Chicken Tortilla Soup

I had some left over chicken from a cookout on Mother's Day this past Sunday. Since, it's been kinda rainy and cold the last few days I decided why not make some Chicken Tortilla Soup! It ended up tasting wonderful! :) Here's what I had around and used to make it:

(Serves 4)

2 green onions (chopped)

1-2 regular carrots or 8-10 baby carrots (chopped)

½ onion (chopped)

1 cup chicken (shredded)

1 clove garlic or ¼ tspn garlic salt (minced)

¼ packet taco seasoning

2 cups or 1 can chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes (I used hunts fire roasted diced tomatoes)

¼ cup milk

¼ cup cheese

1 handful tortilla chips (broken)

1 avocado (optional)

Steps:

1. Sauté onions, garlic, and carrots in sauce pan with a little chicken broth.

2. Add Chicken broth and boil for 10 minutes.

3. Add chicken and diced tomatoes.

4. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add Taco seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes

6. Add broken tortilla chips, milk, and diced avocado. Simmer for 5 minutes or until carrots are soft.

7. Melt some cheese into soup and then ladle into bowl. Sprinkle some additional cheese and broken tortilla chips if desired :)

Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

Ok so it’s been forever since I have actually cooked a meal! It’s been a ridiculous two weeks and Justin has been on several longer trips, so he’s not home for dinners. So I’ve been going to the in-laws for wonderful meals or munching on a sandwich for dinner. Justin was home tonight though, so yum yum dinner it was!! Tonight’s menu: Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Chicken with Asparagus!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

¾ cup ricotta cheese

2 slices deli ham

¼ Tspn Olive Oil

1 bunch Asparagus

Salt & Pepper

1 cookie sheet

Here’s what to do!

1. I always start with cutting any excess fat off the chicken breast, and prehear oven to 375°F. Then you need to use a sharp knife and “butterfly” the chicken- sounds complicated but it’s not! Cut it through the middle (not all the way) and it will open it like a book. See this video if you need extra explanation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqjfQP3Mp2k)

2. In a separate bowl mix the thawed spinach with the ricotta cheese.

3. Keep chicken open like a book and layer some of the cheese spinach mixture onto the bottom side. Then fold the chicken closed again. Don’t over stuff to where the chicken doesn’t stay closed on it’s own. It’s okay for the top “flap” to be raised a bit of course but it should still stay closed.

4. Finish off the chicken with a sliced of ham top and glaze with some olive oil to prevent burning.

5. Bake on cookie sheet (covered in foil) in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the chicken breast reaches 180°F. Be sure to check it periodically as it does depend on the thickness of your chicken breast.

6. Prep your asparagus by breaking off the harder ends. Simply hold up a piece and see where it naturally breaks- and there you go!

7. When there are about 10 minutes left on the chicken sauté the asparagus on the stove top with some butter or olive oil, or you can steam them. Season with salt and pepper or some garlic salt, if desired.

8. You may also choose to add a starch to the meal and I would recommend some potato wedges. I didn’t make any because our chicken breasts were pretty thick and I thought it would be too much food for us tonight.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! It’s an adaptation from something I saw on Rachel Ray’s “30 Minute Meals” almost a year ago. She made it with some more expensive ingredients and a few other additions. I wanted to find the recipe online and link it for you, but I couldn’t find it anymore. So if anyone saw it too and knows where to find it, please comment with the link! Thanks! ENJOY!

Vegetable Soup with Couscous

I know it's not weather appropriate. However, I had leftover couscous from the fish dinner on Wednesday, so I tried to use it. The couscous is nice switch up to using noodles, and maybe even better for you, not sure about that one though! Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

1. Couscous (I used all that I had leftover)

2. Chicken or vegetable broth

3. Vegetables (I cut up some baby carrots and threw in some extra broccoli and cauliflower)

4. Salt& Pepper

Steps:

1. Heat desired amount of broth to sauce pan.

2. Add vegetables and allow to boil, especially if you are using fresh vegetables. I used carrots, so those take a while to get cooked.

3. Add couscous and salt & pepper to taste. If you have an other soup spices or like to add a bouillon cube that always adds a little more taste.

4. Let simmer for 5 minutes to re-warm the couscous.

That's all! A super simple recipe again! :) Enjoy!

