Tomato Basil Soup- beats Campbell's every time!

Tomato Basil Soup

(eatyourselfskinny.com)

• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (I used about 1 T or less, dried)
• 1 (28 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) 1/3-less fat cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and saute the chopped onion for 3 minutes, until translucent.  Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Add tomatoes and basil, bringing to a boil.  Stir in cream cheese until melted.

Place mixture in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Return to saucepan and stir in milk, salt and pepper.  Return to medium-high heat and cook for 2 minutes.  Enjoy!

Tomatillo Ranch Burritos from the Food Nanny!

Chicken Burritos With Salsa Verde and Lime
(from thefoodnannyblog.com)

BURRITOS:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and ground black pepper
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
Santa Fe Lime Rice (recipe to follow)
6 burrito sizes flour tortillas
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack

SAUCE:
1 cup bottled salsa verde
1 (0.4 oz) packet buttermilk dressing mix (ranch)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp coarse salt
1 TBLS fresh limejuice
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ cup sugar
Dash Tabasco (optional)

1. Prepare the rice and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, grill (or broil) the chicken breasts over medium heat, until tender and no longer pink. Shred the chicken with two forks and season with salt and pepper.
3. To make the sauce, put all the sauce ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Heat the sauce in a saucepan or the microwave.
4. Heat the black beans in a saucepan or the microwave
5. To assemble burritos: Divide the chicken among the tortillas. Add a scoop of rice and a scoop of beans to each one. Fold up the bottom third of one tortilla over the filling, fold in the sides, and then fold down the top. Repeat for the remaining tortilla’s
6. Preheat the broiler to low and adjust the oven rack to about 6 inches from the heat. Place the filled burritos seam side down in a broiler pan, or oblong metal pan, and pour the sauce over all. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Place the pan under the broiler, watch closely and broil until the sauce is bubbly, just a few minutes.

Variations: As an alternative to broiling, bake the burritos, topped with sauce and cheese, in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly. Or simply serve the filled burritos on a platter and pass the heated sauce and the cheese in separate bowls.

Santa Fe Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth
¼ tsp salt
Juice of ½ lime
2 TBLS butter
2 TBLS chopped fresh cilantro
¼ tsp ground cumin

Combine the rice, broth, and slat in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to simmer and add the lime juice, butter, cilantro, and cumin. Stir, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.

These are delectable!  I love how easy the dressing is to make, how it tastes just like the famous Cafe Rio Cilantro Creamy Dressing,  but uses bottled green sauce.  I like how it's on top of the burritos too, instead of just plain enchilada sauce.  

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

(from recipecritic.com)

3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 package chicken taco seasoning
1 package ranch dry salad dressing
1/2 cup bottled ranch
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can chicken broth
1 package tortillas

1.   Cook and shred the chicken.  I cooked mine in the slow cooker with the ranch packet and taco seasoning packages in the chicken broth.  The chicken just peeled apart.  I cooked it on low for about 3-4 hours.
2. Mix the 1/2 cup of ranch and 1/2 salsa in a bowl.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spread a very thin layer of the mixture on the bottom.
3. Start assembling the enchiladas by putting 2 Tbs of the ranch and salsa mixture on the bottom of tortilla.  Then put the shredded chicken on top of that.  Sprinkle with cheese and roll it up.
4. Line up the enchiladas in the 9x13 pan and sprinkle heavily with the cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and enchiladas are heated through.
5. Drizzle the top with ranch and enjoy!

These are great!  Especially good for picky eaters.  Ranch tends to tone down spicy flavors.  I enjoyed these a lot.

Still in awe- all my kids devoured this!

Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice

(rachelschultz.com)

Serves 5-6

• 4 cups rice, prepared
• 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I put mine in the crock pot with Yoshida's Original Gourmet sauce, or any teriyaki sauce would do, if desired)
• 1 cup peas & carrots, frozen (or what you like - I added steamed broccoli)
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots.  Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables.  Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan.Mix soy sauce throughout and remove from heat.  

It's true!  My kids all had seconds, and thirds.  Some liked adding the Yoshida's sauce on top of the fried rice (Russell and I did- added a lot of teriyaki flavor) but most liked the fried rice as is.  They even at the veggies.  I'm still in shock!  It is a great recipe, and I am replacing my old recipe I had on this blog with this one.

Awesome crock pot recipe!

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
(from therecipecritic.com)

1 T Vegetable Oil

6-7 Boneless Chicken Breast 

3/4 Cup honey

3/4 Cup soy sauce

3 T Ketchup

2 cloves garlic crushed (I used 1 1/2 T minced garlic)

1 T fresh ginger root (I used 1 T dry ginger)

1 20 ounce can pinapple drained with juice reserved (I didn't use the pineapple)

2 T cornstarch

1/4 c water

Mix together and pour over chicken.  Cook on low for about 4-6 or so hours.  Easy!

I've made this twice in the last month because our family liked this dinner so much.  So glad to have a bunch of great slow cooker recipes.

Surprising great choc chip cookies using Bisquick

Bisquick Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup crisco
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups Bisquick
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Beat crisco and sugars till creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat till thoroughly combined.
2.  Gradually add Bisquick; mix till thoroughly combined. Add chocolate chips. 
3. Using cookie scoop, Form cookie dough into Tablespoon-ish sized balls. Place on cookie sheet. 
4. Bake at 350 for about 9 min.  

I get bored with making the same recipes over and over.  When I saw this recipe using Bisquick, I was very curious and decided to try it.  These are the best tasting cookies I've ever had straight out of the oven.  The next day they were a bit hard, but the microwave helped bring them back to life.  These are more puffy cookies than flat and chewy, which I am happy about.  Give them a try!  

Caramels

Homemade Caramels

(from notjustahousewife.com)

• 2 cubes of Butter (1 cup) I like to use salted
• 2 cups of Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Light Corn Syrup
• 2  14oz cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Before you get started get a bowl of ice water ready and set next to the stove.

1. In a large heavy bottom saucepan melt the butter. Add the sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk.
2.  Stir constantly on medium high heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Turn down heat to medium. Continue to stir constantly to avoid scorching. If it does start to scorch, turn the heat down a little. 
3. Stir until it starts to get a little darker. Check to see if it is done by spooning a little of the caramel into a bowl of ice water.  
4. Continue to check the caramel until it is the consistency you want (mixture forms a soft ball- took about 15 minutes or so of constant stirring). When it is right, remove from heat and add the vanilla.
5.  Pour into a greased pan. I use a cookie sheet. Let completely cool before cutting and eating. It takes a few hours for it to completely cool and set up. The longer you wait the better.

Delicious and easy!  Just make sure you keep stirring!