Mexican Cheese Soup

I took my new roasting oven (aka crock pot with controllable temperature dial, see rant here) out for it's maiden voyage last night.  I decided to make one of our new family favorites, Mexican cheese soup.  This soup is quick, easy, lazy (as in dump in cans of things without draining them) and still ends up being delicious. The original recipe is very spicy, so I've modified it to be more family friendly.  When I take this to a potluck people always ask me for the recipe, so here it is:

Looks yummy, yes?  Since I varied from the original, in the printable recipe link I will include both the spicy version (original) and the one I tend to make.  By the way, this recipe was from an older Rival Crock pot recipe book.  First, gather your ingredients:

Some cut up left over rotisserie chicken (or optional: 1 pound of ground beef, cooked and drained), 1 can of light red kidney beans, 1 can diced petite tomatoes, 1 can of Mexican stewed tomatoes, 1 can of corn, 1 lb Velveeta/processed cheese, and taco seasoning (one packet worth or 1/4 cup). Now, let the dumping begin! Throw in your meat (chicken or beef) and then toss in 1lb of Velveeta that has been cubed up for easier melting.

Now, more dumping!  Have the kids help here if you want.  The best part about this is there is NO draining.  That's right, open the can and dump the whole thing in, liquid and all. Dump in the stewed tomatoes, the beans, the corn, the diced tomatoes, and the 1/4 cup taco seasoning.

That's it!  Just stir it up, slap the lid on and cook it 4-5 hours on low or 3 hours on high.  By the way, the original recipe is spicy HOT.  I'm talking punch you in the face hot.  They add diced tomatoes with green chilies, optional jalapeno peppers, and another can of diced green chilies. That was just way too hot for my little ones (and lil' ol me who likes 0 star Thai food and can't eat hot wings).  The recipe I use here has a slight warming "hey I'm eating Mexican food" spicy sensation without burning your tongue off.  After it simmers for a few hours, this is what it will look like:

Crush up some tortilla chips or corn chips and top with sour cream, cheese, whatever you like.  Definitely don't forget the cheese... it's the best part!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  You can make it as mild or as spicy as your family likes it. Make a big vat and freeze half or take the rest to work for left overs.  This one is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Artichokes - The bestest green veggie

Since it is my birthday month, I wanted to focus on some things I LOVE.  We don't go out to eat that often, but when I get the chance, we make a bee line to Black Angus Restaurant to get only one thing: Their fire-grilled artichokes appetizer.  Oh my goodness they are yummy.  Served warm and dripping with garlic butter and served with two aoli dipping sauces.  I don't even get a meal anymore, JUST the artichokes.

The artichokes - picture from the Black Angus menu.

Have you ever seen an artichoke plant?  Technically they are a perennial flower that are actually considered part of the thistle family. It really makes you wonder, somewhere, in the distant past, somebody looked at this poky bush with a thorny knob sticking out of it and thought, hey, I'd like to eat that thing??!!  How in the world did it ever come about that these were discovered to be, in fact, as Alton Brown says, "Good Eats"?  I planted one last year in my garden and it grew to be of a large size, but produced no artichokes. A friend informed me that they establish themselves the first year, and produce chokes after that.  Well this year I am PLEASED to report that I have chokes a' growin'!!  This is very exciting to me and I want to learn how to cook them just like they do at the restaurant so I can enjoy them fresh from the garden. Look I have three bulbs already!!  Yea!

The artichoke plant in my garden!! (Healthy artichoke plants, with a lot of space can yield many chokes in a season from one plant!)

Usually there are two ways to cook these babies.  Boiling and Steaming.  I asked the chef at the restaurant they prefer the steaming method.  So I did a little you tube googling to find out the best way to prepare them.  First rinse them off quickly and pat them dry.  Cut a bit off the stem, but be sure to leave about an inch, which will make it easier to grab later.

Next, flip them around and cut off about one inch off the front of the choke. 

Then, you want to get rid of those prickly spines.  They are very sharp, so beware.  Take a pair of kitchen scissors and snip to remove them all the way around (your fingers will thank you later).

