Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

Throw into Crockpot:
3 chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic
½ bag frozen corn
½ jar salsa
1 can tomatoes
½ a pkg taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
Random spices: celery salt, seasoning salt, and chili powder
1 can chopped green chili peppers

Let cook overnight
Next day, sauté one onion in butter, add to soup. Take chicken out of soup and shred or chop, put back in.

Serve soup with tons of shredded cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Top with Cilantro or green onions if that floats your boat (it does mine).

Die and go to heaven only to find out they eat this on a daily basis up there.

The end

Cilantro Buttermilk Dressing

Growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by gravel roads and miles away from our closest neighbors, it was a long trip to a regular grocery store. So grocery shopping was something we did very infrequently and when done, we stocked up on the necessities. Now that I like in a town with several grocery stores withing a mile from me, I've become accostume to making a quick trip the second I start craving something or have the urge to whip up a newly discovered recipe, so I've been finding myself trying new things that I normally wouldn't have had access to while living out in the boonies. One of these things is Buttermilk - it's such a mysterious ingredient. My memory of buttermilk is from back when I was a teenager and in wanting to make buttermilk pancakes discovered that the word "Buttermilk" didn't mean that there were butter and milk in the recipe, but that it literally called for something called buttermilk...shows how little I knew! So, without internet, I used the "handy help" guide in the back of a cookbook that said you could make your own buttermilk by putting vinegar in milk and letting it sit for a bit. Sounded horrible and turns out, it tasted horrible too...it turned me off to the whole buttermilk idea for years. Years later, I'm finally getting to know this ingredient and am realizing that it isn't so bad, I think. I made chocolate sheet cake today (recipe to come soon) which called for a bit of buttermilk and now I have half a carton staring at me in the fridge. Every time I open the door I think it's speaking to me, daring me to use it, try something new with it. It's like it's trying to prove to me that it is useful. I finally gave in, made a salad and searched the internet for buttermilk and cilantro (I had left overs of that from my BBQ Chicken pizza, recipe coming soon too) and found a recipe that turned out to tast similar to Cafe Rio's dressing, without the tomatillo's. It's good, just don't put miracle whip in it, you will regret it, I do....

Cilantro Buttermilk Dressing

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise (not miracle whip)
1/8 tsp sugar
3 drops hot pepper sauce

Blend all ingredients together in food processor. Simple as that!

Ready to Roll!

Coming soon: Frozen pizza that will rock your world - or knock your pants off! Sandwiches, Zupa Tuscana, Ginata'ang Calabasa (my favorite Filipino dish), Zucchini Muffins, Salmon and more...I restocked my spice rack and I am ready to roll! Sorry for the long break, but I will be back in kitchen heaven again soon. Oh...anybody have a favorite rhubarb recipe...my rhubarb is demanding that I use it.

Oat Bran

I was driving to school. The light turned from green, to yellow, to red. I stopped. The box of cereal sitting next to me tumbled to the car floor - lucky charms and all their marshmallowey goodness flew in the air, falling to the car floor, and rolled into the hidden spaces and crevices of the passenger side, where they will rest for a few months until a marshmallow decides to crawl out to give you a surprise one morning. That's when I ended my relationship with cold cereal. I realized I was using it as a dry snack to eat as I raced to school in the morning. It was a bad excuse of a breakfast. I decided that if I couldn't even spare some time for breakfast, I needed to wake up earlier and make myself a good meal. I was majoring in Health Promotion - every one of my classes talked about the importance of this very meal, yet I was ignoring it. I made the change and now life is bliss. No more boxes to worry for and no more starved mornings.

