Chicken Taquitos

We're Mexican food fanatics in this house.

I happen to consider myself a bit of a Mexican food connoisseur, since I grew up in a place known for Tex-Mex and spent many of my summers in Mexico. Oh how I miss good Tex-Mex and Mexican food!

You'd think living in Arizona, only a short drive away from the Mexican border, that we'd be able to find good Mexican food here. But that is not really the case. Most of the Mexican food we have tried in our town did not meet my high standards.

Solution? Make my own (healthier) Mexican food!


These taquitos are far from authentic, but they certainly helped satisfy a craving. They were easy to make at home and also provided a much healthier version of something that's usually deep fried and greasy.

For the filling I used some leftover chicken from a whole roasted chicken that I made earlier in the week. The best part about these taquitos is that you could really adapt this method to include any leftovers or ingredients you have on hand. Leftover steak? Make steak taquitos! Lots of veggies on their last leg? Make veggie & bean taquitos! The opportunities are endless!
Served with a side of black beans and brown rice, these made a great, healthy meal!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Source: Annie's Eats

Yield: about 12 taquitos

Ingredients:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup salsa

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. onion powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc. would also be good)

10-12 6-inch flour tortillas (I think these would be great with corn tortillas too! I plan on trying that next time.)

Cooking spray

Kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, cilantro, green onions, chicken and shredded cheese (I actually used a food processor to mix the ingredients and chop things up a little more. Just pulse a few times until well mixed.). Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Briefly heat the tortillas in the microwave to make them soft enough to roll easily, about 20-3o seconds. Place a tortilla on a work surface. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the filling mixture down the middle of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, spacing the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. (You may be tempted to skip the sprinkle of salt, but it really adds a nice touch.)

(To freeze before baking, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill the assembled taquitos 30-60 minutes. Transfer to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag. To bake from the freezer, simply add a few additional minutes to the original baking time, until the filling is warmed through.)

Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Roast Chicken, Take 2

Apparently I am doomed to never actually take good photos of roast chicken, as evidenced by my last post on roast chicken and as evidenced by this post that you're about to see. It's a tragedy really, because roast chicken DESERVES great photos to do it justice. But alas, the curse continues.

You may be wondering why I decided to try a new recipe for roast chicken, when I had a perfectly good one already. I'm bored easily. That's really the only explanation I have. That and I like to try new takes on the same thing. So sue me!

Hence, a new roast chicken recipe was found on Cooking Light that involved dried sage and LOTS of garlic, and I was sold! So I roasted my little heart out and ended up with this:
It may not look good, but it sure does taste good! I think this recipe was even easier than the other one I made, and easier is always a bonus for me.

I also tried something new and used my broiler pan instead of my roasting pan. I did this because I wanted to roast the potatoes alongside the chicken but I didn't want them to end up covered in all the chicken fat drippings (to save a few calories). I actually really loved doing it this way!! All the chicken fat dripped down into the bottom part of the pan and not onto my veggies.


I served my chicken & potatoes on top of a bed of spring mix lettuce to get some extra greens.


And I most definitely did NOT "discard the skin" as the recipe suggests to cut calories. Some calories are just worth it, and crispy chicken skin happens to be one of those things.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes & Butternut Squash

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 (3 1/2-pound) roasting chicken
• Cooking spray
• 12 ounces red potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 8 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sage in a small bowl. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Rub garlic mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack in broiler pan.

3. Combine potatoes, squash, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetable mixture around chicken. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until a thermometer inserted into meaty part of thigh registers 165° (my chicken was at least 4.5 pounds so it took about an hour and a half to cook). Let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

A Dinner Worth Sharing

This will be a short and sweet post, but I just have to share tonight's dinner:

Grilled salmon* for me (steak for Hubs), steamed broccoli and twice baked potatoes.

*I know I said last week that we're not fans of salmon, but I actually do like it okay if I'm in the right mood for it. Also, we had a bag of it in the freezer that needed to be eaten.