Baguette, Cheese & Wine

Ahh! La France, tu me manques! This reminds me of Nice, France so much! Justin's not home tonight, and I bought half a baguette at Kroger during my last grocery trip, so I figured why not! I added some cheese and wine for the perfect touch. So, simple dinner it is tonight.

And I threw a quick side salad in there to attempt to make it more nutritionally balance! :)

This is sooooo yummy, eeassssy, and definitely worth a dinner meal!

Tilapia Vegetable Pouches with Couscous

Ingredients:

2 fillets tilapia (or other fish)

1 carrot (4-5 baby carrots)- quartered

1 hand full of mushrooms

1 handful Broccoli

½ onion sliced

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1 Box of couscous or rice

2- 1’ by 1’ pieces of parchment paper

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°

2. Slice vegetables and onion.

3. Lay out parchment paper and start lay

ering with onions and carrots first. (You can layer both “pouches” at one time)

4. Then place tilapia on top of onions and carrots and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Add broccoli and mushrooms on top and around the s

ides- ensuring that the vegetables remain on top or closely around the fish.

6. Finally drizzle ½ tbsn olive oil over the fish and vegetable combination.

7. Pull the left and right sides of the parchment paper together, like forming a tent, and roll closed.

8. Then take the top and bottom and roll towards the center, closing the “packet”. (see picture but please leave a comment if the folding sounds too confusing)

9. Place on cookie sheet in preheated oven and bake for 20-30 minutes.

10. In the last 10-15 minutes, cook the couscous (or rice) Simply follow the directions on the box. Boil water, add couscous, remove from heat, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. That’s all!

This will result in steamed vegetables and yummy fish, an extremely healthy, yet filling dish! It’s super easy- takes about 15 minutes of prep time and looks like a difficult meal. The hardest part is making the pouch or package, but if you practice once it’s not too difficult. After all, it’s just paper, so you can re-roll it until it is sealed properly.

Here’s a link on how to fold the parchment paper too. It seems a little more difficult than the way I described, but if you feel my directions are too vague, try this: http://macrobiotic.about.com/od/seafoodentrees/ss/SteamFish.htm

Tofu Stir-Fry

This is from Wednesday! I didn't have time to post it, so here it is:

I know this sounds unappetizing for most of us, myself included-at first. I am not a vegetarian, far from it. My future sister-in-law loves it however, and she cooked me this wonderful mushroom tofu stir-fry when I stayed with them. I never actually thought I would attempt to make it, but then I ran across tofu at Kroger and was amazed at the price! Haha :) I’m a bargain shopper, and I had no idea that tofu was so inexpensive! Justin was out of town (he would never try tofu!), so I thought I’d try it out. Here’s a super easy recipe I came up with, inspired by my future sister-in-law:

Ingredients:

3 oz. Tofu (about ¼ of a block)

1- 6oz package of bean sprouts or 1 can

1 tps Olive oil

Fresh or Frozen Vegetables (I used broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms)

Water or Vegetable broth

Salt & Pepper

Steps:

1. Pour olive oil in sauté pan and set on medium high

2. Cut Tofu into smaller rectangles and begin to brown in pan

3. Add bean sprouts and vegetables

4. Stir frequently ensuring that the Tofu doesn’t burn, but rather browns nicely

5. Cover with lid, if possible, add a little vegetable broth (about 3-4 tpsn) and let vegetables soften

6. Add salt & pepper to taste!

That’s all! The bean sprouts take place of the noodles or rice, making this a simply, extremely healthy recipe! And it's surprisingly filling. Of course you have to like bean sprouts, and be willing to be adventurous with tofu if you’ve never had it before. Let me know what you think!

Turkey Quesadilla with Side Salad

I came home starving from class tonight and almost made some canned ravioli for an easy meal. (Afterall, Justin wasn’t home, so no one to enjoy dinner with.)But they are sodium filled and basically empty calories, and since I’m trying to be better about food choices I regretted to fall victim to an easy solution. So, I blankly stared into our fridge hoping for some kind of inspiration. All I saw was deli meat and some lettuce, and thought I didn’t want to eat the identical sandwich I had for lunch. Then I saw the lonely tortillas in the back, and my idea! I didn’t have any sliced chicken breast, but lunch meat is no different, right?!

