Chicken - Tortilla Soup

The snow has started.. so its time to bring out the soup recipes! I feel like soup is all I have been making for the last month. But, you can never have enough soup so Im okay with that.

It also makes fabulous leftovers. I even think homemade soup taste better as leftovers!

Growing up I only remember having soup out of a can. My mom makes a taco soup and a few others. But I just dont really remember eating it much.

Im not sure why because soup is the easiest thing in the world to make and it is sooo stinkin good.

This is the Tortilla Soup Recipe that I have been using this year. We love it. As you can tell from the pictures, we crumble LOTS of chips and cheese on our bowls. I've also added a dollop of sour cream to the top - and thats really good! I recommend it. Oh my favorite thing about this recipe is its from Cooking Light.. so there are only 185 calories per serving! So I feel no quilt about adding all the chips & cheese!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion (I just use 1 large sweet onion)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 10 ounces)
• 1 can of whole-kernel corn
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 (14 1/4-ounce) cans no-salt-added chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced peeled tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium tomato soup, undiluted
• tortilla chips (if you want to add them on top)
• fat-free sour cream (if you want to add it on top)
  

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic; saute 2 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients (chicken through tomato soup); bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Ladle soup into bowls; top with tortilla chips and sour cream.

*I taste as I go and sometimes add more chili powder or other seasonings if I feel it needs it.
*Freeland adds jalapenos to his bowl if he is in the mood.
*Feel free to use frozen corn, fresh tomatoes, or whatever your little heart desires to make it how you like it.
*If you dont have wine - thats okay. But we do like it with the wine added to the recipe
*If Im in a hurry I turn up the oven so its a little hotter and dont simmer for the entire hour.

My favorite cookie: Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Rounds

This is our most favorite cookie in the world.

I make them all the time... and for pretty much everything we do. The first time I had these a friend brought them to our house. I ended up eating pretty much the entire plate all myself! Thats when I knew it was a recipe I was going to become very familiar with.

These are the perfect mix of chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal, and yummy-ness all in one.

My favorite thing is the recipe makes a bunch of cookies. So I always make the entire recipe and then put half of it in the freezer.. for those times that you have random guests over, or when you forget dessert, or when its been one of those days and you just want to eat something sweet.

Oh and the dough - I could just eat the entire bowl of dough itself.

So without further ado - here is our most favorite cookie in the world.

Peanut butter-oatmeal rounds
from the bh&g cookbook

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened (make sure its really soft or the cookies wont be as yummy)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped cocktail peanuts or semi-sweet chocolate pieces (i use the chocolate chips)
  

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or until combined.
2. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in rolled oats and peanuts.
4. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375-degree oven about 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
5. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

*Makes about 48 heavenly cookies
*Ive used all natural peanut butter from our local store before & I dont think they turned out as good. So I always use Peter Pan or the other store bought brands
*Like I noted above, make sure the butter is softened before starting. If not the PB and butter dont mix as well .. or you will end up over beating .. and the cookies will either be flat or harder than they are supposed to be.

Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

I made this tonight for dinner.

not good.

Honestly, I should have known. Rachel Ray and I dont always get along.

I was sad because I love pumpkin. But this recipe is incredibly bland. Freeland ate it and asked to keep the leftovers but we both agreed its one we wont make again. And I think Im learning cinnamon in anything but desserts and sweets is not a great combination for me. Its all I can taste.

Other great recipes that we love coming soon though. Good Night.

{twd} Rugelach

This was one of those weeks that I thought I would skip taking part in Tuesdays with Dorie because it didnt look like something I would like. It also looked like it was going to be hard.. before I looked at the recipe.

Then I remembered - thats why I started this whole thing - to branch out and make things I normally wouldnt try. So I decided that I had to go ahead and try it out.

Im glad I did. There is something rewarding about trying new things.

The Regelach was picked by Piggy's Cooking. To see the recipe click here.

The dough was very easy and came together very quickly. The filling was just as easy too. It seemed as though everything was coming together perfect.

Until I put these little goodies in the oven. The best way I know how to describe it is - they were no longer pretty. The filling ran all over the place and they were pretty flat too. (I think I rolled the dough too thin) The good news is, I guess that didnt matter! They were still pretty good.

Freeland and I came to the conclusion that they finish off better than they start. At first they taste sort of plain.. but they finish really well. He said they were just a good the next day too.

So, if youre looking to try something new.. I recommend this.

Gimme S'More ..

Its just that time of year. I find myself wanting smores everyday!

I dont know if its just the weather.. or because I can smell fireplaces all around our neighborhood.. or because I wish we were camping.. or just because its another excuse to eat sweets!

But I love smores.



a while ago Adam & Camille came over for dinner.