The nice lady on the you tube video told me that artichokes oxidize fast, and to rub them all over quickly with a half of lemon to prevent browning.  Next, it's time to steam them.  I went looking all over a few different stores for that little metal "space ship" type device that steams vegetables, but alas I could not find one anywhere.  Luckily, my husband is half genius and part "MacGyver" to boot, so we decided to jimmy-rig a steamer with household items we had on hand.

First of all, our artichokes were those BIG monster globe type.  My normal pot was way too small, so we went for our extra large pot.  On the bottom of the pot we put our metal strainer upside down.  On top of that we put a plate right side up.

I'd like to thank my hubby, aka MacGyver for this spur of the moment choke steamer

Next we added a few inches of water to the bottom of the pot, but not touching the plate.  We also, under the plate, added the lemon juice and halves left over from rubbing the chokes, a few cloves of garlic and 2 bay leaves.  This will give the water and thus the steam extra flavor.

Next we put in the artichokes in on top of the plate.  Note: We laid them on their side because of the plate factor.  Normally if you have a steamer/spaceship you would place them face down.

Next it is recommended to steam them about 45 minutes.  I hate it when they are slightly tough though, so because of their size, I added an extra 10 minutes, steaming them for almost an hour.
You will know they are done when you can easily stick a knife through the stem without any resistance.  By the way, the house will smell fabulous and they will look like this:

While they are still warm bring them to a cutting board face down, and with tongs, cut down the middle of the stem, slicing them completely in half.

In the center you will find a purple section of leaves (what would have become the flower) that you will need to scoop out.  Because everything is so soft, it comes out pretty easily. Just take a big spoon and gently cut out the center part and remove so they look like the two on the left.

Picture from Cooking's Good blog - The one on the far right still needs the center purple part removed

Preparing them this way is genius I tell you, because now you have an edible bowl where you can pour in a slathering spoonful of garlic butter and as you pull the leaves off, each bite will have a bit of butter on it.  If you have never eaten an artichoke before, simply pull off the leaves and scrape the lower half of the leaf in your mouth, pulling off all the "meat". It is DIVINE!

Don't forget to add on a couple of turns of sea salt over the finished chokes

We were so excited to eat these that we totally forgot to grill them.  But the grilling part is not for necessarily cooking them, just to add the tasty char marks to the out side.  If you don't have the time (or the patience) to grill, eat them as soon as you can!  They are great as an appetizer, on their own as a meal, or a side to steak, chicken, etc.

Also after you have pulled off all the leaves you are left with the very best part, the heart of the artichoke.  Be sure to saver these. I tend to cut them up like hunks of meat, dip them carelessly in garlic butter and chew slowly to enjoy the wonderful flavor.  I could almost go vegetarian if I could have these every night.  They are so satisfying! These have GOT to be my all time favorite green vegetable.  So don't be afraid to try this alien-esque type orb, as it could easily turn out to be your go to veggie!

No Peek Chicken

I was perusing on Pinterest the other night, as I was on the lookout for easy, low, and slow cooking recipe that could be simmering in the oven all  afternoon when I'm busy, and then PRESTO, be ready when it was dinner time.  I found one from Nicole over at Thrifty Decorating called "No Peek" chicken, which intrigued me.  I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand, but I did have most of them. I really wanted to try it and just see what would happen.  In the end it actually turned out pretty delicious.  When I make it again I will try a few minor changes.  Here's what it looked like:

First, gather your ingredients.  I used 4 (large Costco-sized) chicken breasts sliced into smaller strips, the cream of celery soup, the cream of mushroom soup, and 2 cans of water. What I didn't have was the box of Uncle Ben's long grain wild rice.  I did have a box of Rice a Roni Rice Pilaf which I thought might just work, so I gave it a whirl.