This, my friends, is Oat Bran. Do you know what it is? It's happiness in a measuring cup. It's better than oatmeal because it doesn't make a yucky slime when it sits in a bowl. And it's better for you, just look:
Nutritional Value: Oatmeal___ Oat Bran
Carbohydrates_____ 27 grams____ 25 grams
Fiber_____________4 grams_____ 6 grams
Soluble Fiber_______ 2 grams_____ 3 grams
Protein___________ 5 grams_____ 7 grams
Calcium__________ 0 %________ 2 %
Iron____________ 10 %_______ 20 %
Thiamin__________ 2 %_______ 25 %
Phosphorus________ 0 %______ 25 %
Riboflavin_________ 2 %_______ 6 %
Magnesium________ 0 %______ 20 %
Zinc______________ 0 %______ 10 %


Put 1/3 Cup in 1 Cup of boiling water.

Boil till thick.

You can add almond butter, peanut butter or whatever you like. I like to add honey

and milk. Then I eat it up cause it's real good!

My Favorite Breakfast Smoothie

My friend told me about this amazing smoothie she has been whipping up for the past few years every morning for breakfast. I loved getting her little educational lesson on why each ingredient is important, especially for womens health:


Ingredients: 100% Pure Cranberry Juice (or whatever you can find), Flax, Soy Milk, Echinacea, Blackberries, Banana, Orange, Frozen Strawberries or any type of frozen berry. Ooh, and plain yogurt - I was all!

The banana is for potassium which regulates water balance, regulates levels of acidity, and blood pressure. The adequate intake for potassium for adults is 4700 milligrams per day. Normally you probably get around 2000 to 3000 milligrams per day, unless you are on a very low-calorie diet or are an athlete who exercises heavily, then it is even lower. So eat your bananas. You can also get potassium in kidney beans, yogurt, orange juice, zucchini, baked potatoes, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Interesting fact: kidney beans and winter squash actually have more potassium than bananas.

Bananas also contain vitamin B6, along with Salmon, baked potatoes, and avocados. It's important for metabolism, immunity because it helps white blood cells and oxygen in the blood. I think i'll have salmon for lunch tomorrow!

The orange is for vitamin C. Most animals can physically create their own vitamin C just by being alive. We on the other hand are unable to do so on our own. It is necessary for protein collagen which is what makes up most of our connective tissue, bone, teeth, tendons and blood vessels. So it would help your wounds heal and prevent your skin from dripping off your body. I'm reading a book right now called "Napoleons Buttons" and it goes into detail on the sea voyages and the sufferings of those who had scurvy. Basically, it sucked for them - their teeth feel out, bones became soft and it sounded pretty gory. No wonder why pirates always have that sickly look to them. Anyways...back to the vitamin C: has antioxidants properties which helps prevent the formation of cancer and prevents cataracts in the eyes. If you are low on iron it also increases iron absorption and builds your immunity. You can also get vitamin C in Brussels sprouts, strawberries, red peppers, and kiwis.

Notice this handy orange peeler - you don't get your hands all messy and it makes it so easy to peel an orange.

You can buy one from you local pampered chef lady for under a dollar and it's like having a piece of heaven in your kitchen.

Frozen Berries - make the smoothie cold, as a smoothie should be.

Strawberries contain vitamin C and flavanoids, which are known for their antioxidant activity.

Blackberries contain vitamin C, fiber, vitamin K and folic acid. Vitamin K helps your blood to clot and folic acid produces DNA and can also be found in Sunflower seeds and green veggies. Fiber....well let's just say this adds bulk to the brown stuff.

Flax is for omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, which is an essential fatty acid. You can also get this in salmon and other fish, walnuts, mussels, crab, shrimp and canola and soybean oils. This fatty acid lowers your risk for heart attacks and helps your heart rhythm, lowers your triglyceride levels, and helps for those in pain from the inflammation that happens with rheumatoid arthritis. If you are using flax, you need to grind it up, because if not it will just go in one end and come out the other, not giving you any benefits. I use a coffee grinder to grind it up real good and put in about 2 tablespoons.

I have been adding two capsules of Echinacea since I have been fighting a cold this week. I just open the little capsules and dump in the powdery goodness. This stimulates the immune system and prevents and treats colds. It's just a mild affect, but if I'm fighting a cold, I will take what I can get.

