Green Chile Chicken Soup

I invented this today. It's fast. It's easy. It was made up of things I had in my home at the time. It received accolades from my husband, 5-yr-old son, and 17-month-old daughter. I'd say it's a pretty great soup.
Actually, this was supposed to be a stew. I suppose you could still call it a stew, but I felt as though the broth was simply too thin and therefore it became a soup.
Make this soup soon. You'll like it! (We ate it with corn bread.)


1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 chicken breasts, cut into cubes (Please leave your chicken raw [Don't boil it beforehand] and let it cook in the soup. It is so much more flavorful that way!)
3 small potatoes (or 2 large potatoes), cut into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
4 c water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2- 4oz cans diced green chiles (I used both mild, for the sake of my children.)
14 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp and felt it was a wee bit too salty. Do yourself a favor, add 1/4 tsp, and add more if you feel the need.)
1/4 tsp pepper


Add everything in to a big pot and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and allow it to cook until potatoes are tender. I discovered that the longer it cooked, the more I loved it. When you're satisfied with its done-ness (Leave me alone and don't correct me!), remove the soup from heat and allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before you serve it.
Voila! Easy dinner with stuff you (hopefully) already have in your pantry!
**update: I've now made this several times and it is one of my kids' very favorite meals. yum!**

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce - the way I do it.

Ever made bland chicken enchiladas? Never again, my friend! The secret to this is all in the chicken. Never put plain boiled chicken in your enchiladas ever, ever, ever again! Also, the sauce is pretty dang delicious if I do say so myself.
So, here are your ingredients:
for the chicken:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed with the handle of a knife
2 T butter (I use the real stuff. That stuff in a tub makes me want to yack.)
1 t black pepper
1/4 c cilantro
3/4 t cumin
3/4 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 c chicken broth (reserved from boiling the chicken- you'll see!)
1 T + 1t tomato paste
for the sauce:
8 oz sour cream (i used reduced fat but wouldn't recommend fat free- yuk!)
1/3 c half and half
4 oz can green chiles (i used HOT, but in reality i thought they were medium heat, at best)
1/2 can cream of chicken soup (so cook something the next night with the remaining 1/2 can lol)
1/4 t corn starch (mix with a bit of half and half)
you'll also need 10 corn tortillas


Begin by placing the chicken breasts, sliced onions, and smashed garlic into a large pot with some water. Boil until chicken is done. I cheated and used my pressure cooker- so the chicken only took about 15 minutes. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, I promise you it would be a great investment! I LOVE mine!)

mmmmmm..... hot green chiles! and it even reminds me of a good friend of mine (if you're reading this, you know who you are and why it makes me think of you!)

So I forgot to take a picture before I blended these ingredients together... While the chicken is boiling, grab a small saucepan and toss in all your sauce ingredients. Heat 'em up and mix 'em together, and this is what you get. 100% pure deliciousness. Keep the sauce on low heat while you finish up the chicken.

Now I love enchiladas. Love 'em, love 'em, LOVE LOVE 'em. But, that stuffing and rolling business is for the birds! I stack up my 10 corn tortillas and cut them into fourths. I then layer and make this into more of a casserole. It may not look at pretty, but it tastes the same and it'll save you lots of time. Win, Win, hooray!

Once the chicken is done, carefully remove it from the pot and shred it up using two forks (if you're brave and perhaps a superhero, you can shred this piping hot chicken with your hands. I, however, am only a mortal. So I recommend two forks).

In a large saucepan or skillet, melt 2 T butter. To that, add the cilantro (I cheated and used dried but I would've preferred fresh- mine was all wilted and gloopy, so I chose not to use it), the pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and tomato paste. Mix it all together until it's well combined.

Add the chicken broth (y'know, the stuff the chicken boiled in) and stir it up well.


Add the shredded chicken to the spice mixture, stir it up well and let it cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Give it a chance to absorb all the delicious flaaaavor.

In an 8x8 or 9x9 Pyrex dish, spoon a layer of sauce on the bottom. Then place the pieces of tortilla on top of that- just enough to cover the sauce.

Next comes a layer of chicken, then another layer of sauce (are you getting the pattern here?). You should have enough stuff for another layer of tortillas, then another of chicken, then another of sauce, then another of tortillas, then a bit of sauce over the top. We, personally, choose to not put cheese on our chicken tortillas. But, if you want some, feel free to add a layer in there or just sprinkle some on top.

When the layering's through, place the "enchiladas" in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) and let it cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly. There ya go! You're all through. Eat 'em fast, because everyone else is going to want to eat 'em too!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

i have two kids, ages 1 and 5. they are both really picky eaters (aren't most kids, though?). today, i whipped up a super easy (so easy i can't believe i'm even posting it on here) lunch for them.

8 frozen chicken tenders
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup milk
3 slices of toast, made into crumbs in food processor (i've also used multi-grain club crackers when i was out of bread- i like it with the crackers even better, i think.)


put frozen chicken tenders, ranch dressing, and milk into a gallon ziplock bag. allow the chicken to thaw (shouldn't take long at room temperature- an hour or two) but DO NOT MICROWAVE to thaw them. while the chicken thaws, it will soak up the delicious flavor of the ranch.
once chicken is thawed, cut each tender in half into a nugget size.
place bread crumbs into a medium-sized ziplock bag (quart size? i think.) toss nuggets, one at a time, in bread crumbs. remove and place on a baking sheet. (i even lined my baking sheet with foil to make my life even easier).
bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. YUM.

Lazy Enchiladas / Mexican Stack

pardon my lack of blogging. i take pictures but never post them.
this recipe has become a regular around our house. we love enchiladas, but they're such a pain to make. we actually call this "mexican stack" around our house because my 5-yr-old son would probably not even taste something with the word "enchilada" in it.