(Note: I didn't have a small can of the cream of mushroom, so I used 2/3 of a bigger one I had on hand)

The recipe says to spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Dump in the box of dry rice, the seasoning packet, the two cans of soup and two cans of water and stir until blended.  (Ignore my giant can, the original recipe calls for one small can of cream of celery and one small can of cream of mushroom.  So when you do two cans of water use the regular sized small soup can for the 2 cans of water)

Next, lay the raw chicken pieces into the pan

Cover with foil and place in the oven at 325º for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  (The original recipe called for a temp of 350º but I think that might have a tendency to evaporate all the liquid and/or dry out the chicken according to some response posts). So I just knocked back the temp a bit to make sure.  The next part was hard.  The NOT PEEKING part.  (Remember that Mervyn's commercial "open open open"...)?

My hubby came home and was about to poke his head in the oven to see what was smelling so good, and I stopped him like he was about to disarm a bomb.  WAIT... you can't peek!  It's the rules. Phew, that was a close one.  (The look on his startled face was absolutely priceless).  After I explained myself he thought that was pretty funny.  Too bad smell-o-vision monitors haven't been invented yet, because this really does make the house smell fabulous by the way!  Finally, it was time for me to peek.  What would I find? Had it worked?  Hopefully I had not destroyed our entire dinner in one fell swoop??...

Goodness no!  Besides smelling fantastic, it looked like it turned out pretty good.  The chicken was very tender and the nice part about it was the rice was all ready to go, no extra pan to have to make the side in.  I scooped it onto plates and waited for the verdict...

And... the family LOVED it.  It had a very good, creamy flavor.  I had never used cream of celery soup before this, but I really liked how this turned out.  Only small issue was the rice.    The Rice a Roni rice pilaf was tasty, but got a little mushy/soft.  None of us really minded that much, but I bet the original recipe of the Uncle Ben's long grain wild rice, (which normally cooks for 25 min) or any slower cooking rice would of held up it's texture a bit better with this long cooking time.  Printable recipe for this dish found here

Other than that I think we have a bonafied family winner.  The kids ate it all up and it's pretty hard to find one meal that pleases everyone around here. It even made some yummy left overs hubby took to work for lunch.  Just remember, whatever you do... no matter how much you want to... DON'T PEEK!!!!

Quick Creamy Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla

How's that title for a rockin' alliteration?  I don't know about you, but I've been on a quest for a better quesadilla.  We got this handy quesadilla maker a few years back as a gift, and it's great for a quick dinner.  However, what I normally do is just slap some left over taco meat, and handful of cheese, and what comes out is a dry, crisp, hockey puck of blandness.  The kids and hubby dig them just fine but I want more I tell you, MORE!

Flash forward to a few nights ago I was staring at some left over rotisserie chicken and willing the inspiration gods to come and help me figure out what to make for dinner.  Suddenly, like a mad scientist I started mixing and chopping and... shazam, I had whipped up a little number that was pure deliciousness in a crispy flour shell.  It was creamy, cheesy, ooey-gooey, and oozing with flavor  So I thought I'd share my little recipe.

The best part is I only used left overs and things I had lying around. Nothing I added was earth shattering, but it was one of those slap your hand to head moments and a "why haven't I thought of this sooner" kind of thing.   Ok so in a small bowl I added:


a big handful of finely chopped rotisserie chicken pieces
a spoonful of sour cream
a spoonful of salsa
a dash of taco seasoning

Mix together and spread on a flour tortilla.  Next spread a handful of grated cheese over the mixture, place another flour tortilla on the top and close the lid of your quesadilla maker.  (You can do this on the stove as well)  Soon you will have some sizzling goodness wafting through the air.

Oh these were so much better than my old quesadillas!  You don't even have to dip them in anything else, they were creamy all on their own and the salsa and taco seasoning gave it a punch of Mexican flavor with a hint of veggies.  This would make a good quick dinner, a fast mom lunch, or even a late night snack with the hubs. 

Homemade pizza and cheesy bread

Thank goodness for Pinterest!  With it I have found the perfect fail-proof pizza dough recipe from Lauren over at Lauren's Latest.  She is a genius.  She has a play by play of an easy pizza dough/cheesy bread stick recipe using a stand mixer, along with great pictures of all the steps.  I highly recommend that you try this recipe out, because with it, you can make the following:

Yes beautiful ooey gooey cheesy pizza-ie goodness.  Once you have Lauren's perfect dough completed, gather your favorite sauces and toppings, and you can go to town making whatever kind of pizza you like.  This one above was a Canadian bacon and pepperoni, one of my favorites.  It is always a bonus if you have adorable pizza topping helpers to assist you along the way.  One warning though, they eat more cheese then they put on the actual pizza...

