Southwest White Chicken Chili

I made this for dinner this evening. The recipe came out of my People magazine on an advertisement for Campbell's soup. I enjoyed it. It wasn't real spicy at all, and for me that is a good thing. You could easily add more spice if you like yours hot, but my gastrointestinal system can't take that kind of heat, so it was just right for us. However, I did add about an extra tsp. of chili powder, plus I minced three garlic cloves into it and added some black pepper. I didn't have a green pepper, although I'm sure it would have been just as wonderful with it. And since I didn't have the pepper I added an extra can of beans, but it was red kidney beans to add more color to the dish. I cooked my chicken in the microwave rather than in the pot with oil, one because it was easier that why while I cut up the onion, rinsed the beans and minced the garlic and two because it just makes it a little more healthy.

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
4 tsp. chili powder (I used 5 tsp.)
2 tsp. ground cumin (I didn't have any so I used three garlic cloves, mined and some black pepper)
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. frozen whole kernel corn (I used canned corn)
2 cans (15 oz. each) white kidney beans (also known as cannellini), rinsed & drained
2 tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans (my addition)

1. Heat oil in 4 qt.saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, onion and pepper and cook until chicken is cooked through and vegetable are tender, stirring often.
2. Stir soup, water, corn and beans into saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese.

6 servings.

NOTE: Since I cooked my chicken in the microwave, after I had it all cubed and the vegetables chopped and minced, I put everything in a big saucepan, mixed it up and cooked in over medium-high for about 20 minutes. Then, I turned the heat down to medium and allowed it to cook an additional 10-15 minutes while I shredded the cheese. I turned off the burner and removed the saucepan and ladled into bowls and topped each one with about 2 tbsp. of cheese each. We like cheese. :o)

Something New For 2011

I think I'm going to try something new and a little different this year with my recipes. Each month, I'm going to focus on one cookbook for the recipes for our meals and desserts. Plus, I will include any recipes out of the monthly magazines that I receive in the mail and have an inkling to try.

This month, I will be focusing on some recipes from the Ortega Simple Mexican Meals cookbook. I have also picked out a couple recipes I want to try that I pulled from a couple People magazines.

Not all our meals will come from these sources each month, but a handful of them will. I will make them and test them out and then post the recipe on here with our thoughts on it and where it came from and a picture if I happen to remember to take one.

I hope that this will bring some fun and a better variety to everyone. Enjoy! And...

Happy New Year!!

Spanish Pasta Salad-My Version

I found a recipe for a Spanish pasta salad in one of my cookbooks awhile back. I wanted to make a pasta salad that had some different flavors, but I had to alter it to suit my picky palate and what was in my cupboards. This is what I came up with.

12 oz. Tri-color rotini pasta, cooked & drained
15 oz. Chili beans with juice
15 oz. corn, drained
15 oz. stewed tomatoes, chopped
1/2 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 c. mozzarella, shredded
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. In a medium bowl, mix beans, corn, tomatoes, taco seasoning, garlic powder and pepper together.
2. In a large bowl, combine bean mixture with cooked pasta. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

4-6 servings

Mexican Spice Turkey Meatballs

I love to make my own meatballs and I enjoy playing around with the flavor and texture. I've had a few flops when they turn out too dry or being too spicy but I think I finally got one I like and they are healthier because they are made with ground turkey instead of ground beef.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together well.
2. Form into 1" meatballs.
3. Cook in a non-stick skillet or skillet sprayed with cooking spray, 6-8 at a time, turning once, about 15 minutes on medium-high. If they aren't completely done cooking, you can leave them in the skillet for an additional 5 minutes on low, covered. Or just brown the outsides and finish cooking in a pan sprayed with cooking spray at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake

Everyone who follows this blog and knows me well enough knows how much I love cinnamon-the taste, the smell, the color, etc. I made one of these from a boxed mix last week and I've really been wanting more but I really didn't want to make it from a box, but I also didn't really want to take the time and pull everything out to make one from scratch, wither. I was in a pickle!

After thinking a bit and knowing what I had in my cupboards, I pulled out a Betty Crocker vanilla cake mix I had, the cinnamon, flour, butter and brown sugar. I made the cake batter as directed on the box:

BATTER:
Cake mix
1 1/4 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
STREUSEL:
1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter or margarine, cold, cubed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray.
2. Prepare batter, and pour half into the prepared pan. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives. Top first layer of batter with half of streusel.
4. Pour remaining batter over top layer of batter and streusel, moving the bowl of batter back and forth to get maximum coverage. Top with 1/2 of remaining streusel and use a knife to swirl batter and streusel, about 10-12 times. Top with last of streusel.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

NOTE:

I used a 8x8 baking pan and while it turned out great, the cake was really tall-almost like I was eating a huge piece of birthday or wedding cake. A 13x9 bake pan would work much better. The cake was moist and the cinnamon streusel was perfect!

