyed pea soup...and it was too late by the time I realized it. I was already at the store with my grocery list. So, I decided we would try it anyway! It turned out really good!

Here's how I made it...I didn't follow the recipe from the book exactly, but pretty close.

1 1b stew beef

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

3 ribs celery, sliced

3 (15 oz) cans jalapeno black-eyed peas, with liquid

2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, with liquid

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chicken seasoning (I used 2 tsp of a seasoned pepper mix that I have...it's really good. Next time, I might only use 1 tsp, it was kind of spicy.)

Add everthing to the crockpot and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Red Lobster Biscuits:

I got this idea from mrsbowen on the nest cooking board. I don't have her recipe, so I just googled it and found one. They were fantastic!

2 cups Bisquick (I used lowfat)

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

few pinches of dried parsley flakes

Mix the Bisquick, milk, and cheese together until dough forms. Mix for about 30 seconds. Form into balls and place on an ungreased cooking sheet. Bake in oven at 450 for 10 minutes. While they are in the oven, combine melted butter, garlic salt, and parsley. Remove from oven and pour melted butter mixture over buscuits while still hot. I turned off the oven and then put the bisbuits back in and let them sit and soak up the butter.

Leftover Steak with Chicken, Mexican Side, and Sweet Potato Fries!

My parents had us over for my uncle's birthday dinner this past weekend. I think my parents had 5 cows...there was enough steak for an army! So, we had leftovers! We ate leftovers the next day, and then I decided to make something different with the leftovers the next. I Sliced up some chicken and steak and sauted them together with some onion. I seasoned them with salt pepper, and a seasoned pepper mix that I have. Melted cheese on some hoagy rolls in the oven until the bread was a little crispy and made sandwiches.




I made sweet potato fries...YUM! Just peel and slice them, spray with cooking oil, and season however you like. I used garlic salt and seasoned pepper. Bake them in the oven at 350 for about 40-45 minutes. Here is a great tip I learned from my cooking board...her nest name is amief...instead of baking the potatoes on the cooking sheet, place them on a cooling rack ontop of the cooking sheet...then you don't have to flip them! Thanks for the tip!





Now, for my somewhat mexican side...I took two cans of corn, one can of black beans, a bag of frozen okra, one jalepeno chopped, and one diced onion. I sauteed them all together until everything was cooked and hot! I seasoned with lots of dried cilantro, seasoned pepper, and a little bit of garlic.





Dinner was pretty tasty!

Moroccan Inspired Stuffed Peppers

This recipe has been adapted from a fellow nestie's blog, http://cookingcutie.blogspot.com/ Hers looked good and easy, so I had to try it! In her post she used yellow peppers, and being on a budget, every tiny thing helps....so, I decided to use green peppers since they are always cheaper. She also mentioned in her post that it seemed to be lacking something since there was no sauce to kind of hold it all together. I decided to try using cream cheese in it...it always seems to work for me, but of course, might not be the healthiest choice :)

I thought these were pretty good, but I do like my other stuffed peppers better. These were nice to have as something different though. Of course my fiance didn't care for them...for some reason he doesn't like couscous. So, of course, he automatically judged them when I told him there was couscous...should have left my mouth shut! I told him that's fine, I will eat the leftovers until everything is gone, and you can get fast food :)

Thanks for the idea Chelley!

Moroccan Inspired Stuffed Peppers:

4 peppers

1 onion

salt

pepper

minced garlic

dried parsley flakes

1 1b chicken, cubed

1-1 1/4 cup chicken broth, fat free reduced sodium

1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, very soft

4 oz feta cheese

2 tomatoes

1 box whole wheat couscous, I used garlic and olive oil flavor

Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Place in oven at 350 until they become a little tender. Saute diced onion and cubed chicken until chicken is done. Season heavily while cooking. Add chick peas and one diced tomato. Mix together. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Mix in couscous, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. When done, fluff it up! Add the feta and very soft cream cheese and mix all together. Spoon into pepper halves and garnish with a slice of tomato. Put in oven at 350 for about 10 minutes to reheat everything.

Easy Meatball Hoagies

This meal is super easy and was delicious too!!

I bought frozen meatballs and put them in the crock-pot with spaghetti sauce. You can cook them on low for a long time or on high for just about 2 hours, depending on the amount of food in the crock-pot. I bought a big bag because I always like to have a meal that can last more than one night, so I used to jars of spaghetti sauce. I sautéed onions and green peppers with a little bit of seasoning. I bought some delicious, sweet, Italian bread for the buns.

When ready to assemble, place cheese (I used provolone and muenster) on one half of bread and then green peppers and onions on the other half. Place in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted and the bread gets a little crunchy. Then, cut the meatballs in half and place on bread, and your sandwich is done! I cut the meatballs in half because I found that using the whole meatball just made it that much harder to eat because they kept falling out.

I have so many meatballs left! We had meatball hoagies for two nights (with the size of the bread, it should have lasted for four nights probably!) We will probably have spaghetti and meatballs or tortellini and meatballs another night this week!

Dad's 60th Birthday Dinner!