Ingredients:

1 flour tortilla

2-3 slices deli meat (I just Sara Lee Turkey)

¼ cup shredded cheese

1 green onion, chopped (optional)

That’s all I had but you can add anything else you like- such as- spinach, bacon bits

Steps:

1. Set sauté pan on medium and spray with some nonstick spray

2. Lay flour tortilla in pan

3. Scatter pieces of deli meat and green onions (or other ingredients) on one half of the tortilla

4. Add shredded cheese on the same half as the deli meat

5. Fold the empty side of the tortilla on top of the “topping side”

6. Let cheese melt, turning the quesadilla over as needed so that both sides are equally brown

For salad- I doubt you need instructions J - I just added all kinds of veggies I had in the fridge- celery, carrots, green onions, and of course lettuce. Then I sprinkled some feta cheese I got on “manager special” for the perfect touch! It all tasted great and was filling! So now some relaxation and maybe some wine! I hope you enjoy!

Classic Grilled Chicken with Couscous and Asparagus

Sorry! I've been out of town for the past week, between training in Columbus and Kentucky! So, I wasn't cooking! But here we go! Try this and let me know what you think! :)

Estimate Time: 30 Minutes or less

Here’s another super simple, delicious dinner!

Ingredients:

1. 2 Fresh or Frozen Chicken Breasts

2. Box of Couscous (or 1 cup of rice)

3. Frozen or fresh Asparagus

4. ¼ Tsp. Minced garlic

5. 1 Tpsn of unsalted butter

6. Water for cooking couscous or rice

7. Salt & Pepper

8. Desired seasoning for Chicken

Here you can substitute green beans (or really any vegetable) for asparagus and rice for the couscous. Here’s a trick I use on preparing fresh asparagus: break the ends off where they naturally break. With this I mean hold the asparagus in the middle and bend the bottom down to break off at the natural break point.

Steps:

1. Heat George Foreman or griddle (or even skillet if neither of these are available).

2. Place saucepan with correct amount of water on stovetop. (It always says on package the recommended amount of water.)

3. Season chicken according to taste. I add a little paprika, salt, pepper, and all spices. If you have the Perdue Perfect Portion Chicken then they are sometimes pre-marinated and work great in this dish.

4. Place chicken on Foreman. Turn occasionally to prevent burning.

5. In a sauté pan melt butter with the minced garlic. Once fully melted, add asparagus. Salt and pepper if you want. Let simmer on low-medium heat until ready to eat.

6. Add couscous when water boils and follow the remaining instructions on box. (Normally it asks you to remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes)

7. After couscous has fully absorbed the remaining water, serve along side the asparagus and grilled chicken.

Chicken Fajitas

I’m in need of going to the grocery store, so tonight I stared into the fridge with no clue what to make. I saw some frozen chicken breast, and thought well that’s what we’ll have then. Reluctantly, I pulled it out, not knowing what I should make with it. Then, I saw a frozen package of pepper and onions, from Kroger’s recipe beginners. Now I had an idea!

Ingredients:

1. 2 pieces of chicken breast (sliced)

2. 1 package of onions and bell peppers (or just 1 onion and 1-2 fresh bell peppers)

3. 5 fresh mushrooms (optional)- sliced

4. ½ of a package of taco seasoning

5. 2-4 tortillas

6. 1 cup rice (I use Minute Brown Rice)

7. 1 cup water for boiling rice

8. Shredded cheese (for garnish)

Steps:

1. Heat sauté pan and add onion and bell pepper mixture

2. Add strips of sliced chicken

3. Add mushrooms- stir occasionally to avoid burning

4. Meanwhile, place 1 cup of water in saucepan on high and bring to a boil

5. Add ½ of a package of taco seasoning to chicken mixture and let simmer, stirring as needed

6. Add rice to water and follow instructions on box as how to cook rice

7. Heat tortillas in microwave for 15-30 seconds

8. Serve rice on side or add into tortillas for a fajita burrito

9. Oh, and sprinkle some cheese on fajita for some extra yum! :)

This was an easy fix, for an “almost frozen pizza” dinner! The taco seasoning packets are always good to keep around in your cupboard, since they don’t expire quickly. You never know when you’ll have ground beef, or plain chicken for that matter, that needs to be used or are strapped for an idea.

Hawaiian Toast

My Mom made this for parties all the time when I was younger. It’s super easy to make lots of people and everyone always liked it. Today, it made a great Saturday lunch! Justin had never had it before and he said it passed the test! :) Mine got just a tad bit too much oven time! But it was still yummy!