I seriously loved this meal. It was pretty darn simple to make and totally satisfying. The twice baked potatoes were definitely the star of the show!

I've made twice baked potatoes before, but I was reminded of them recently when reading Yes I Want Cake's post on them.
I made them the same way as she did so check out her blog for the deets. Definitely adding twice baked potatoes back into the regular rotation!

And if you're wondering about the salmon, it was simply seasoned with jerk seasoning and then grilled on a piece of foil (so it doesn't fall through the grate) for about 10 minutes.

Now I'm off to hang out with these two:

Have a great night!

Pasta Carbonara Florentine

My husband said it best: "How can you go wrong when you combine pasta, eggs and bacon in one dish?"

Truer* words have never been spoken.

*Is "truer" a word?! I thought it was but it doesn't look right!


This recipe hails from one of my fave recipe sources, Cooking Light. I love the fact that it's a lightened-up version of what could be a very decadent dish AND it adds in some healthy greens with the spinach.

But don't let the "light" part fool you, it still tastes perfectly decadent with the salty bacon and parmesan and the creamy sauce. Let's just say I had to physically restrain myself from going and getting seconds so that I could still have enough leftover* for lunch tomorrow.

*You better believe I called dibs on these leftovers! My husband is a leftovers hog but he will NOT be feasting on carbonara tomorrow.**

**Can you tell yet that I'm loving this asterisk footnote thing tonight?? I know, I'm weird.


Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Source: Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings; Serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 (6-ounce) package bagged prewashed baby spinach
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (omitted)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Remove spinach from pan; place in a bowl.

Add bacon to pan; cook 3 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat; keep warm.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well, reserving 1 tablespoon cooking liquid. Immediately add pasta and the reserved cooking liquid to onion mixture in skillet. Add spinach and bacon; stir well to combine. Place skillet over low heat.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cheese, pepper, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk. Add to pasta mixture, tossing well to coat. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is and always will be one of my ultimate comfort foods. I just love it.

Something about the creamy sauce, tender veggies & chicken and the flaky pastry crust just makes me swoon.

I hadn't made a good homemade chicken pot pie in far too long, so I decided that now was the time to do it (before it gets to be hot as hades and comfort food doesn't sound as appealing)!

I loosely based my recipe off of Alton's Curry Chicken Pot Pie. I really wanted to try the curry pot pie version but that was unfortunately nixed by the husband, who happens to be a curry-hater. :::sad face:::

So instead I just winged it and vaguely followed Alton's method. I tried to make my version very veggie-heavy to increase the nutrition a bit. I think even a veggie-hater would love this dish since the veggies are smothered in a creamy sauce!


It turned out really well so I think I'll file this one away for future reference when a pot pie craving hits. :)

Chicken Pot Pie
source: loosely based on this recipe

Serves 4-6 people, depending on portion sizes

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 baking potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
1/2 packet of Ranch dressing mix
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed (*see notes below)
1 sheet packaged puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.

Add onion, celery, carrot and potato and cook for about 10 minutes, until the veggies soften. Add in the frozen veggies and continue to cook until they are thawed and heated through.

Stir in the Ranch dressing and the flour and continue to stir while it cooks, about 1-2 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and the milk and stir frequently until the mixture thickens a bit (about 3-5 minutes).

Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except for the puff pastry, and cook until everything is heated through (about 2 minutes).

Pour the mixture into a square baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Place the sheet of puff pastry on top of the mixture.

Cook at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the puff pastry has browned and the mixture looks bubbly.

*Notes: I didn't have any leftover cooked chicken to use for this recipe so I just cooked 3 chicken breasts with about 1/2 cup of chicken broth in a slow cooker on low for 7 hours. Works every time for perfect, tender chicken!

Feel free to increase, decrease or substitute the veggies to your liking!

A Meal Made for a 9 Year Old

I made my husband a very happy man last night.

