Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup in a Slow Cooker

Here we are at the heart of winter…

would love just a bit more snow to be able to get out and enjoy the outdoors,

but if I can't give you that or a warm beach vacation somewhere,

at least I can provide some meal ideas 

which is slow-cooker-easy and oh-soooo-good! 

The inspiration for this soup was found on 

Creme de la Crumb

and of course, I changed things up as I went.  

This was made in a slow cooker, 

(because I love to throw everything in one pot in the morning

and feel like I've slaved over it all day)

but could certainly be converted to stove top

by cooking the chicken, 

adding the veggies and simmering to your heart's content.

It certainly doesn't look very pretty getting started, 

but in this vessel you will find

2 chicken breasts

2 cups of chicken broth (I always tend toward thicker soups)

1 can of enchilada sauce

2 cans of black beans (no need to drain for a dish like this)

1 can of green chilies

1 can of diced tomatoes. 

When I got home from work, after 8 hours on low and 

added 16 oz of thawed frozen corn,

it looked something like this. 

Took the chicken breasts out for shredding.

That's a lot of shredded chicken from just 2 breasts. 

While shredding the chicken,

8 oz of low fat cream cheese was added

for the beloved creaminess it brings!

By the time the chicken was returned to the soup,

the cream cheese was melting away. 

And, within minutes, 

the soup was rip-roaring, ready to go! 

Served with some diced avocado and a dash of chili powder,

this soup was gone in no time! 

Wish I would have made a double batch!

**Famous last words!**

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 10 minutes at the beginning and 10 minutes at the end

Cook Time: 8-10 hours on low, 4-6 hours on high

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

2 cups of chicken broth 

1 can of enchilada sauce

2 cans of black beans

1 can of green chilies

1 can of diced tomatoes

16 oz of thawed frozen corn

8 oz of low fat cream cheese

*Garnish

Diced avocado 

Chili powder

Directions:

• Place chicken, broth, sauce, beans, chilies and tomatoes into pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. 
• Remove chicken breasts and shred. 
• Add corn and cream cheese, stir to melt and incorporate. 
• Return chicken to soup and combine well. 
• Serve with avocado. 

Italian Stuffed Portabella Caps

So, let's talk comfort zones. 

It's the start of the new year and getting out of your comfort zone 

seems to be all of the rage for 2015. 

Make a change, make a difference, etc. 

Well, for me…

that involved making Italian Stuffed Portabellas.

Jerry has been talking about Portabella mushrooms for months now

and I have been politely, half-heartedly listening. 

Finally, we were grocery shopping together and I couldn't put it off any longer. 

He was pushing for two packages of mushrooms but 

I convinced him that we were good starting with just one.  

I decided to make them for dinner last week and

you would think that there was some life changing decision at hand

the way that I hemmed and hawed around the kitchen,

procrastination at it's finest.

That is when I know I am out of my comfort zone…

I procrastinate!

What characteristics do you demonstrate when you are out of  your comfort zone?

Eventually, the count down to dinner was dwindling and I had to get a move on. 

So, I opened the package of Portabella mushrooms and 

turned them over to see what awaited me on the flip side. 

A stem and lots of dark gills. 

Doesn't leave much room for stuffing. 

I probably should have mentioned that I've never been much of a mushroom fan…

which was a big part of why it was out of my comfort zone. 

I removed the stem and attempted to scrape out the gills with a spoon. 

Probably would have been better if I hadn't broken off part of the mushroom cap…

but thankfully we live and learn

and it didn't seem to interfere with the tastiness of the dish. 

In order for me to branch into stuffed mushrooms, 

I wanted to stick with something familiarly delicious as the stuffing. 

Spinach and Tomatoes.

Started with a tablespoon of olive oil, 2 cups of spinach and some coarse Kosher salt

to cook the spinach. 

Once the spinach was wilted, 1 can of diced tomatoes was added. 

And simmered to remove some of the moisture

and concentrate the flavors! 

Since the stuffing was pre-cooked, 

the mushrooms needed to be as well. 

They were put in under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, 

until they were showing signs of warming. 

The tomatoes and spinach were scooped into the caps

and baked at 375 F for about 10 minutes. 

Then, generously topped with shredded mozzarella

and baked for another 3 minutes. 

Until the cheese was just starting to brown. 

Much to my surprise,

these Italian Stuffed Portabella Caps

were fabulous…

and thankfully, 

not too mushroom-y.  

They were enjoyed by all and I am thankful for being pushed out of my comfort zone,

I now have a new avenue of flavors and dishes to explore. 

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 Portabella Mushrooms

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 cups of spinach

Coarse Kosher salt

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of shredded mozzarella

Directions:

• To prep the mushroom, remove the stem and gills, brush off excess dirt with a damp paper towel. 
• Cook spinach in a pan with olive oil and salt over medium heat. 
• Add tomatoes and simmer until thickened. 
• Broil mushrooms for 3-5 minutes. 
• Remove mushrooms, reduce oven temp to 375 F. 
• Fill caps with stuffing. 
• Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes, top with cheese and bake another 3-5 minutes until cheese is browned.  

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Hello there…

Thanks for stopping by! 

If you are like me, 

you are also hoping for some normalcy to be restored this week.  

No holiday breaks. 

No days trapped in doors because it is something-crazy below 0. 

Just a nice, normal week of winter would be great!

Kids can be outside to play in the snow and come in

to warm up with a nice cup of hot cocoa or 

this scrumptious and hearty soup. 

Taco soup is another favorite in our house.

It received rave reviews at deer camp in the fall and 

Ryker requested it to take to school for his Holiday Open House. 

I invite you to give this soup a try for an easy weeknight meal

or maybe for the big Packer game coming up this weekend. 