Here’s what you need:

1. 2-4 pieces of bread (depending on how hungry you are)

2. Deli Ham (or Turkey or whatever is in your fridge)

3. 2-4 Cheese (that will melt well, I use American Singles)

4. 2-4 Canned Pineapple Slices

5. Baking sheet

The preparation is extremely simple:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Place bread (untoasted) on baking sheet. Spread out so they don’t touch. I don’t grease the baking sheet, and the toast never sticks. Might depend though.

3. Put desired amount of deli meat on bread.

4. Add one slice of pineapple.

5. Top the layering off with a slice of cheese.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese as melted.

And that’s it! Enjoy! I made ours today with turkey, because that’s the only deli meat we had in the fridge. It does taste best with ham, but I don’t feel it’s necessary to run out the grocery store for one item, and would prefer to use what we have left anyway. I’ve also made it with left over pork chops before, so it’s really up to you. The meat can be left out too and you’ll just have a sweet cheesy pineapple toast, and it also tastes great!

Mushroom Tortellini with Shrimp Spinach Sauce

Here's what we had last night! Pretty simple! :) Sorry, I should add a picture but I didn't take one- I'll try to do so from now on.

Mushroom Tortellini with Shrimp Spinach Sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1 package Mushroom Tortellini (Can be any kind though)

2. 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes

3. 8-12 oz Frozen Spinach

4. 1 small can of Mushrooms or 4-6 oz. of Fresh Mushrooms (sliced)

5. ¼ lbs Frozen or Fresh Shrimp

6. 1 Small onion (chopped)

7. ¼ tspn Garlic powder

8. Pinch of salt and pepper

9. ½ tspn Olive Oil

10. ½ cup water

11. Water for boiling

This can be made with substituting what you have in your freezer or fridge. You can even leave out the shrimp completely and make it vegetarian, or substitute another protein like chicken. You can use broccoli or any other type of vegetable instead of spinach. This recipe really allows it to become several different, varying meals. I’ll make it this way today, but next time I’ll switch up some of the ingredients and it appears to be a totally different dish! :)

Steps:

1. Set pot of water on stovetop and add a pinch of salt (if desired) in order to get the water to boil.

2. In a sauté pan heat Olive oil and desired amount of chopped onions. Sauté until onions become a little translucent. Add shrimp (or other protein) and a little salt and pepper.

3. Add spinach (does not have to be thawed if previously frozen) and mushrooms. Sprinkle with garlic powder. You may also add any other herbs or spices that you like in pasta.

4. Sauté for a few minutes and then add 1 can of diced tomatoes.

5. Meanwhile, add mushroom tortellini to water when it is boiling and cook according to package directions. (Normally just over ten minutes)

6. Stir the ingredients in the sauté pan occasionally to avoid burning. Add ½ cup water as needed to loosen sauce.

7. Drain tortellini and serve with shrimp spinach sauce!

That’s it! It’s super easy and tastes great! I took the leftovers to teach the next day and another teacher asked me if it was Olive Garden! :) Nope! Wayyy easy and super delicious!

You can also throw a garlic bread loaf in the oven while preparing the above recipe or butter some toast and sprinkle with garlic powder to create quick and easy garlic bread to accompany this dish!

My Most Used Kitchen Gadgets!

Along with certain ingredients that should be in every young couples kitchen, so should certain cooking tools. We’re just starting out so we’re not going to have it all, nor are the things we have going to be the top to the line. But here are a few things that I try to at least have around and that really allows me to do the majority of my cooking!

1. Knives! – If you can get GOOD ones! And if nothing else these two:

a. Paring knife

b. Chefs knife

2. Skillet

3. Saucepan (if possible two)

4. Sautéing pan (with lid)

5. Can opener

6. Peeler

7. Wooden Spoons (to avoid scratching pans)

8. Slotted Spoon

9. Serving-type spoon

10. Spatula

11. Mixing bowl

12. Cutting board

13. Measuring cups and spoons

14. Parchment Paper

15. Some type of inside grill (George Forman or Griddle)

I find that these basic items are really all I need to cook. Yea, sure, it’s nice to have a mini food processor or other gadgets for certain recipes, but for the most part I never really use these items with any frequency.