Those of you having dirty thoughts right now, get your minds out of the gutter! :)

It wasn't because of that, it was because I made a meal that would make 9 year olds the world over jump up and down with excitement.

Buffalo Chicken Fingers and....

Mac 'n Cheese

In our house we pretty much swoon over anything buffalo-flavored and anything draped in cheese, so these foods are an obvious hit for us. But I've tried making healthier recipes for both of these items in the past and was totally unimpressed. I either ended up with soggy chicken fingers or not-so-cheesey mac. Not cool.

These recipes, however, totally accomplished the healthy-yet-delicious feat that I was searching for. The chicken tenders were perfectly crispy and tender and the mac was awesomely cheesy and creamy.

The Mac 'n Cheese actually has canned pumpkin in it for added nutrition, but I waited to tell Hubs that until after he tried it and began singing its praises. I'm sneaky like that!

The overall verdict on this meal was that "I can feel free to make this meal every week, or actually every day if you want"....and that is a direct quote from the Hubs.

Lightened-Up Buffalo Chicken Fingers
source: adapted slightly from the Active Foodie

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
• 1 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs
  
• 1/2 cup crushed whole wheat Saltine crackers - about 10 crackers
  
• 8 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot

Preparation

1. Whisk together chili-garlic sauce, Frank's, buttermilk, vinegar and salt. Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight (I only marinated for 2 hours and it still turned out great).
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray.
3. Combine panko, cracker crumbs, flour, paprika, cayenne and salt in a large bowl.
4. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess and place on wire rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces.
5. Spray chicken breasts with cooking spray, making sure to hit all parts of the chicken.
6. Cook for 10 minutes. Take out, turn chicken pieces over, spray again, and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until all pieces are golden brown and crispy.
7. When chicken strips are done, brush them with Frank's Red Hot (or just pour it over like I did). Serve immediately after topping them with sauce (otherwise they will get a little soggy).

Note: After I started cooking I realized I didn't have enough panko or whole wheat breadcrumbs, so I crushed up the Saltines to substitute. We ended up really liking the addition of the cracker crumbs, so I'll probably make them that way from now on. But if you don't want to use the cracker crumbs, feel free to just double the amount of breadcrumbs.


Lightened-Up Mac 'n Cheese
Source: adapted from Meals & Moves

Ingredients:

-3 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni
-2 cups broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)
-1.5 cups part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup 1% milk
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-a couple dashes of hot sauce
-3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
-1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
-salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil noodles according to package directions and toss in the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain well.

While pasta is cooking, combine ricotta, milk, pumpkin, hot sauce, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Stir well so that the mixture is completely incorporated and smooth.

Add drained pasta and cheese to the sauce and stir to incorporate. Pour the whole mixture into a square 9x9 inch pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Note: Janetha's original recipe called for cottage cheese (blended until smooth) instead of ricotta, but I didn't have it so I just thinned out ricotta with milk instead. This method saves you from having to clean an extra dish (the blender) and it turned out great. However, I'm still curious to try the cottage cheese blender method sometime soon! Click here to check out her method!

Also, I think the addition of the broccoli was a great way to add some extra veggies in the mix, but feel free to omit that if you'd like. If you don't use the broccoli, you will want to increase the pasta to 4 cups total.

Last but not least, don't worry - you CANNOT taste the pumpkin in this at all. I promise! Even the Hubs says so. :)

Fontina, Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Pizza

A funny thing happens when you have a food blog (whether it be any good or not). Your friends and family start thinking of you as the "Foodie" in the group or the expert on all things cooking and/or baking.

While it's certainly flattering, I am far from an expert. But I do have a strong passion for food and I do love to cook and bake (and eat!). And because I'm passionate about these things, I have a food blog so I can share my experiences in the kitchen with all of you (whether you like it or not). :)

So when my friends email me or Facebook message me and say "I have a recipe you just HAVE to make!" I consider that to be their equivalent of a food blog. They made something amazing and they want to share it with someone....totally understandable! Plus, I get the benefit of trying something new and then blogging about it to share it with all of YOU. It's a win-win!

