White Chicken Chili

I’ve come across several varieties of White Chicken Chili lately. So, this is a hybrid utilizing what we already had in our pantry and a few extras that just sounded good to throw in! Couldn’t get any easier! With the cooler temps, we were ready for a chili night & this makes for an awesome Fall meal. Even the girls ate it up, which is a big deal in our house!

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small yellow onion diced

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1 – 7 oz. can of diced green chiles

2 teaspoons of cumin

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

1 – 14 oz. can of chicken broth

3 cups shredded chicken breast (we grilled ours first)

2 cans white northern beans

1 can white shoepeg corn

1 can white corn with chipotle

salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil and saute onions until clear. Stir in the rest of the ingredients in the order as listed above. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover for about an hour. Top with shredded monterey jack cheese & serve.

Ame’s Caramel Yummies

Got this recipe from my friend Ame and it is delish! Baking some tonight to take on our road trip…always get a sweet tooth while traveling!

Ame’s Caramel Yummies

~Bars
3/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)

~Topping
3/4 c. caramel ice cream topping
3 T. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350. For bars, combine butter and sugar in large bowl; mix well. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt; mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove half of the oat mixture; set aside. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of greased 9 inch square pan. Bake 10 min; sprinkle with choco chips and nuts. For topping combine caramel topping and flour in a small bowl; drizzle over chips & pecans. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake 15 min. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy:)

Cheap lunch option.

Ryan & I usually go home every day for lunch. Both of our offices are located close to our house, which makes it very convenient to just run home to eat lunch…not to mention the money it saves! This is one of the ways we are trying hard to be frugal as we work to pay off our debt!

Recently, we were out of our normal lunch options & hadn’t been grocery shopping yet – no sandwich stuff, no leftovers, nothing. So I rummaged through our pantry and our fridge to see if I could be creative and come up with something. This little recipe is what I came up with! These ingredients are pretty standard for us – we usually always have them. Its super easy, but its actually surprisingly very tasty! So, if you’re in a pinch and need quick, easy, & cheap lunch – give this recipe a try. It can also obviously be modified with whatever ingredients you have on hand that particular day.

Mexican Style Mini Pizzas

• tortillas
• 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (LOVE these)
• torn fresh cilantro
• chopped onions
• mexican blend shredded cheese
• salt & pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Lay tortillas on a cookie sheet and top with desired amount of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, cheese, and salt & pepper. Drizzle olive oil around the top outer edges of the tortilla. Bake for about 10 minutes or until tortilla is golden brown and crispy. Enjoy!

Mango Salsa

Oh my goodness, I could seriously eat it all of this recipe in one sitting. Chips & salsa is one of my all time favorite snacks! I am also a huge fan of sweet & savory type foods. I think this is why I love Asian food so much. Sweet & salty. Pineapple on pizza, brown sugar on ribs, strawberries in salads, peanuts with candy corn, mangos in salsa…that’s the way I roll. Here is the recipe to Ryan’s Mango Salsa….its amazing – try it!

Mango Salsa

1-2 mangos- cut around the core and diced like an avocado

1 kiwi- skinned and diced

1/2 red bell pepper- diced

1/2 red onion- diced

1/3 bunch cilantro- chopped

1 serrano pepper- minced

2 tsp lime juice

kosher salt and pepper

Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding

Thanks Paula Deen for another great recipe! We made this tonight for some friends coming over for dessert & we really enjoyed it. Super easy, no baking, quick to make, and a great summer treat! The only thing I did differently is that I used Nilla Wafers instead of Chessman cookies. If you like banana pudding, you’ll love this – guaranteed! I mean, anything with cream cheese & whipped cream can’t taste bad right?

Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies (I used 1 box of Nilla Wafers – quite a bit cheaper!)
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 cups milk
• 1 box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Homemade Granola

I love granola, especially on top of my greek yogurt. It’s really good for breakfast or a snack. I thought I would try making it myself and it actually turned out rather tasty!  Super easy & most of the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Easy Homemade Granola

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds & sunflower seeds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 more minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing

Do you like chocolate & peanut butter? You should definitely give this cupcake recipe a try…its fabulous!

Ryan saw Ina Garten makes these on Food Network the other day & has been wanting to try them out ever since. So, we took a stroll, on this gorgeous afternoon, to the grocery store for the necessary ingredients & whipped up these yummy cupakes! My favorite part is the icing. Gooey, sweet peanut buttery goodness.

You can find the recipe here.

Pizzagna

Need a new twist on lasagna, pizza, or spaghetti?  Try this! It’s a Rachael Ray recipe that I found on Food Network’s site. Super easy, doesn’t take long, and delish!

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta curls (recommended: campagnelle by Barilla; short fusilli or cavatappi twists may be substituted)
• Salt
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple of handfuls
• Handful parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 green or red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 onion, quartered then thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 12 crimini mushrooms (baby portabellos), thinly sliced
• Black pepper
• 1 (28-ounces) can crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Loaf of crusty bread

Directions

Preheat broiler.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add pasta and salt the water.

While the water boils combine ricotta, Parmigiano, parsley and pepperoni in a large bowl and reserve.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Saute 6 to 8 minutes until tender and mushrooms are dark. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat to low.

Add a ladle of starchy cooking water to the ricotta just before you drain the pasta. Drain pasta then toss with ricotta and pepperoni mixture. Pour pasta into a baking dish and top evenly with peppers, onion and mushroom sauce. Top with a layer of mozzarella, oregano and red pepper flakes. Place under hot broiler and melt cheese until golden and bubbly. Remove and serve with crusty bread.

Christy’s Chicken & Rice

Chicken & Rice

3 cups MInute Rice, white/brown or mixed

Add: 1 can condensed cream mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can chicken broth + 1/2 can of water or broth, dash of pepper.

Stir rice and soups and pour into casserole glass pan. I usually use a 13×9 inch pan.

Lay chicken strips on top of rice (6-8).

Brush with melted butter.

Sprinkle with dry package of dry onion soup.

Cover with foil and cook for an hour at 350.

Uncover and cook 30 minutes longer or until done.

Melissa’s Borracho Chicken

Borracho Chicken

2 cans pinto beans

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry

salt & pepper

2 cans (10 ounces each) Mexican diced tomatoes, Ro-Tel

1/4 cup gold tequila

1 tablespoon salt-free fajita seasoning

1. Place pinto beans in bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker.

2. Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Place in slow cooker on top of pinto beans.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together diced tomatoes, tequila, and fajita seasoning. Pour over chicken.

4. Cover & cook on LOW setting for 3 to 4 hours.

(Goes great with Spanish rice)