 We also tried my hubby's favorite, the "Hawaiian" (Canadian Bacon & Pineapple), which as most of you know is what I consider to be an "abomination", due to fruit blatantly consorting unabashedly with meat

Both these pizzas turned out absolutely delicious (had to take hubby's word on the Hawaiian).  We bought some non-expensive simple pizza pans (from Walmart) with small holes in the bottom that came in a 2-pack of sizes that made the crust both crispy on the bottom, but still with a great texture in the middle.

I think what turned out possibly the best and thus, the closest to a restaurant style item was the amazing cheesy bread sticks recipe that Lauren posted about in the same post with garlic, butter and cheese.  We tried it, and can attest it came together so easy and was amazing! 

Crispy, crunchy, and great flavor with that garlic butter base.  We cut this up and dipped in in some extra pizza sauce and it was a hit with everyone!  So if you have never attempted your own crust before, you should give this one a whirl!  I personally love when a recipe has been tested by a few people, so I know that it actually works and tastes great.  Next I might try a BBQ chicken pizza or one of those bacon chicken artichoke pizzas that are all the rage.  Now, go and get your Italian on then come back and tell me Grazie for finding Lauren's rockin' dough.

The Extra Creamy Cheesiest

Update: Like us on facebook for more great recipes and crafts!

So as you can tell, I've been on a "make it homemade" kick with all my recipes. From homemade strawberry ice cream, new soup attempts in Big Blue Mama, and even homemade pizza dough and cheesy bread,  I am really enjoying the art of cooking lately.  One day I decided to tackle one of the most loved dishes in all of childhood, the boxed mac and cheese.  I had this feeling I could make a tastier version without having to run to the store, and using things I already had on hand in my pantry.  I wanted to keep it mom friendly though, and tried to mimic the steps from the box, so it would feel familiar and easy to whip up at a moments notice.  This is what I came up with.

Cheesy cheesy goodness.  Your kids will beg for this one

Now doesn't that just scream ooey gooey deliciousness?  What kid wouldn't want a big ol' bowl of this golden cheesy goodness? Plus you can make a big pot with only FIVE ingredients. (full printable recipe at end of post)

A few ingredients you probably already have on hand

So there are only a few common ingredients to make this delectable comfort food.  
Noodles (any kind will do, but shells are great for holding a lot of sauce), 1 can evaporated milk, 
1 can cheddar cheese soup, 1-2 cups of shredded cheese, butter, and salt and pepper to taste (or Johny's seasoning salt).

After cooking and draining your noodles, add them back to the same pot.  
Add your butter and stir it around til the warm noodles melt it.  (Just like you would on the box)

I'm assuming you know how to boil water, cook noodles, drain, then add 4 TBSP butter ;)

Next stir in 1 can of cheddar cheese soup (this would be like adding the cheese packet here)

Add some cheddar cheese soup to the party

Next you will want to add about half the can of evaporated milk and stir until combined.  
(This is like adding the milk on the box) Now we're starting to look like something yummy is about to happen!

Get in my belleh!  (Ok not yet, but SOON)

When combined, then it's time to add the grated cheese.  This is really at your own discretion, but between 1-2 cups of cheese works great. (You can leave the burner on medium low or low to help melt things together) Start with one cup and mix in, if you need more, add a little at a time.  
(This is where we add real cheese to so called mac and CHEESE, what a concept!!)

Any medium/mild cheddar will work, I used Tillamook cheese (popular on the NW coast)

The reason you keep some of the evaporated milk back is that after the cheese melts, if its a tad on the thick side, add a touch more milk and stir until you have your desired consistency.  This is a good time to taste and season.  The KEY here is seasoning.  I normally would use Johnny's Seasoning salt, which has salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder in it, BUT then my kids will see the little black specks of pepper as "POISON" and deem the dish inedible.  So I use a sea salt grinder and give it a couple cranks. It's all white and therefore kid approved. Taste and check the levels here.  Add a bit of extra seasoning to taste. 