My friend, Lindsey, sent me one of those Facebook messages last week about a pizza. But this was not your average pizza, as she explained in the message. It is a sauce-less pizza topped with caramelized onions, fontina cheese and pancetta. She admitted that she was skeptical about the lack of sauce and the odd combination of toppings, but she assured me that it was a wonderful result.
She was right.

Holy. Yum.

The recipe hails from the gods over at Cooking Light....seriously, CL recipe developers: I love you. You never fail me!

The most amazing part of the success of this pizza is that it has very minimal amounts of meat (pancetta) in it and The Hubs STILL LOVED IT! What?!? Who is that man?!

I will warn you that caramelizing onions is a task that must not be rushed, so allow yourself about 30 minutes to complete that part of the recipe. If you rush it, you'll end up with either burnt onions or non-caramelized onions. But once that part is done, it's really just slapping on the toppings and popping it in the oven. (You could even caramelize the onions in advance and have them prepped and ready for the night you're making the pizza!)

Mmmm...caramelization takes time!

Also, if you have trouble finding pancetta in your grocery store (like I did), check your deli meat counter! They had it there at mine, though they had no idea what I was talking about until I pointed to the package of pancetta in their counter and said "That pancetta....that you have right there." ::::eye roll::::

For the crust, this time we decided to go the lazy route and bought a package of fresh wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's.
It was so good!! We usually make our own dough, but honestly lately we've been less than impressed with our dough-making attempts, so this was a nice change!

And please, if you haven't tried Fontina cheese before, do yourself a favor and go get some NOW! It is so good!
Infinitely better than plain old mozzarella and well worth the slight increase in price!


Fontina, Caramelized Onion & Pancetta Pizza
Source: Cooking Light (my adjustments in red)

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pizzas--we just made one 12-inch pizza (serving size: 2 slices)

Pizza Dough
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 ounces pancetta (Italian-style bacon) or Canadian bacon, chopped
8 cups sliced onion (about 3 large)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme --I used 1 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
Thyme sprigs (optional) --I used fresh basil
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Prepare the Pizza Dough according to directions and roll out.

While dough is rising the second time, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add pancetta, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add onions, thyme, salt, and white pepper; cook 25 minutes or until onions are browned, stirring frequently.

Preheat oven to 475°.

Brush each prepared pizza crust with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; top each with half of onion mixture. Sprinkle cheese and fresh basil over each pizza. Bake at 475° for 9 minutes or until crusts are crisp. Cut each pizza into 8 wedges. Garnish with thyme sprigs and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.


CALORIES 238 (28% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 2.7g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.7g); IRON 2mg; CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 87mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.8g; SODIUM 300mg; PROTEIN 8.6g; FIBER 3.1g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1998

Sunday Roasted Chicken

I love roasting a whole chicken on Sundays. Not only is it delicious and affordable, but it also means I'll have delicious leftover chicken to use in another meal later in the week. That's a win-win!

I've experimented with a lot of different roasted chicken recipes but I've recently settled on one that is my go-to. It's easy, I almost always have all the ingredients on hand, and it tastes AMAZING!

I've made this a couple of times recently and every time I forgot to take a photo of the finished roasted chicken because I was so anxious to eat it. This time it happened again and I realized I was just going to have to deal with a photo of the chicken already cut up. At least you can tell how delicious it is by how much we wanted to eat it RIGHT AWAY. :)

Crispy Roasted Chicken

source: me

1 whole chicken (mine was 6 lbs)

1 lemon, cut into quarters

1 onion, cut into quarters

salt & pepper

2 Tbsp softened butter or margarine

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp Herbes de Provence (or 1 Tbsp rosemary & 1 Tbsp thyme would work just fine too)

1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the innards from the cavity of the chicken (I always make Alex do this part) and rinse the inside and out of chicken. Pat dry with paper towels and place on a roasting rack or on top of a bed of vegetables (I use onions & potatoes when I do it this way).

