Fiesta Soup

Recently, I shared a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars.  While I was searching for recipes, I came across this soup recipe that sounded absolutely amazing.  I was able to give it a try, and it definitely lived up to my expectations!

Best of all, it's super easy!

It's not the prettiest picture, but I promise, the soup is fabulous!

Fiesta Soup
Ingredients

• 1/2 c. diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can of black beans (15 oz) drained and rinsed
• 1 can of kidney beans (15 oz) drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced green chili peppers (4.5 oz)*
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)*
• 2 1/2 c. low sodium, fat free chicken broth
• 1 c. frozen corn
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• sea salt (to taste)
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 in. cubes

*Do not drain

Take all of that stuff up there, chop it, open it, drain it, rinse it, measure it, and throw it all in your slow cooker.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.  (I ended up cooking mine for 7.)

1 cup serving: 91 calories, 7.5 g protein
2 cup serving: 181 calories, 15 g protein

The end.

What I like about this recipe:

There are a lot of ingredients, but that doesn't bother me at all since it all gets tossed in the slow cooker, and I don't have to worry about it until it's time to eat.  I will note that I did go out to stir it occasionally, but that was only because I was home, and I felt like it.

It's a slow cooker recipe.  Duh.

The flavor is amazing.  It's kind of similar to chili.

I DIDN'T HAVE TO COOK THE CHICKEN!!  I've mentioned recently that I just seem to have trouble with chicken recipes.  The pieces of chicken are small, and are being cooked for at least 6 hours, so they are cooked in all of that chicken broth and yummy goodness.  The chicken pieces were moist and flavorful, and I didn't feel compelled to pick them out and eat them first to get it out of the way!

What I don't like about this recipe:

The original recipe calls for cilantro.  While I know how much my friend, Kristin, loves cilantro, I'm not a fan.  So I just didn't use it.   

You can find the original recipe here.

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup

I was on a soup kick last week.  (Hey, it's not really spring-like in PA yet!)  I made my creamy potato soup (again), and the next day I decided that broccoli cheese soup sounded good!

This recipe is super easy, and it literally came printed on a box of Velveeta cheese.

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients

• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 2 T butter, divided
• 2 T flour
• 2 1/2 c. milk
• 3/4 lb. (12 oz.) Velveeta cheese product, cut into cubes
• 1 pkg. (10-12 oz) frozen broccoli, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

1. Cook and stir onion in 1 T. of butter in a saucepan on medium heat until the onion is tender.

2. Add the remaining butter and flour.  Cook for one minute or until hot and bubbly, stirring constantly.

3. Gradually add milk, stirring until well blended.  Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for one minute.

4. Add chunks of Velveeta cheese and pepper.

5. Cook until Velveeta is melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.

And there you have it!

I'll be honest, friends, I know that Velveeta is NOT real cheese, and it's probably not the best thing for you.  It just melts so smoothly, and it tastes so good!  The recipe itself does actually mention using Velveeta Light (which is weird because it came on a box of the regular stuff), and I use nonfat milk to make mine.

Anyway, if you're looking for something warm and yummy on a chilly spring day, this is certainly worth a try! :)

Pork & Sauerkraut

One of my family's New Year's Day traditions is having pork, hotdogs, and sauerkraut.  My grandparents were always the ones who cooked and brought it to my mom and dad's house for dinner until a few years ago. 

Now let me tell you.  I hate sauerkraut.  I really do.  But, oddly enough, I like the flavoring that it gives to the pork.

I'm a complicated person.

So anyway, Scott does like sauerkraut, and he had about half a jar left it the fridge.  Last Monday, I had a Celebrating Home party to do.  I knew that I needed to get home, eat, and head out for a 45 minute trip to the party location.  Scott was working nights, so the only way this could really happen was to let something cook all day.

Along with that sauerkraut, we had some porkchops in the freezer.  I was struck with the brilliant idea to make pork, hotdogs, and sauerkraut.

Cue my Bean Pot.  (Just so you know, if you click on that link, it will take you to this cute Christmasy Bean Pot that's on sale right now for $23...orignally $46....that's HALF OFF!!!)

This was so easy, it's almost embarrassing to post.

Bean Pot Pork & Sauerkraut
Ingredients:

• 2-4 boneless pork chops (I used 3.)
• sauerkraut
• hotdogs
• salt & pepper (to taste)

1. Place porkchops in the bean pot and empty the sauerkraut on top.  (P.S. My porkchops were frozen.)  Put hot dogs on top.

2. Bake in oven on 170* for 8 hours.

 

3. Serve with mashed potatoes and bread. 

 

No, I didn't eat any of the hot dogs.  While I like pork cooked in sauerkraut, I don't like my hot dogs cooked in it.  I told you.  I'm complex.  ;) 

This was so good, but there were a couple of things that would have made it better: eating it with my family on New Year's Day and the bread that my Pappy always would bring to go with it.  It's store bought, but oh so much better than this stupid stuff on my plate.  :)

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

So for starters, let's not assume that this is a "breakfast" food. For me, sausage has nothing to do with my breakfast....and it pretty much never will. Scott loves sausage gravy and biscuits. So I did what any girl in the 21st Century would do: I Googled it. While it is not as good as the kind that can be found at Whataburger in Texas, (according to my Scott, I never ate it there.) it is quite yummy. Here's how to make it:

Biscuits & Sausage Gravy
Original recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 lb sausage (I use Italian sweet sausage.)
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 8 prepared biscuits*

*I used Pillsbury Grands biscuits, but if you feel lead to make them from scratch or use another kind, go for it!

