Turkey Wild Rice Soup

 

1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 C butter
1/2 C all purpose flour
4 C chicken or turkey broth
2 C light cream
2 1/2 C precooked long grain wild rice
2 C cooked turkey or chicken, diced
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

In a large kettle or dutch oven, sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in butter until the onion is transparent.  Reduce the heat.  Blend in flour and cook until bubbly.  Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly.  Bring to boil and continue to boil for one minute.  Reduce heat and add cream, wild rice, turkey, parsley, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Yields 8 servings.

Notes: I used normal white rice, but wild would be nummy.  I just used leftover dark meat turkey from Thanksgiving.  I also used half and half because I had some left over.  Normal milk, or whole would be good too.  This is a thick soup.  If you're serving it with breadsticks or rolls I would thin with more milk for dipping the bread. 

Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 C butter
2 1/2 C leeks, chopped
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and chopped
5 C chicken broth
1/2 C canned milk (or normal milk)
pinch salt
pinch pepper
toasted pine nuts (optional)

In large stock pot, melt butter and add leeks.  Cook until soft, but not brown.  Add squash and enough chicken stock to just cover the squash.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until squash is tender.  Puree softened squash and leeks in a blender until very smooth.  Add remaining chicken stock, milk, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with sprinkle of pine nuts.  Yields 8

Notes:  Surprisingly delicious, just a hint of squashy taste.  (but I love butternut squash) Thin soup but very filling.  I would even recommend using it as a base to other vegetable soups.  You could add broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, bacon, sour cream, shredded chicken, etc.  Would be  a good alternative base for other "white sauce" soups.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

~CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS~

Ingredients:

5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light sour cream
10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (canned corn works just fine, but drain it first)
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.

2.In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/2 of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.

3.In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.

4.Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

5.Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve. Enjoy!  

*We garnished with tomatoes, spinach and a dollop of sour cream!  So yummy! I have had this recipe saved in my "drafts" in my email for months.  I can not remember for the life of me where it came from!  It is sure yummy though, whoever came up with the recipe! :)

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients:

10 gloves of garlic, minced (if you use jarred, it's a 5 t equivalent)

64 oz (8 cups) of chicken stock or broth

1 T seasoned salt

5 pounds russet potatoes, washed NOT peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium yellow onions, diced

2 cups carrots, diced

16 oz low fat or non fat cream cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except for cream cheese) in crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.

Take out half of soup and place in blender with most of liquid and blend with cream cheese. Pour blended soup back in with rest of soup in crock pot and stir to re-incorporate. (This will give you a creamy base with some chunky vegetables still intact). 

Can garnish with shredded cheese, green onion, crumbled bacon, if desired. 

I serve with crusty bread, usually rosemary focaccia. 

Notes:

Very simple and perfect for fall. This has become my go-to recipe to bring to new moms with newborns. It's a familiar tasting comfort food that agrees with most palates. This make A LOT of soup (it fills my crock pot up to the very top) so I take half to the new mom's family and save half for our family. You could easily half this if just eating for your own family (at least at my family's stage now, who knows in the future!). It is certainly a comfort food with the cream cheese ingredient, but so worth it! My kids all love it, including EmmaMae.

Campfire Cones

Waffle Cones
Chocolate Chips
Marshmallows
Sunflower seeds
Coconut
Jam
Peanut Butter
Caramel Topping
Butterscotch Chips
etc,
Aluminum Foil
Marshmallow roasters

Fill it, wrap it, roast it, and snarf it up!

Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwhiches with all the Toppings

2 large chicken breasts
Stubbs BBQ sauce (original)
Pepper Jack Cheese
Avocados
Tomatoes
Mini Peppers (come in a bag of all colors)
Mayo
Tort  Crusty Rolls from Costco

Smother chicken in BBQ sauce and place on grill, re-smothering as needed while cooking.  Remove Pepper centers and roast on the grill.  When chicken and peppers are finished, place on roll with all other toppings.  Serve with salad, fruit, chips, or sweet potato fries!  (Clayton loved, loved, loved these.  A fun spin from the sometimes sloppy shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches)

Heather's Brownie Cake

Ingredients

Brownie Cake

• Box of Brownies
• Box of chocolate pudding (powdered)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 20ish Hershey's Kisses or chocolate chips (milk choclolate if you want it like kisses)
• 1/2 brick of Nestle's Abuelita's Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink Tablet

Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/8th to 1/4th cup of butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons cocao
• 1/3 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the brownies, pudding, eggs, oil, oil, water, and sour cream together.  Cut up kisses (or dump in as many chocolate chips as you want) and 1/2 tablet of Mexican chocolate, and add to the mixture.  Put mixture in greased 9x13 pan, and cook for 45 to 50 minutes.  (Until toothpick comes out clean).  While backing, mix all the frosting ingredients.  Pour frosting on top of the cake.  Will take about an hour or two for the frosting to harden.