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the quartered lemon and onion into the cavity of the chicken.

Mix together the butter, oil, herbs & garlic salt until well combined. Using your hands, spread the mixture on the chicken. Also spread some of the mixture underneath the skin around the breast area. Make sure the whole chicken is covered in the butter mixture.

Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue cooking for about another 1.5 hours, or until the area under the wing registers at 180 degrees.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

**Note: If you put vegetables under your chicken, like I did in the picture, be sure that they are not cut too small. I cut mine too small this time and they were pretty much burnt to a crispity crisp by the time the chicken was done.

**Note #2: If you do NOT put vegetables under the chicken you will end up with awesome fat drippings under the chicken at the end of cooking, which you could then use to make gravy...(whisk in a little flour and chicken stock and heat until thickened). Sometimes we do this but lately we are trying to save the calories...and really the chicken is so moist and juicy that it doesn't even need gravy!

**Note #3: After we both get one dinner out of the chicken, we usually still have 2-3 cups of leftover chicken for another meal. Try using the chicken in a soup...it's soo good!

**Note #4: You can experiment with the spices in the butter/oil rub (as I often do)...Lemon Pepper also makes a great addition.

Maybe someday I'll actually remember to take a picture BEFORE we dig in to the chicken.

Chicken & Chickpea Soup

I just realized I haven't posted a dinner recipe in entirely too long and I know why. It's not what you probably think...

The truth is, I have lots of dinner recipes that I've been wanting to share with you, but I've been HATING my food photos. So much so that it makes me not even want to blog about it because I'm a big believer in eating with your eyes first. It gets dark so dang early so by the time I go to take my photos I have exactly zero natural light. No natural light makes for verrrrry dismal photos and I just don't feel right about putting up dismal photos on a regular basis.

I mean, the other night I made Coq au Vin and I have yet to blog it because I'm so depressed about the way the photos look. COQ AU VIN!! I should not be embarrassed to blog about Coq au Vin!

But I am.

I've been dropping lots of hints at the Mister to help me make a Light Box so my photos will turn out better whether it's day or night, but alas...I still don't have a light box.

For the time being I've been trying to make do by re-photographing the leftover food the next day, in better light, and that's exactly what I did with this Chickpea & Chicken Soup.

(Unfortunately the Coq au Vin didn't re-photograph well either....damn you fancy but unphotogenic French dish!)

This soup certainly deserved a second photo shoot because it was so darn delicious! I'll take the extra time for a reward like this soup any day!

And it was no surprise that it was delicious, since it hails from one of my favorite food blogs, How Sweet It Is. (Jessica is a girl after my own heart with her deep love for all things bacon and chocolate.)

My changes are noted below.

Chickpea Chicken Soup

Source: How Sweet it Is

serves approximately 6-8, depending on your serving sizes

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped (I used a green pepper...doesn't matter)

1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped (I omitted the mushrooms because my husband dislikes them)

2 cups raw spinach (I used baby spinach)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used leftover cooked chicken from a roasted chicken I had made earlier in the week)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 cup chopped carrots

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 25-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I just used a normal-sized can of chickepeas...15 oz. I think?)