Stuffed Flank Steak-Revised

Last year I tried this recipe for the first time and I really enjoyed it, except that the red bell pepper seemed to overpower everything, so I made it again with less red bell pepper and I enjoyed it even more. But, it still didn't seem quite right to us, we both thought that the gravy should be thicker, so I made it once again last night for dinner and made the gravy a little different.

Here's the original recipe:
2 c. dry stuffing mix (1 box Stove Top)
1 c. boiling water
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/2 lb. flank steak, pounded thin for easy rolling
2 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I only used 1/3 of the pepper)
1 (10.5 oz.) can mushroom gravy (I used a packet of dry mushroom gravy mix and made it according to the instructions for making and added the recipe ingredients)
1/4 c. red wine or apple juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine stuffing, water and butter. Mix well and let stand 5 minutes. Spoon stuffing onto steak, leaving a 1-inch border. Add green onion and red bell pepper (I actually mixed them into the stuffing to get a more even mix).
3. Roll from long edge of steak and secure with wooden toothpicks. Place steaks seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish.
4. In a separate bowl, combine gravy, wine or apple juice, garlic and cheese. Mix well and pour over the steak.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, remove from oven and let stand before slicing.

I basically made it the same but to make the gravy this time I used one can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and mixed in half a can of 1% milk, and mixed in the garlic and Parmesan cheese as usual. I still stuffed the steak as it says and rolled it up and fastened them together with toothpicks. I baked it the same but used the revised gravy, I made. We really enjoyed it this time and I think it is now perfect!

Pineapple Brown Sugar Ham

My Uncle Stu always makes this fantastic ham with pineapple and brown sugar. I have not been able to replicate it in the 10 years I've attempted to make it, but I have come up with my own recipe that, I think has turned out pretty darn good.

This is the ham all cooked and some of the pineapple rings. The darker spots on the top and bottoms are where the ham sat and cooked in the juices/marinade.

1 4-6 lb. ham
1-20 oz. can pineapple rings with juice
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Using a sharp knife cut the top of the ham diagonally across going one direction and then slice diagonally the opposite direction. Repeat this on the bottom of the ham. Pierce each of the sides of the ham with the knife to allow juices to release as well as absorb some of the marinade.
2. Take pineapple rings out of can, reserving juice. Attach pineapple rings to top, bottom and sides with toothpicks.


3. Place ham in crock pot set to low setting.
4. In a medium bowl, add pineapple juice, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger and cayenne pepper. Mix well together with a whisk. Pour over ham and cook on low setting for 10 hour total.
5. Throughout 10 hours of cooking-allow to cook for 3 hours and bast for the first time. Baste a second and third time each hour for the next two hours and then flip ham upside down. For the remainder of the cooking time, baste every hour for the last five hours until 10 hours up and done.
6. Remove from crock pot and allow to rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.

NOTE: The juice is thin but a little drizzled on top enhances the flavors. With the peppers and ginger there is a bit of a spicy kick mixed into the sweetness, but it's not going to set your mouth on fire by any means.

Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

A family tradition when we are all together is to make homemade egg noodles and put them in chicken soup. We also tend to make them with leftover turkey meat from the holidays. I made two batches this time around, because I wanted to be able to give our neighbors a pot of their own. Leanne wanted me to make it healthier and I it really isn't that unhealthy-chicken/turkey meat, chicken broth and noodles. The only thing I could think of to make it healthier was to make whole wheat egg noodles, so that is exactly what I did. I had both whole wheat and regular flour, I think the whole wheat alone would be too heavy. Here's the recipe for my whole wheat egg noodles. The noodles are brown, so don't be alarmed.

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. butter, soft
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. Mix all ingredient together until mixed and ball forms.
2. Take dough out of mixing bowl and knead on floured surface for about 3 minutes. Set aside and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Split dough in half and roll out on floured surface to about 1/8-inch thickness. Roll up jelly roll style and slice into 1/4-inch. Unroll pasta and lay flat to dry for about an hour. Slice each long pasta strand into 2-inch pieces and allow to dry an additional 2 hours.
4. Add to meat and broth combo cooking at a rolling boil, a handful at a time. Stir after each addition to be sure noodles don't stick together. Once all are noodles are in soup, cook an additional 30 minutes or until done.