1. Crumble sausage and cook over medium heat until browned.
2. Stir in flour.
3. Gradually, stir in milk.
4. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve over biscuits.

So easy, right?! I'm not a huge fan of sausage, but this was really very yummy.

Sloppy Joes

The last time Scott and I went grocery shopping, we bought a bag of green bell peppers at Sam's Club.  We got to a point where we needed to use them up, and I thought of Sloppy Joes.  When I was a kid, I truly thought that Manwich was the only way to make Sloppy Joes.  We don't often have that on hand, so I needed to figure out a yummy sauce that would do the trick.

The original recipe comes from allrecipes.com .  I needed to make a few tweaks, so here's my take below:

Sloppy Joes
Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 1 c. ketchup
• 1 T brown sugar
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Brown beef, onion, and bell pepper in a skillet.  Drain.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve on your choice of bread or bun.  I add cheese to my Sloppy Joe sandwiches.  I also had some yummy potato salad on hand, and I had that as a side.

Cheesy Italian Tortellini

Before I share this recipe, I just wanted to announce that I'm doing away with Dinner Time Tuesdays.  It was usually just me linking up anyway, so I've decided that it's no longer a productive use of my time to try to get it to take off as a link-up.

However, today just happens to be a Tuesday, and I just happen to have a recipe to share.  :)

There are days that I'm super glad that I follow Betty Crocker on Pinterest. 

Here's the original pin:

This is how I did it (I pretty much doubled this because I like leftovers for work!):

 

Betty Crocker's Cheesy Italian Tortellini

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 lb. Sweet Italian sausage
• 1 1/2 jars spaghetti sauce (My jars are 24 oz.  So I used 1 full one, and about 1/2 of another.)
• 8 oz. canned mushrooms
• 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pkg. frozen cheese-filled tortellini (16 oz. or more)
• Shredded mozzarella

1. In a skillet, brown beef and sausage.  Drain.



I really liked the combination of ground beef and sausage together.  I don't dislike sausage, but I find the taste can be overwhelming.  This was a great combo!

2. While the meat is browning, spray slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add sauce, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

4.  When the beef mixture is ready, add it to the slow cooker, and mix.

5. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.

6. Add the frozen tortellini about 30 minutes before serving. 

7.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, if desired.

 

 

Dinner Time Tuesday: Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

I have a REALLY yummy recipe to share with you today!  I've been so tired of the same old stuff for dinner, and I finally decided to try some entrée ideas from my "I Love Food" board on Pinterest (which I totally need to stop pinning desserts to, by the way.  OR I need to put more main courses to make it look like I have less desserts.....)

I digress.

This is a recipe for the slow cooker, which I love.  I threw everything into the crock pot the night before, stored it in the fridge, and then turned it on the next morning.  Before I give you my take, here is the link to the original recipe. 

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 2/3 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. Sprite
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 T. low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 T. corn starch

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and add the chicken.

2. Mix together brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Sprite, garlic powder, soy sauce, and pepper.

3. Pour over chicken.

4. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  (I'm finding that either my slow cooker is a SUPER cooker or that times are way off....I think I had this on LOW for 5 hours and it was done.)

5. However long it takes, when it's done, remove the chicken (most of it will fall apart), and pour the juice mixture into a sauce pan.

6. Turn the heat on high.  You will need to mix your 2 T. corn starch with a little water until it is a smooth consistency.  Then you can add the corn starch mixture to your sauce pan.  Let the mixture boil until it starts to thicken and turn into a glaze, about 2-3 minutes. 

7.  After this was ready, I put the chicken back in the slow cooker and poured the sauce over it.  Then I set the slow cooker to warm because I was ready to eat, but Scott was still sleeping.  (He was on night shift and would need to eat before going into work.

I served mine with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes.

 

I REALLY liked this.  It was almost too sweet for Scott, but he enjoyed it.  I finished the leftovers the other day with just the chicken and mashed potatoes.  Delicious!

 

Link up below to share something yummy you've had for dinner recently!  (I will have another new recipe coming soon!)

Dinner Time Tuesday 4/2: Burritos

It's Dinner Time Tuesday!

As I shared in Monday's post, Scott & I started the diet plan associated with the Insanity program.  However, before I start sharing those meals, I have one left that I wanted to share.

Here's an idea:

Burritos!

 

 

I made mine by browning ground beef with a chopped onion.  I drained the beef, and added taco seasoning.  I also bought a can of refried beans and heated those in the microwave.  Then I put the refried beans and meat on a warmed tortilla and topped it with Mexican blend cheese, salsa, and lettuce.

Quick, easy, and delicious!  We love tacos, and this was just a nice twist.  :)

 

Come link up below!

Dinner Time Tuesday 2/5

Here we are again.  It's time for Dinner Time Tuesday.  Today, I made Chicken Parmesan. I bake the chicken strips we buy at Sam's Club, throw it on top of some sort of pasta (which was spaghetti today), and sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. 

This is super easy, and it's sort of quick.  The chicken strips bake for 40 minutes.  Other than that, it's just about throwing it together. 

Anything good on your dinner table today?

(OOOhhhh...and do you like my signature??  I learned how to make one, thanks to Ashley!)