This is a picture taken on my dad's actual birthday. My sister and I took him to Carrabbas. My mom was out of town, but she made up for it by taking him on a surprise Mediterranean cruise as a birthday gift!


While we have already celebrated my dad's birthday, it has been a tradition for quite a few years that I make him a coconut cream pie as part of his celebration. We haven't had it yet, so he gets another birthday dinner so we can have it for dessert! Here's what my sister and I both prepared:

Me: Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Mix:

We really like this, so if you go to a Tastefully Simple Party, you should order it!

Me: Crack Dip...AKA, Buffalo Chicken Dip:

This recipe is called Crack Dip on my cooking board...for obvious reason...it's addicting!! I've had it before, but this is my first time making it! It was a hit!!

4 boiled chicken breasts, shredded

1 cup Franks Red Hot

1 cup Ranch Salad Dressing

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

16 oz Cream Cheese

Mix all ingredients, bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Serve with celery and tortilla chips.

Me: Absolute Mexican Corn Bread:

I found this recipe on bakespace.com which was posted by a girl named Abby. It was great!

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1/2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese-I used double :)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese -I used double:)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch
baking dish.
2 In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time.
Blend in cream corn, chiles, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese.
3 In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal,baking powder and salt. Add
flour mixture to corn mixture;stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4 Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of
the pan comes out clean.

My Sister: Salad:

I can't find the picture I took of the salad! It is so good though, it has become a favorite of ours. It is spinach and a romaine type lettuce (not iceburg). Mix with diced onions, bacon bits, cherry tomatoes halved, avocado, and toss with Sturkey's creamy balsalmic vinegrette. Yum!

My Sister: Shrimp Quesadillas:

The idea for this recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens. This is not a good picture, but hopefully you can get the idea from the list of ingredients. They were great and a nice change from your normal quesadilla!

Spinach tortillas

red pepper hummus

feta cheese

mixed vegetables (she used corn, green beans, and asparagus)

cooked frozen shrimp, thawed

Spread hummus over tortilla, place shrimp, vegetables and cheese on one side and fold over. Place them all on cooking sheet and bake at 350 until heated through.

My Sister: Oreo Truffles:

This recipe is from Kraft foods, and is a recommendation from my cooking board. They were awesome! Someone on the cooking board suggested using mint oreos for Christmas time...those would be wonderful!

1 pkg. (1 lb., 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

CRUSH 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
DIP balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator

Me: Coconut Cream Pie:

One summer, I think it was before I could drive, I baked a ton to pass time. We always enjoy coconut cream pie, so I decided I would try one for my dad's birthday...it was awesome!

A long time friend of the family, Dave, also has a birthday around the same time as my dad's. That first year, his wife, Cindy, gave me $10 to make him one after we realized that I was a great baker!...it is also one of his favorites! Ever since that first year, I have been making 2 coconut cream pies sometime over the summer, one for my dad's birthday and one for Dave's...(Cindy and Dave are not charged, they get them for free now as a yummy birthday gift :) !!!) I was told that mine are as good, if not better, than the ones Dave's mom always made for him...shhhhhh!!!!!

Here is the recipe...it is straight out of the "old school" Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. However, the secret to making it so good is to use about twice the amount of coconut the recipe calls for :) Also, I no longer make my own crust :( I did for several years. I think last year was the first year I didn't...it's such a pain. I'll tell you what though...the Pillsbury pie crust you can buy that just rolls out, is pretty darn good and looks homemade.

This is for one 9-inch pie:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups milk

4 eggs

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 9-inch baked pastry shell

For filling, in a medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually stil in milk. Cook and stir over medum heat until theickend and bubbly. Reduce heat and cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Separate egg yolks from whites, set whites aside for meringue. Beat egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return egg mixture to saucepan, bring to a gentle boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Stir in COCONUT!!! Pour hot filling into baked pastry shell. Spread meringue over hot filling and seal to the edge. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until gold. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Cool. Cover. Chill overnight before serving.

Meringue:

4 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

In a medum mixer bowl. beat the egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar at meduim speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. Immediately spread over pie, carefully sealing to edge of pastry to prevent shrinkage.

I had to add this picture in...my sisters dog, Sammy (the gold one), and my dog, Housh, are best friends. We both got them around the same time. They play non stop when they are together. It's hilarious...even when they get tired, they feel like they have to keep going. My dog slobbers, so when they are done playing, it looks like Sammy just got a bath...gross! It's hard to tell in this picture, but my dog weighs twice as much as my sisters...I was trying to get a picture of Housh dragging Sammy across the floor by her collar...it was so funny!!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This recipe is originally from Sparkpeople.com. It is an easy favorite of the What's Cooking board. It makes plenty, so you'll have leftovers! Here's how I make it, but there's lots of was you can vary the recipe:




4 chicken breasts (I put mine in frozen to make sure they wouldn't overcook)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 16 oz jar salsa
1 can corn
1 can rinsed and drained black beans
1 cup reduced fat sour cream






Mix soup, salsa, and taco seasoning together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken, add corn, beans, and sour cream. Cook for a few more minutes until everything is heated through. This is great served with tortilla chips. I served it tonight rolled up in a tortilla shell with melted cheese and lettuce.