Starts with 3# of ground chuck, a chopped onion and 1 tbsp of seasoning salt.

I usually go with the leaner option as my family like to top just about 

everything with cheese or maybe some sour cream!  

Have you noticed that the price of ground beef is really going up?

I am thinking of conducting a yield study to see which grade gives the best value.

Once the meat is browned, add it all to the slow cooker

along with 1 packet of Taco seasoning and 1 packet of Ranch seasoning. 

Then top with 1 can of black beans, 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 1 16 oz bag of frozen corn. 

Finally, add 4 cups of tomato juice and 2 cups of beef broth 

and give it a good stir. 

Feel free to adjust the liquids according to your preferences. 

We eat most of these soups as meals, 

so I generally keep them on the thicker side. 

Lastly, I use this as a home for any open jars of salsa or taco/enchilada sauce in the fridge. 

All to often they start to grow something furry before I get back to using them, 

so they make a great addition to this taco soup! 

After 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low, 

dinner is ready and 

this recipe will almost certainly leave you with some leftovers, 

which, as you know, are always welcome in our house!

Serve it up and top with some freshly grated parmesan cheese for a 

perfect finishing touch. 

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

3# of ground chuck

1 chopped onion

1 tbsp of seasoning salt

1 packet of Taco seasoning

1 packet of Ranch seasoning

1 can of black beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1-16 oz bag of frozen corn

4 cups of tomato juice

2 cups of beef broth 

OPTIONAL - any open jars of salsa or taco/enchilada sauce

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Brown hamburger and onion over medium heat. Add salt. 

Pour browned ground chuck into slow cooker. 

Add seasoning packets. 

Add black beans, tomatoes and corn. 

Add tomato juice and beef broth, as well as any open jars of Mexican in the fridge. 

Set the slow cooker according to the amount of time before eating.

• low for 8-10 hours
• high for 4-6 hours

Serve and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese for the finishing touch. 

Ham Cobb Salad

Again, we are finding ourselves amidst another glorious weekend in southern Wisconsin!  Just can't get enough of these highs in the 70's with lots of sunshine and a light breeze.  These days are so perfect.

In fact, today I may or may not have napped on the deck for an hour…ahhh!

That was much needed after a great night in Chicago taking in the sounds of the legendary Billy Joel.  So grateful to have a friend within earshot of Wrigley.  We hung out on the deck, enjoyed a perfect summer and with the Piano Man himself serenading us!

I'll take it.

Now, back on the home front, needing to get back to healthier meals…it is so crazy to me that one night can throw me for such a loop…but, it is certainly OK to happen from time to time!

Thought I'd share with you today my Cobb Salad, which would be perfect for a Sunday lunch or evening on the patio.

Enough veggies to make it healthy and enough protein to fill you up!  Probably why Jerry requested it.

And, like most of my recipes, the options are endless… just make it work with whatever you have on hand.

Meat, veggies, cheese, throw 'em all together with some bacon on top and you are golden!

The base of this salad was a head or two of leafy romaine, freshly chopped. 

I know those bags of salad are so convenient, but the fresh stuff lasts so much longer and tastes better too!  

Then, just start piling on the goodies.  

One cup of cubed ham. 

One cup of corn (I generally use frozen). 

Four hard boiled eggs 

(somehow I managed to misplace my handy-dandy egg slicer)

Two chopped Roma tomatoes.  

I love to add chopped avocado to everything and anything possible.  

Done!

Of course, top with crumbled bacon. 

Finish with your favorite cheese…1 cup of shredded cheddar. 

There was much debate around what kind of cheese to add. 

And, most of them will work great!  

Mix it up, try new things…what do you love on your Cobb salad? 

Un-Stuffed Pepper Skillet

The weekend is nearly upon us, I'm looking forward to the long awaited return of Alayna from a great week of camping and cousins, but it has been a bit quiet around here and not nearly enough girl power around to balance out these two, no, three, no wait, four boys (including our dog, Cody).

Before she returns, I just wanted to share with you a family-friendlier rendition of an old favorite.

I love me some some Stuffed Peppers…love the roasted peppers housing the perfect combination of seasoned rice, meat, tomato and cheese…but for some reason, my kids seem to balk at the whole pepper-thing.

So, I've found if I take the exact same ingredients and prepare them slightly differently, everything is devoured, no balking to deal with and it's faster!

We all win!  

Just start with browning about 2# of ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper.

Once browned, set aside.  

To the same pan, 1 onion and 3 peppers, all chopped up, were added to start the cooking process.  

As far as the sauce, I used one can of diced tomatoes, accompanied by some leftover pizza sauce and salsa in place of a second can of tomato.  

Using up some open jars always makes me happy.  

It ensures the leftovers don't go to waste and clears up some space in the fridge.

Two birds, one stone…my favorite! 

After the tomatoes were added, in came the rice, which started as 2 cups of uncooked minute rice.  

Add back the ground beef. 

Stir it all together and allow to simmer a bit for the extra liquids to cook off and the flavors to get better acquainted.  

Top with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

As well as a layer of shredded cheddar, for good measure.  

Serve it up for all to enjoy!  

RECIPE:

Ingredients: 

2# of ground beef - seasoned

1 onion  - chopped

3 green peppers - chopped

2 cans of diced tomatoes (or any combination of leftover sauces in your fridge)

2 cups of uncooked minute rice - cooked

Parmesan cheese

Shredded cheddar

Directions:

Start by browning the ground beef and cooking the minute rice, then set aside. 

Add the chopped onions and peppers to the pan that the beef was cooked in to begin cooking. 

Next, add the tomato sauce. 

Add the rice to the skillet. 

Then the ground beef, allow to simmer to cook off some of the extra liquids. 

When nearly finished, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and then add a layer of shredded cheddar as the finishing touch.