Cilantro-Lime Soup

One of my favorite soups. Good as leftovers too.

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs chili powder
1-2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in small chunks
5 cups chicken broth
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch cilantro, tied together with string

1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 fresh lime juice

cooked rice
sour cream and/or grated cheese

avocado (if you have one lying around...if not, the soup still tastes great without it!)

Heat oil in pot over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook till clear. Add chili powder; stir one minute. Add chicken; cook about 2 min. Add broth, corn, tomatoes, beans, and tied cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove cilantro bunch and stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice. Serve over rice with sour cream, cheese, and avocado . (It's a watery type of soup, hence serving it over the rice to let it soak up the liquid a bit.)

(Sometimes if I want a lot of "stuff" and less liquid I add 2 cans of corn, tomatoes, and beans.)

Easy Truffles

8 oz Cream Cheese
3 C. Powdered Sugar
3 C. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla (or any combination of extracts that you want. I added some almond and I've heard it's also very yummy with raspberry)
Colored chocolate for decorating (optional)

Melt chocolate in a small sauce pan over low heat.
Cream together your cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add chocolate and extracts and continue to beat until there are no more white streaks. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Roll into balls (or press very firmly into molds), decorate or roll in nuts, cocoa powder, toasted coconut, etc, place on wax paper and return to fridge until they harden. Enjoy!

Chili mac 'n' cheddar soup

My kids LOVED this one.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large onion diced
3/4 lb ground beef
1Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 teas. fresh garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 Cups milk
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cheddar-cheese soup
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow pasta
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Garnish: with diced tomato, tortilla chips & minced jalapeno Chile

Directions

Heat oil in 5 quart pot over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, saute 4 minutes until translucent. Crumble beef into pot and cook stirring until no longer pink. Stir in chili powder and cumin.

Add milk and broth, then stir in condensed soup until dissolved; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for three minutes. Stir in the pasta and continue to cook for 5 minutes covered. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes
or until pasta is fully cooked.

Garnish and serve.

Fruit Roll Sushi

I'm not a big sushi fan, but I think even my kids would eat these!

1 tablespoon butter
12 marshmallows
2 cups crispy toasted rice cereal
4 (4-1/2-inch) square fruit roll-ups (1/2 ounce each)
6 assorted licorice or fruit twist sticks, cut in half crosswise

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1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal until completely coated.


2. On a flat surface, unroll the fruit roll-ups. Spread equal amounts of the cereal mixture over each roll-up, covering the entire surface and packing the mixture flat.


3. Place 3 different-colored licorice or fruit twists in the center of each and roll tightly into a log, sealing where the edges meet. Squeeze the rolls gently to secure. Trim the ends and slice with a serrated knife into 1/2-inch pieces. Serve, or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Crockpot Beans

I can't take credit for this recipe, it's Rachael's (my cousin), but I can tell you its fabulous!
That's why I asked her for it. She has several variations on how to use the cooked beans. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beans

1 lb bag (or 2 cups) of dried beans (pinto, black, or red beans)
2 cloves of whole garlic
about 8 cups water
1 heaping teaspoon salt

Cook the beans in a crock pot on LOW overnight with the water and garlic. In the morning I add the salt and turn the crock pot up to HIGH, which gets them done just right. By noon they are tender and tasty. The finished beans can sit in the crock pot until you're ready to cook dinner, as long as you reheat them before eating. When serving, discard the garlic cloves, and you can serve them soup style with some cheese and chips. Or try one of the alternative variations below.

Refried Beans
Cook 2 Tbsp bacon (cut in small pieces) in a large frying pan over medium heat until crispy (do not drain). Using a ladle, gradually add crock pot beans with about half the liquid. Lower heat to med-lo, and smash in the pan with a potato masher. Depending on the consistency you like, you may have to add more liquid, or add some flour if it is too runny. It does thicken a bit as it cools though, or if you let it simmer. I also add some onion powder and salt to taste.

Ham & Beans
Cook beans in the crock pot with garlic as above. In the morning add a meaty ham bone from a cooked ham, one onion chopped, and 1/4 tsp ground thyme. You will probably want to half the salt, or skip it altogether if you add juices from the ham, depending on how salty your ham is. Turn the crock pot up to HIGH after adding the ham. Check it about noon, it's done when the beans are tender and meat falls off the bone. Take out the ham bone and shred the meat and return to the pot.

Chili
Use the crock pot beans above to add to your favorite chili recipe. You can finish the chili in your crock pot, or you can add the beans to a pot on the stove with the rest of the ingredients.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

When I made this a couple of weeks ago I used whole wheat flour for the dough.
It was yummo!!!

Pizza Dough:

1 Cup warm water

2 Teaspoons Yeast

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Tbsp Oil

2-3 Cups Flour

Put water in bowl, mix in yeast and let stand for 5 minutes. Add all ingredients except flour and mix. Add the flour a half cup at a time until it's not sticky. Spread on a stone or greased baking sheet.

The Pizza:

1 Roasted Chicken
1/2 lb bacon cooked & crumbled
1 med onion finely diced

1 bottle BBQ sauce.
2 cups shredded cheese

Pull chicken meat off the bones and shred. Fry bacon until almost crispy then add onion to saute until bacon is done. Mix with shredded chicken. Pour half bottle of BBQ sauce over meat and mix well. Poor remaining BBQ sauce on the spread dough for the sauce. Add 1 cup cheese on top of sauce. Put meat mixture on top. Top with cheese and bake at 325 for 17 minutes.