24 ounces low-sodium chicken stock (I used 32 oz of chicken broth (one large box) to make it more soupy)

Preheat a large pot on medium heat. Add chopped bacon and fry until brown and crispy. While bacon is frying, chop vegetables and prep chicken. You have 3 options for the chicken – you can either bake it while the bacon + veggies are sauteing, you can pan-fry it while the bacon + veggies are sauteing, or you can use pre-made/leftover shredded chicken in the soup. Either way, take the time while the bacon is frying to get the chicken ready. (Like I said above, I used leftover shredded chicken)

Once bacon is done, remove and drain on a paper towel. Keeping heat on medium, add onions, mushrooms and peppers to bacon grease and saute until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, spinach, paprika and cumin and stir for 60 seconds. Turn heat down to low and add chickpeas, celery, carrots and chicken. Pour in chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Right before serving, add bacon back into soup. Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve with toast if desired. Season with salt and pepper if needed. I found I needed no extra salt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And just because I feel like I haven't embarrassed my husband on here in a really long time either, I present you with this photo:

Yes, that's a headlamp on his head. He was grilling steaks outside and it was dark and we don't have an outdoor light so he resorted to this. He's cute AND resourceful! :)

Victory Soup

I foresee myself being forced to make this soup again 3 more times in the next 3 weeks.

Reason being, my husband is extremely superstitious about Aggie football.

For example, as we were watching the A&M vs. OU game tonight, he refused to take off his shoes and socks until the end of the game because he was afraid it would change the tide of the game. Um, what?

Another example, he was drinking Shiner Bock beer during the first half when we were winning, then during the 3rd quarter he switched to St. Arnold and we started sucking, so he switched back to Shiner. Interesting coincidence? Nope, not to my husband.

And since we did end up winning against #8 OU tonight (WHOOP!), I foresee him demanding I make this same Chicken Taco Soup for the final 3 games of the season, in order to avoid "jinxing" our beloved Aggies.

Luckily, I will have no objections to this request, since this soup was delicious AND easy. That's a winning combo in my book!

This recipe was given to me by a coworker, which I tweaked to better suit our needs a bit. Trust me when I say, it is SO good! My favorite part is the extra flavor that the ranch & taco seasoning packets add to it.

Chicken Taco Soup

Source: no idea who the original recipe comes from, but I got it from a coworker

-1 tsp Olive Oil

-1 Onion, chopped

-2 Bell Peppers, chopped

-1 can Ranch-style Beans

-1 14.5 oz can Stewed Tomatoes

-1 can Rotel with Green Chiles

-3-4 cups of cooked, shredded Chicken (you could use any leftover chicken for this but we roasted 3 whole, bone-in chicken breasts at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes)

-1 packet reduced-sodium Taco Seasoning

-1 packet Ranch Dressing mix

-4 cups reduced-sodium Chicken Broth

-1/2 cup Frozen Corn

Toppings: plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), sharp cheddar cheese, chopped avocado, Fritos corn chips (or tortilla chips)

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add bell pepper and onion and saute until tender.

Add all the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-45 minutes. (Side note: You could also easily adapt this for a slow cooker....just toss all ingredients in and cook on low for 6-8 hours)

Serve soup with toppings as you please. Enjoy!

Recipe makes enough for 6-8 servings, at least. We have tons of leftovers!

Oh and before I go, I just have to share this pic of my pup.

Lately, with the sun going down so early, I've resorted to taking food photos in our mud room, since we get the best bright light in there. In that room we have a little doggie door and my pup likes to stick her head through and check on what I'm doing when I'm in there.

You know, cuz she's too lazy to come all the way through the door.

And one more thing, these:

Are amazing. They're from Target, if you're wondering.

That is all.

Vote for Soup

Other soups want you to believe that they are the best choice for your Fall comfort meal, but they are liars.

Other soups say that they are quick and easy, but the facts are that they are not.

This soup may seem simple and plain, but it is actually very flavorful and delicious.

But most importantly, this soup is emphatically endorsed by The Hubster.

So please, vote for White Bean Soup with Kale & Sausage tomorrow. You won't regret it!

This message brought to you by Cupcakes & Combat Boots.

:)

Anyone else sooooooooooo tired of all the election commercials?? Geez...I'm glad tomorrow is election day because I've had ENOUGH of them.