Now we are done!  Serve it up to the small fry and watch them beg for more.  It's ooey gooey comfort food that I think is as easy to make as a box mix, but has a ton more flavor and appeal, and you can customize it to your family's tastes.

Enjoy!  Here is the printable recipe:

Easy Extra Creamy Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
1 16oz box pasta (shells, macaroni, bow tie) I used 3/4 or 12 oz for this recipe
4 Tablespoons butter
1 can cheddar cheese soup(10 3/4 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste or seasoned salt (like Johnny's)

Directions:
Cook and drain noodles.  Add back to warm pot, stir in butter, cheese soup,
and half the can of evaporated milk.  Stir until combined. 
Add 1 cup of cheese to start with, add more until desired cheesiness.
Keep the burner on low to help melt things together.
If it gets too thick, add some reserve evaporated milk to thin down
Add salt and pepper to taste

Serve warm as side or main dish.  Enjoy!

We are loving the popularity of this post!! If you crave more recipes like this, plus immediate facebook updates on other new recipes, crafts from this blog, feel free to click on the link below and "like" us on our blog's new facebook page. 

Come LIKE us on facebook!

Bakin' Bacon

A good friend tipped me off the other day that bacon does not have to be a spitty, spattery, grease-ball fry pan mess.  I must confess in recent years I have even avoided making the heavenly meat due to the oily mess that ensues during, and after the frying process.  I was so intrigued by this thought. I pressed on with more questions, only to find out that - brace yourself - you can bake bacon in the oven.  The oven.  Say what??  Why was I not informed?  Did I miss a memo?  How could I have existed on earth all this time and NOT known about this?  So, armed with that tidbit of priceless information as the only inspiration I needed, I was to try this out for myself.

Bacon Bacon Bacon  (The next phrase that comes to mind is: Dog's don't know it's not bacon...)

Ok so I took out a slab o' bacon and proceeded to lay them out nicely on my half sheet pan (a gift from my hubby this Christmas because of my love for all things food Network related and they seem to use them all the time on shows like Chopped, Iron Chef, and the Barefoot Contessa.  It's like the law or something, if you want to be a wanna-be chef you MUST have a few of these lying about).  OK back to the bacon.  I laid out every strip in the package.  Perhaps I should have placed a few less strips so they weren't so packed in there, but come on now, you really can't have too much bacon, can you??

Next step was to put it in a 400º oven for 20 minutes or until desired crispiness.  It was almost too easy.  That's it?  Set it and forget it?  No turning the strips over?  No grease jumping up and hitting your wrist?  No way.  OK, rock on.  Let's see what we get after 20 minutes.

Behold, the beautifully baked bacon

So I left it in a tiny bit longer than 20 minutes, mostly because I'm a big fan of "heading towards crunchy" bacon.  Nothing worse then chowing down on some bacon and having some undercooked section of white fat hanging there staring at you.  As you can see above, there was some major shrinkage going on, but on the good side all the bacon is perfectly straight and not bendy.  All that is left to do now is remove bacon from this pan onto a plate or pan lined with some paper towels to help soak up residual grease.

{One side note here:  I realized after the fact, that the bacon was so close together on the pan that they stuck together as a whole like a big cozy bacon blanket, which I'm sure Homer Simpson would have adored.  Can't you hear him saying in a dreamy fashion "Mmmm... Bacon Blanket.  When I tried to remove just one piece, the whole thing wanted to come up together.  I took two metal tongs and gently pulled them apart as I laid them on the plate to dry.  But now hey, if you EVER need a bacon blanket (to wrap around your meatloaf, omelet, grilled cheese, or your turducken) now you will know how do DO it!  Um, wait a sec, wouldn't we have to call it a Bacturducken?  Either that or a Turduckenon.  We will have to see on that one. Any more syllables and it's going to start sounding like an infectious disease or something, and I think we can all agree THAT is not appetizing.   
OK so final result?}

MMMmmmm Bacon.   Bacon = MEAT CANDY

 
Now THAT is what I'm talking about.  Isn't it just beautiful?  Maybe you should put your nose up closer to the screen and see if you can take a whiff of that wonderful bacon-y goodness.  Smell-o-vision would be a great invention right about now, no?  I'm thinking of using this lovely picture as a screen saver this month as I blog and salivate alternately.  Alright so this turned out to be one heck of a GREAT experiment.  If you have never baked bacon in the oven I recommend you try it as soon as possible. You will be in hog heaven.