Cranberry juice is for the prevention of UTI's. Cranberries have phytochemicals which help the cardiovascular and immune systems and may be an anti-cancer agent. They also prevent tooth decay and help with gingivitis.

Soy Milk is for possible protection from cancer and contains antioxidants. I'm beginning to think that this isn't really a big necessity in my smoothie as most of the health benefits contained in soy milk are found in larger quantities in my 2 small tablespoons of flax seed. Sorry, I just couldn't find enough research and information that justifies the supposed health benefits of soy milk - although I do think it is tasty!

Next is the poor yogurt that I left out because I used it all up! The plain yogurt is for potassium, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and B12. Be sure that your yogurt has L. Acidophilus in it to help your tummy. Riboflavin acts as an antioxidant and aids metabolism. Vitamin B12 helps metabolism and aids nerve function.

Put all of this in a blender and blend away - and there you have it, the amazing breakfast smoothie. As for the measurements, put in however much you want - have fun with it! After making a few of them for a few days in a row, you will get down pat what suits you!

Here's the recipe:

Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup yogurt

1 orange

1/2 banana

1 Tbsp wheat germ

1 Tbsp flax

Any other frozen fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries)

Blend

Drink

Smile

golden threads

The mystery food is: (drum roll.....) Foithong "Golden Threads". It's a Thai dessert made from beaten egg yolks which are gently cooked in a syrup of water and sugar. Here is a video showing how to make it. If you are a custard fan, you would like this. Maybe next time we will have some winners!

Contest - deadline is thanksgiving day!

This was given to me by one of my friends a few months ago. Initially I was a little scared, but it was very tasty. The contest is - What do you think it is!?!?!!!!!! You have till Thanksgiving day to let me know your final guess. I will mail or give to the winner a prize. Good luck!

Pomegranates

Pomegranate: Latin for Pomum (apple) and Granatis (seeded)

It's Fall now, my favorite season! There are so many reason why it's so great: Halloween is in the fall - there is only one day a year where everybody and their dog can dress however they want and not get funny looks. I mean, if I could wear black and green stripped tights everyday, I probably would, but I can't, so I save them for Halloween.
The leaves turn different colors, there is still sunshine but the air is crisper, you can wear your summer and winter clothes, the large amounts of cash you can win in the pumpkin carving contests and best of all: The FOOD! Pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, squash, soups, stews! Life suddenly becomes great during the fall. Pomegranates are one of my favorite things to eat right now, because it's the only time I can buy them in the stores and I go crazy about it.


I love you pomegranate!!

I recently come up with an amazing idea - I've always said that pomegranates are like raspberry flavored corn...so it hit me: we should sell pomegranates in movie theaters. They taste like popcorn and candy at the same time, so all your movie watching needs would be taken care of in one single mouth tingling bite!


When you buy a pomegranate, you find the best one if you get a feel for how heavy they are. A smaller pomegranate might be heavier then a bigger one and that would mean it has more juice in it - pick the heavy ones. Don't let the shiney, bright colored ones confuse you either - the fruit that has been on the tree longer will be darker, probably uglier than the bright colored ones. Give it a squeeze as well, if it is hard it won't be juicy - but don't pick the very squishy ones either - aim for somewhere in the middle. Check as well to be sure there is no mold on the crown. It would be a pity to buy a bad pomegranate.
To cut it open, cut of the crown like in the picture. You can see the different sections in the pomegranate - cut it into quarters following the sections.


You don't have to cut through the entire fruit, just a slice into the outer flesh and it should break open. Now pop a few of those in your mouth, I know you can't wait any longer.

An easy way to remove the arils (that's what those little guys are called) is to place the sections in a bowl of cold water for a minute. Then rub them off with your fingers, the pulp will float and can easily be skimmed off when you drain the water.