This recipe was adapted from one for White Bean Soup with Kale & Chorizo in the latest edition of Cooking Light. The major change that I made was subbing in smoked Italian hot sausage for Spanish chorizo, since my grocery store doesn't carry Spanish chorizo.

I honestly couldn't believe how much the Hubs loved this....he kept complimenting it over and over. I thought it would be a little too "light" and "kaley" for him, but I was clearly wrong!

And the very best part of this recipe, it came together in less than 30 minutes! Score!

Seriously, make this soup. It's really surprisingly awesome!

White Bean Soup with Kale and Sausage

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

-4 ounces any smoked sausage (we used hot Italian), finely chopped

-1 cup onion, chopped

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-5 cups lower-sodium chicken broth

-2 (15-ounce) cans organic cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

-5 cups kale, stripped from stems, rinsed and torn into pieces

-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

-1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preparation

1. Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pot; sauté 1 minute. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.

2. Add broth and beans to pot; partially mash beans with potato masher. Bring to a boil. Stir in kale and spices; cook over medium heat 10 minutes.

A Hangover and Enchiladas

Today I did basically nothing all day because I was "sick".....and by "sick" I mean hungover. I think I'm officially too old to drink copious amounts of alcohol. It was rough!

The culprit for the hangover was a very fun Halloween party that we went to last night. Hubs and I dressed up as the Blues Brothers, I drank margaritas and played MANY games of cornhole and beer pong. Too many, in fact, but I was winning so I kept going to prove it wasn't a fluke!

If only having so much fun didn't result in a terrible all-day long hangover and one stint with my head over the toilet at 9 am. Yuck!

When I finally started to feel human again around 6 pm tonight and the thought of food hitting my mouth didn't make me gag, I decided to cook.

Veggie Enchiladas....aka hangover cure

And I'm so glad I did, because this is probably one of my new favorite dishes.

I spotted the recipe over on How Sweet It Is a while back and had it bookmarked since. I'm so glad she shared this because it is a great way to incorporate lots and lots of veggies in a more palatable way for those who aren't huge veggie fans (ahem husband).

Plus, it's warm and gooey and cheesy! Who doesn't love those things?!

I modified the recipe slightly so my way is listed below. My mix of veggies was pretty random, but that's the great thing about this recipe: you can modify it to include whatever veggies you have on hand!

Loaded Veggie Enchiladas

Source: Modified from How Sweet It Is

8-10 whole wheat tortillas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 medium white or red potatoes, chopped

1/2 cup butternut squash, chopped

1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped

1 summer squash, chopped

1 cup refried black beans (half a can)

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add peppers, onions, potatoes and butternut squash, sprinkle with salt and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Add in summer squash and broccoli, sauteing for another 5 minutes. Add refried beans and half the can of enchilada sauce, mixing until combined and heating through.

To assemble enchiladas, add about 1/2 cup mix into the center of a tortilla and roll tightly. Add to baking dish and repeat with tortillas and mix. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Hangover officially cured.

But I'm still never drinking alcohol again. (yeah right)

Sister-in-Laws, Babies & Easy Apple Crisp

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days! We've been busy bees with a houseguest, the arrival of a friend's new baby and the celebration of a friend's daughter's 1st birthday. Here we go with a little {long} recap:

WEDNESDAY:

Wednesday night we had a houseguest: my sister-in-law (a.k.a. Alex's sister)!!

She was passing through our part of Texas on her way to meet up with her boyfriend in San Antonio so she stopped in for the night. It was a quick visit but it was a lot of fun to catch up with her. She lived with me last summer when Alex was deployed and interned at my job so we have become close.

She's also a loyal Cupcakes & Combat Boots reader so she insisted that I take a picture of her to make it on the blog. In turn, I insisted that if this was to happen, it needed to be a photo of her eating. She agreed to my terms. :)

Chomp!

And yes, we ate dinner on the couch, even with a houseguest. We're casual like that. ;-)

So what did we eat? Well, it's a dish that's been seen on Cupcakes & Combat Boots before but it's certainly worth repeating.