White Chicken Enchiladas

I was on Pinterest (yes, again - just can't help myself) a few nights back, and two different people that I "follow" posted recipes, almost simultaneously for white chicken enchiladas.  One was labeled as "seriously so good" enchiladas, and the other was labeled "the best chicken" enchiladas.  Was this a sign from the heavens that this was my next recipe to try?  I believe it was. Was there going to be a supreme enchilada battle of the ages over WHICH recipe I was going to attempt?  Yes. Yes there was. I checked both recipes out and they were pretty similar.  Both were pretty simple, although one seemed to have a bit more flavor added.  I decided to do a hybrid of the two recipes and see how it played out. (Full recipe and printable version available at bottom of this post)

Ingredients gathered: check.

First, summon all of your ingredients.  I liked this recipe because it had things I already had on hand for the most part: chicken, flour tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, chicken broth, etc.  
First I mixed the shredded chicken, 1 cup of the cheese, and 2 of the minced cloves of garlic in a medium bowl

Next, roll this chicken mixture up in a flour tortilla

and place in a 9x13 pan.  The original recipe said I would need 10 shells, but I ended up only using eight.  Perhaps I was over stuffing?  But I do like my enchiladas on the meaty side.

my "overstuffed" meaty enchiladas

Next, comes the creamy part, the sauce!  Start with melting the butter, add the flour and cook for 1 minute.

Next, add the 2 cups of chicken broth and simmer for a few minutes until sauce has thickened.  The last picture shows what it looks like after adding in the finely chopped peppers, the other 2 cloves of minced garlic, and the cup of sour cream.  

(Note: one recipe called for a 4 oz can of green chilies and the other called for a diced/seeded jalapeno of which I had neither.  I did have some left over Santa Fe chilies frozen from our garden last summer, so I used those) 

Add your seasonings here as well and don't under season, it will be very bland if you don't.  Also do not boil the sauce as you don't want the sour cream to curdle.  Simmering on medium is the key here


Next you want to pour this sauce over the pan of waiting chicken tortilla rolls

Lovely.  Then top with the remaining shredded cheese and toss in the 350º oven for 25-30 minutes.
 
When you open the oven door, this awaits you.  Can you smell it?  Yum.  We served it with chips, salsa, guacamole, olives, and it was quite tasty.
  

One other thing I noticed was the inside of the enchiladas was rather dry.  Maybe I like a sloppy enchilada.  Maybe I like to dip my chips in the savory drippings or something, but I think if I make this the next time, I will add something IN the chicken/cheese wrap part such as a can of cheddar cheese soup, some salsa, or some of the cooked sauced to give it more moisture.  I will keep you posted if I make this again and any improvements I come up with.

Click for a printable version of the recipe I used

White Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 cloves of garlic minced
10 soft taco shells
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 finely chopped jalapeno/or Santa Fe pepper seeded
1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
salt and pepper or seasoned salt to taste

Preparation:
1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray/grease a 9x13 pan
2.  In a medium bowl mix chicken, 1 cup of cheese, and 2 cloves of minced garlic
3.  Roll chicken mixture into tortillas and place into pan with seam side down
4.  In a sauce pan, melt butter on medium, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute
     Add broth and whisk until smooth simmer until it bubbles and becomes thick
5.  Reduce heat slightly and add sour cream, peppers, other 2 cloves of minced garlic
     onion powder, and salt and pepper or season salt to taste.  Do not let boil.
     Simmer on medium/low for a few minutes to combine flavors.
6.  Pour over rolled enchiladas in pan and top with remaining cheese
7.  Bake for 25-30 minutes and make sure the cheese is brown and bubbly.