Freeland & I decided it was time to whip out the graham crackers, mellows, and chocolate.



We dont have an actual backyard where we can build a fire or have a fire pit .. so we always resort to using our grill.

It works great if you are in the same situation.



We used our kabob sticks this time. We also use hangers sometimes.

But I really enjoy using a branch or a stick .. it just feels more like you are actually camping if you do it that way.



Im more of a lightly roasted mellow.

Freeland lights his on fire and somehow gets the perfect roasted marshmallow without it being black or burned.

But I know some people are more of a light it on fire and get it as crispy as possible. That works too.



I have also noticed that I tend to eat half of the marshmallows while Im waiting for other people warm theirs up.

I think its my favorite part of doing smores.

Happy Fall.

*Note.. once winter kicks into full swing.. dont worry! I plan on doing smore cupcakes or the Inside Out Smores since we wont be hanging out on the porch like we used to.

Homemade Applesauce

Since we have an abundance of apples around here.. and way more than we can eat.. I was searching for something to do with them before they all went bad.

I came up with lots of yummy recipes but knew that I would just end up throwing them away since Freeland doesnt ever finish sweets that often.

Then I saw a commercial for applesauce. It never occurred to me to ever try to make that before.. ever in my life. I really never thought about it! So Applesauce it was!

before the apples started cooking

Im not a huge applesauce person though (side note: have you noticed the last few things I posted I said I wasnt a fan of? I promise I make things that i love also .. and Im really not that picky!) .. so back to me not eating applesauce.. I really had no idea what it should taste like.. so of course I went straight to my MS cookbook. I knew she would have a recipe that would be great & Freeland was bound to love. She never really fails us.

Turns out, I was right. She came through - like she always does. Freeland LOVED it!

And an extra bonus - while you are making this... it makes your house smell heavenly!

After the apples break down.. its almost ready!

I couldnt believe that the apples just break down on their own! Obviously, Im a newby to homemade applesauce.. but feel free to leave the apple slices pretty large because they wil break down.

Also just a little note from me to you: I found it very helpful asking my incredibly hot husband to assist me & I recommend everyone to do the same!! He peeled, cored, and diced everyone of the apples for me - and I couldnt have been more thankful. It kind of takes a while. (But dont be weary - the prep is super quick an easy once the apples are done though .. so dont worry if you start dicing and its taking a long time - everything else is done in .5 seconds)

Homemade Applesauce
*adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

Ingredients:
18 apples (about 6 pounds) peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup of apple cider
1 large cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup of sugar (or to taste)
2 table spoons of fresh lemon juice
*1/4 cup of brown sugar & some extra ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine apples, apple cider, cinnamon, vanilla bean and the scrapings, the ginger, nutmeg, sugar, and lemon juice in a large heavy-bottomed wide saucepan.
2. Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching, until the apples are broken down and saucy.. 50-60 minutes. Mash any large pieces of apple with the spoon if any of them still need to be broken down. *Season with more sugar & spices if you want.
3. Remove the apple mixture from heat, and let stand to cook completely before serving, discarding the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod.

Note:
The applesauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or in a freezer for up to 2 months.

If you want pink applesauce, dont peel the apples, and then just pass them through a food mill to remove the skins.

The original recipe also uses cardamom and mace spices. I didnt have those & didnt want to buy them .. but if you do Im sure it would be great! I added the brown sugar & a little extra ground cinnamon to mine. But really everything after the cinnamon stick is optional. And you dont have to use sugar at all.

{twd} Pumpkin Muffins

So I wasnt sure if I was going to participate in Tuesdays with Dorie this week. It was a busy week for us, I wasnt feeling well, and I wasnt sure if I was a huge pumpkin fan or not. I mean I LOVE pumpkin spice latte's.. but thats a drink - not food.

Then I started reading all the comments from other people on TWD and I was quickly convinced that I had to try them. Everyone kept raving about how amazing they were.

So here I am.. throwing them together at the last second. And let me tell you, it was so worth it! They are SO good. I suppose I am a pumpkin person after all! And it turns out Freeland is too! He LOVED these. He wont even take them in his lunch because he is afraid other people will eat them all. I reminded him that I can make more, but he prefers to keep them at home.. nice & safe.

The recipe called for raisins & sunflower seeds. And I feel like the muffins were actually pretty healthy the way Dorie makes them.

But, I wasnt going for healthy. So I left them out & added Chocolate Chips to mine instead. Its heavenly. I believe I ended up with 15 muffins. The recipe says to bake for 25 minutes but mine were done around 17 minutes. Oh and they were a hit as a thank you gift to one of our neighbors.
For the recipe - Click Here or look on page 13 in Dories book.