Cajun Chicken Ranch Sandwiches

w/ sweet potato oven fries

Yummmmm. The flavors just go together so well!

As a military-related side note, my sister-in-law's boyfriend is also in the Army and he is deploying to Afghanistan next week. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he sets off on this journey. Also, please pray for peace for Andrea that she can remain calm during this deployment (it's the first she's had to deal with, besides her brother's of course) and that it goes by quickly.

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THURSDAY:

One of my very good friends, Connie, had her baby on Wednesday evening (!!!) so on Thursday night we headed out to the hospital to visit her and meet little Max.

Hubs with Max

Me with Max...he was so awake and alert...I was shocked!

Look at that big yawn! He's so adorable!

So since we had to drive 45 minutes each way to go visit Max & Connie, we were planning on just grabbing dinner along the way somewhere. When we spotted a Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburger we knew that was where we were eating.

We had both had Freddy's before in Wichita, KS (which is where the Hubs is from and, incidentally where the Freddy's chain began) and loved it.

I didn't take any photos of our dinner, but just trust me, if you ever have a chance to eat at Freddy's DO IT. It's a retro-esque burger & custard joint that specializes in super-thin "steak burgers" and delicious custard treats. The shoestring french fries are also TO DIE FOR.

I enjoyed a burger, fries, and a mini-Reese's concrete {basically a Blizzard by a different name}. It was sooooooooooo good and so absolutely worth the splurge in calories/fat/etc.

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Friday night we went to a 1st birthday party for our friend's daughter but I didn't take any photos. They served hot dogs, chips & queso, potato salad, etc. It was a fun night but I was so very tired by the end of the night.

SATURDAY:

Saturday night we had another repeat dinner while hanging around the house watching football.

Seared Skirt Steak with Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes (click link for recipe from Men's Health)

w/ Roasted Potato Wedges

{I'm so annoyed that it's getting dark sooner at night now. It makes it almost impossible for me to get good natural light photos since we are post-7pm dinner eaters usually.}

We really like this recipe. It's easy, quick and super tasty. We had a few "issues" while cooking it tonight though so it wasn't our best work. ;-) The meat was extremely undercooked when we cut into it so we tried to cook it a little more but it ended up being rather tough. Also, we almost smoked ourselves out of the kitchen at one point...beware the searing! :)

For the roasted potato wedges I just coated yellow-skinned potato wedges in olive oil and then sprinkled with kosher salt & pepper. Then I spread them out on a rack placed on top of a baking sheet. Baked for 20 minutes at 425 degrees until crispy and browned. They were really good!

Then for dessert, I made an Apple Crisp!

We had a sack of little baby Gala apples in our fridge so I figured I'd use some of them up in a delicious, fall dessert!

Gracie at Girl Meets Health posted the recipe for this apple crisp earlier this week and she swore it was amazing so I decided to give it a whirl.
She was absolutely right! It was SO good! The best part though was how stinkin' easy it was to make. I seriously whipped this up in 10 minutes and then all I had to do was wait for it to bake. That's dangerous because now I'm going to want apple crisp all the time and I'll know that it's not hard to get it! Uh oh...

I'm posting the recipe the below with my slight alterations but I basically followed it exactly.

Easy Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• 4 apples, peeled and sliced {I used 6 small apples and cut them into small chunks, instead of slicing. I also left the peel on because I like it.}
• lemon juice {juice from 1 lemon}
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 stick cold butter, cut into tiny pieces
• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat the oven to 375 and spray a shallow pan (I used a square pan) with cooking spray. Spread out the apples evenly along the bottom of the pan and sprinkle the lemon juice on top.

In a large bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients and use your hands to work in the butter. In the end, you should have tiny pieces of butter throughout. You still want some chunks for optimal streusel.

Spread the streusel on top of the apples and bake for about 25 minutes {35 minutes for mine}. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.