When you have finished and drained the arils, you then hold in your hand a piece of heaven. It's good for your body too: Pomegranates contain more antioxidants than green tea and red wine. They also contain Vitamin C, B5, Potassium, and Fiber. They reduce your risk for heart disease, lower your blood pressure, may inhibit viral infections and may have antibacterial effects against dental plaque! They are also doing research now on their effect against proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro.

I usually just grab a handful and eat away, but if you would like some variety in your pomegranate eating habits, throw them in some plain yogurt.

If this post did not satisfy all of your needs for pomegranate knowledge and enlightenment, don't worry, there is a pomegranate website: http://www.pomegranates.org/home.shtml

p.s. Thank you to Matt for teaching me everything I know about how get this pomegranate goodness into me as fast as possible. He told me about the water idea.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation (a.k.a. Strawberry Ice-cream Cake)

You may have noticed that this blog was a little more than boring this summer since there were never any posts. It's because me and my roommate were so busy whipping up some amazing creations in the kitchen, there was just no time to post them all. Okay, so maybe that was a lie, but we did make a few things and this was one of them. My strawberries finally had an amazing year and produced a lot of fruit (sometimes more than I could pick). This recipe came in handy. Hope you enjoy it!
Cast of Characters: Strawberries, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Lemon Juice, Cool Whip, Oreos and Butter!
Line the inside of an 8x4-inch loaf pan with foil.
Mash two cups of strawberries in a large bowl. Yum!
Pour in one can of sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 cup of lemon juice.

Stir! Mix it all together.
Add two cups of cool whip............
and stir again.
Take 8 oreo cookies and finely chop them.
Combine the oreos with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.

Take your foil lined pan and pour in the strawberry mixture.
Spoon the oreos over the top of the pan.
Press the cookie mixture into the strawberry mixture to form a nice crust.
If the spoon doesn't cut it for ya, just use your hands, who cares! (Thanks, Shauna, for being my hand model!)
Fold the ends of the foil over the dessert and cover entirely with another piece of foil. Place it in the freezer. It will take about 6 hours to freeze (hopefully you weren't needing it anytime soon).
Once frozen, unwrap the top of the dessert. Once the top is unwrapped, place upside-down on a platter and remove the rest of the foil.
At this point you can frost the entire cake with cool whip with strawberries on top. There were only two of us to eat this so we cut a few pieces off.......
Yum!
Your final product!!!! Its great, nice and cool, yummy and full of strawberry goodness. Enjoy!

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 to 2 tubs of cool whip

8 oreo's

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Shape foil onto outside of 8x4-inch loaf pan. Line inside of pan with shaped foil, with ends extending over sides of pan. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk and juice. Stir 2 cups of the whipped topping into strawberry mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Finely chop cookies. Combine cookies and butter. Spoon over whipped topping mixture in pan. Cover cookie mixture with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange on dessert. Store leftovers in freezer. Makes 12 servings.

Asian Chicken Noodles

Sorry for waiting for such a long time to post. Summer has been a busy time for me and I honestly haven't really been cooking! :( I'm starting to get back into the swing of things and wanted to share a recipe that my roommates and I have enjoyed making a lot. It uses the Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and since we made it the first time, we have always had the dressing on hand. If someone uses it all, they have to go to the store and get some more! It's as important to us as making sure we always have milk on hand. I found the recipe inthe food and family magazine I get from Kraft each quarter. Here it is:


The Cast of Characters: Angel hair pasta, broccoli, chicken, Kraft Asian Sesame Dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, and peanuts.

To begin, cut your broccoli into small florets (thanks, Shauna, for being my hand model). You will want about 2 cups of broccoli florets.

Defrost the chicken and slice it into thin strips. You could get really fancy if you like and make them super thin. Use one pound of chicken (which is about three chicken breasts).

But never mind the broccoli and chicken, lets get down to the nitty gritty and start making the sauce!!! Sauce is one of my favorite words on this earth, probably because its one of my favorite things to eat! I typically use fresh ginger and garlic, but you are welcome to use ground ginger and garlic powder as well.

