Archive for category: Food

Last night I made a recipe from Betty Crocker. I’m not a big buffalo wing fan, but T.J. loves them. Last time he had them at JCW’s he said something like, “I wonder why no one has ever made a buffalo chicken burger?” I remembered seeing a recipe once upon a time for that exact thing, so I looked it up and gave it a shot tonight. Like I said, it wasn’t my favorite recipe. But if you like buffalo wing sauce and blue cheese, give this a try. It’ll make your husband happy, I’m sure.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lb ground chicken
• 1/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 3 drops red pepper sauce
• 6 burger buns, split
• 6 leaves green leaf lettuce
• 1/4 cup refrigerated chunky blue cheese dressing
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

• Heat up your George Foreman grill. In large bowl, mix chicken, wing sauce, salt and pepper sauce.
• Shape mixture into six 1/2-inch patties, each about 4 inches in diameter. Place on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until thermometer inserted in center of patty reads 165°F.
• Place buns on grill, cut sides down. Cover grill; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted. Place lettuce and patty on bottom of each bun.
• In small bowl, stir together dressing and blue cheese. Top patties with dressing mixture and tops of buns. (T.J. added extra wing sauce to his.)

Friday night, I tried a new recipe. White Chili. Now this was big deal for me. Nine and half times out of ten, I always pick a red chili over white when we are at chili cook offs. I have a couple of good chili recipes that I rotate through, but they are all a tomato base. I wanted to make a soup/chili on Friday night and I came across this recipe when making my weekly food plan. I went for it!

It turned out wonderfully. I will now think twice about passing over white chili because who knew it could be so good. Well, at least this one is really good. Make it this week! I can’t stop making soups because of this BITTER cold, so if you’re like me… throw it in the crockpot this week and your whole family will be glad!

(Sidebar: Pictures of white chili aren’t very appetizing, so I’m skipping a photo this time. Just trust my words!)

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I bought cooked frozen chicken because I am lazy… it was a great idea. But if you have uncooked chicken, just saute it first)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup (8 ounces) fat free sour cream
• 1/2 cup Half & Half

Directions

• In a crock pot, add chicken, chopped onion, garlic powder, beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Let it sit on low for 5-7 hours.
• When ready to eat, stir in sour cream and Half & Half. Garnish with sour cream and shredded cheese, and serve with bread or tortilla chips.
  

*Mine was a little thin for my taste (I like thick and creamy chili), so I added a bit of cornstarch mixture and it thickened up within minutes.

Since I returned from Kentucky, I have been making meal plans for each week. It is one of my many New Year’s Resolutions. We are half way through January and I’m still doing it, so I think I deserve an award… right?

So, what’s for dinner tonight? A recipe I haven’t tried before but sounded delicious-I found it on a blog called The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

It’s already simmering in my crock pot making my home smell wonderful.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup finely diced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 4 cups chicken broth
• ½ bay leaf
• ½ cup flour
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups half and half, warmed (substitute milk for less calories)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. At this point I added all of the vegetables to a blender and blended until smooth. If you have a hand immersion blender that would work great. If you prefer a chunkier texture you can leave it as is or even blend just some of it. Return blended veggies back to the slow cooker.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare the roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add the flour. Stir roux constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly whisk in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve. Serve with warm rolls and a green salad.