1/2 lb cooked taco meat
8 oz shredded cheese (more or less, depending on your tastes)
enchilada sauce (i use Texas Red Enchilada Sauce) hint: i usually double the recipe for the sauce, freeze half of it, then add a teeny bit of water when i thaw it out and it's just as good as new. you'll only need the single batch for the enchilada stack, though.
10 corn tortillas, cut into thick strips
chopped onions (optional)
pickled jalapenos (optional)

in a 9x9 pyrex dish, place a layer of corn tortillas. layer beef, cheese, then about 1/4 of the enchilada sauce. if you're using onions, jalapenos, or any other additional veggies, put a small amount of those before the sauce.
continue layering until all ingredients are used, saving enough enchilada sauce to completely cover the top.

i chose to put all my jalapenos on top, right before i put the last layer of enchilada sauce on. *notice i left jalapenos off one section for my son :)

you can see the layers here. there is actually one layer you can't see. 4 layers of tortillas and 3 of filling.

it may not look that beautiful but it tastes just like restaurant-quality enchiladas. an easy dinner, for sure!

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pecans

if you don't love buttery, cinnamony, sweet deliciousness- then please, by all means - AVOID this recipe!
my parents live on an old pecan orchard (they have about 70 pecan trees!), so we always have pecans in our freezer. i use them a lot for baking, but sometimes i just have to make these roasted pecans. they make great gifts, too (they're kind of christmasey but i like them all year 'round!)
let the deliciousness begin!

i meant to have this picture turned horizontally but oh well. here we have
1 lb pecans (maybe a little over) on the plate
1 egg white (beaten)
1 T water
1 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
in the bowl

meanwhile, 1 stick of butter (i used unsalted) is melting in a 13x9 inch pan.

after stirring the pecans into the egg white/sugar mixture, the mix gets poured into the pan full 'o' butter.

after 90 minutes of cooking @ 250 degrees and stirring every 15 minutes (the stirring is a very important step that should NOT be skipped!), here are the delicious pecans- ready to eat!

now what could be much easier than that???

My Crock Pot Carne Guisada

i put this recipe together after none of the carne guisada recipes i tried were exactly what i wanted. it's really easy and delicious- and it lasts us two meals, which is even more of a bonus. click here for the complete recipe.

here are the ingredients. pretty simple. i forgot to take a pic of everything i had before i put it all in the crock pot, so i put this baby together. how clever am i?!
the recipe calls for 3 jalapenos, seeds removed. we like things pretty spicy around our house so i actually leave the seeds in one or two of the jalapenos.

we always have our carne guisada on fresh flour tortillas. i usually have mine with avocado or guacamole, but was out. and i usually don't put cheese on it (there is so much flavor in the meat that it seems more like additional calories that i would be just as happy without), but for some reason i did today.

i can't really rate this, since it's my own recipe (obviously it would get 5 out of possible 5 stars!). it really is dang tasty, though- i promise! you should try it :)

Betty Crocker Hot Fudge Cake Dessert Kit

This isn't technically a recipe, but i'm posting about it anyway... as i was walking through the store a week or so ago, this caught my eye: how could this NOT be delicious? it was really easy to make (only required 1 cup of water. i'm not kidding!) and the picture made me want to eat the box, right there in the aisle.

then, it came out of the oven. doesn't it look good?
WE HAVE BEEN DECEIVED! this delicious-looking trick was quite the bummer for my tastebuds.
Has anyone had the Betty Crocker Warm Delights? ...the little bowl things that you stick in the microwave? this cake is like a huge version of that. the texture is not a normal cake consistency and the flavor falls way short of the way i would've expected it to taste. this being said, i'm not even a huge cake snob. i enjoy a box cake mix (although i do add my own twist to them, usually) but this hot fudge cake was not worth my money or calories.

please, save your money and use your calories for something more delicious.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Pie

i have been wanting to try this recipe ever since i found it on recipezaar a couple of weeks ago.
so here, it is:

oh, pie. i cannot wait to put your ingredients together and eat you!
one difference in the recipe and the pie i made: i used milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet because it's what i had.

fresh whipped cream! cool whip lovers, be aware- i despise the stuff!

putting the pie together was not at all difficult. it's made in layers, so there is a lot of time put into making one layer, letting it chill in the fridge, making another layer, etc. after baking the first three layers, the pie had to chill for, according to the recipe, a minimum of 8 hours. waiting that long was hard! i went ahead and added the extra chocolate, the whipped cream, and cherries to the top about 5 hours into the 8 hour refrigeration time so i wouldn't have to wait on that after the 8 hours was up. there was an optional step of covering maraschino cherries with chocolate for the top of the pie. i chose to do that and it looked beautiful!

it was a long 8 hours but i managed to make it! i was trying to get a picture of all the layers but all you can see is cherry smeared on the inside, but it still looks delicious!

it was pretty dang delicious! i gave it 4 out of 5 stars. the main reason it didn't get 5 stars was because of the time it took to make and chill. i'm more of an instant gratification type of girl when it comes to cooking and baking. it's also not the best pie i've ever had, but i don't think that's the fault of the recipe itself. i think my tastebuds just prefer other pies more. i haven't decided if i'll make it again but...

i sure didn't have any trouble eating it!

oh i love to cook.

i love to cook and bake. i make up recipes and find them online too. i always catch myself taking pictures of what i've made, so i've decided to document the recipes i'm creating, discovering, liking, loving, hating, and making over and over and over (or possibly never making again). i've got a few entries prepared already, but it doesn't look like i will get around to posting one today. my first entry will be about a chocolate covered cherry pie that i've been dying to try... don't worry, i'll include the recipe.
it will probably be up tomorrow or thursday (depending on when i have time to actually make the pie!), so come back and see how it turns out!