To start your sauce, dump in 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce. I only ever use the Silver Swan brand. It's what I grew to love while living in the Philippines. You can buy it here in Utah at the Mabuhay Mini-Mart in Taylorsville on 1750 W. 5000 S. Okay, thats the end of my commercial break, lets move on to the ginger.


If you've never used fresh ginger, here is how to use it: We want about a 1/4 of a teaspoon, but since I love ginger I'm going to add more. So I make a small slice that will equal the amount of ginger I want to use.

Next step will be to peel the ginger. Just use the knife and slice it right off, and breath deep while you do it, it just smells so GOOD!

Here's the fun part: You want to get as much flavor out of the ginger as possible, so go ahead and give it a nice good wack with the wide side of your knife - if that wasn't good enough for you, go ahead and give it another wack, or just pound it with your fist - whatever you need to do. This gets the juices goin and will add more flavor. It also makes it easier to mince it.


Ginger can be pretty stringy or hard to mince, so start by slicing it in one direction.

Then slice the other direction. Once you have done this, you can go ahead and mince some more, just for fun, or to be sure you don't have big chunks of ginger in your dish - if you aren't used to it, you might not be prepared for a big, hot chunk of ginger in your mouth. Add the minced ginger to the soy sauce.

Next is the garlic, which I love. Again, you only need about 1/4 of a teaspoon of garlic powder, but since I LOVE garlic I am going to use fresh garlic cloves and one clove isn't enough for me, so I use two. Did I mention that I love garlic? I do! If you don't have a garlic press, prepare it the same way as the ginger - remove the peel, wack it, then mince. A garlic press does all of that for you in one moment - it's so great and your hands don't smell like garlic for the next two days.

Next you will want to add 1/4 of a teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Again, this stuff is great and since i've added more of the other ingredients, I figured I should add more than what was called for of the red pepper.

Once you've dumped it all in, give it a good stir and set it aside. You will be adding this in later along with the asian toasted sesame dressing.


You will want to start cooking the chicken, so turn the stove onto a medium-high heat and add your oil (I always use olive oil).

Once the pan is heated add the chicken and cook for about 6-8 minutes stirring every so often. I'm using my Wok but you can feel free to use just a regular pan.

Once the chicken is finished cooking add 1/2 a cup of the Kraft asian toasted sesame dressing.

And after that add your sauce (if you would like to throw in some sesame oil as well, that is a great addition, I added about a teaspoon to this). Sorry for the not so appetizing picture.

Give it a good stir and cook for only about a minute. Now you are done with your asian chicken. On to the noodles:

I should have mentioned it earlier, but at some point in cooking the chicken, you would want to begin cooking your noodles. I use 8 ounces of angel hair pasta. Half way through cooking the noodles, add the broccoli florets to cook them as well.

Its a great way to kill two birds with one stone by boiling the broccoli with the noodles and you only have to drain once.

Once the noodles and broccoli are finished draining put them into your serving bowl and add the asian chicken.

Stir everything together and sprinkle on a 1/2 cup of peanuts or slized almonds to the top.

And enjoy! I couldn't get a good picture to turn out of the finished dish since the lighting in the kitchen is just too dark, so we end up with this silly picture proving how much of an adventure it can be to cook with Shauna helping you out and modeling. Thanks ma'am!

Complete Recipe:
Asian Chicken Noodles
8 oz. angel hair pasta, uncooked
2 cups broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. each groun ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts or almonds

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time. Meanwhile, spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 to 8 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 min., stirring occasionally. Drain pasta mixture; place in large bowl. Add chicken misture; mix lightly. Spoon evenly into 4 serving bowls; sprinkle with the peanuts. Substitute; Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, such as snow peas, sliced bell peppers, sliced carrots or chopped red onions, instead of the broccoli.