October 2014 ~ Colie's Kitchen

Oct 29, 2014

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Ree Drummond)

This recipe is delicious and super easy. Don't let the ingredient list overwhelm you this is sooo easy because you are opening up a lot of cans and spices.

Everyone in the house freaked out over how amazing this was. I love the ease of it and I love that if you have left over chicken you can easily make this soup.

I love Ree Drummond! Her recipes are amazing! They are easy and delicious and best of all totally filling! Make it even easier by using left over chicken!!

Ingredients

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/4 teaspoons chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups hot water
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2- 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
3 tablespoons cornmeal
5 small corn tortillas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Start by mixing together the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the chilli powder, the garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture. Set the rest of the spice mixture aside. Bake until the chicken is cooked all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Cut the chicken into cubes and set aside.
Next, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Throw in the onions, green and red bell peppers and garlic. Throw in a tablespoon of the spice mixture used to season the chicken. Add a little extra chilli powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) for heat. Stir to cook the vegetables until they begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the cubed chicken and diced tomatoes, juice and all. Add the chicken broth, hot water and tomato paste. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Add the drained black beans. Next, mix together the cornmeal with 1/2 cup water. Add the mixture to the pot, and then simmer the soup for 10 to 15 minutes. Give it a taste and add salt or seasonings as needed; be sure to not under salt it!
Cut the tortillas into uniform 2- to 3-inch strips. Stir most of them into the soup just before serving. This is what makes tortilla soup tortilla soup! Turn off the heat and get ready to serve it up. Ladle the soup into a bowl, then add avocado, red onion, sour cream, cilantro and extra tortilla strips to the top. The more toppings on tortilla soup, the merrier.

Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Whipped Pumpkin Butter Spread

This whipped pumpkin butter is delicious! You can’t eat much because the calories are killer for 1 tablespoon. You certainly want to be selective on what you are using it on and how much you use unless you are one of those people who are lucky enough not to worry about calories.

I am in love with this pumpkin butter. I have used it on bagel thins and on English muffins, but I think you could use it on just about anything and be happy.

Nothing says Fall like pumpkin and nothing makes me happier than pumpkin everything!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Place the butter in a mixing bowl, and whip on high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute.
In another bowl, stir together the honey, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice until well mixed. Add the honey mixture to the butter, and whip on high with the electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy and smooth, about 1 more minute.
Chill the pumpkin butter for several hours or overnight to blend the flavors.

Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Spinach and Greek Yogurt Dip

This recipe is to die for! I mean seriously to die for. I am in love. I made this with full fat mayonnaise. I regret that I made it with full fat mayo because of the fat and the calories so next time I will use low fat mayo.

This is so awesome. I love the flavor and to top it off it’s something that is so low in calories especially if you use low fat mayo. I could eat this day and night on Wasa toast.

This is something that is now a staple in our house. Everyone really loves it and eats it liberally. The points are super low if you are counting point for Weight Watchers. Wahoo a good low recipes.

Ingredients:

1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, cooked, cooled and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl.
Chill, if desired.
Serve with your favorite dippers.

Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Chicken and Gravy

We all really enjoyed this recipe! It’s quick and easy but best of all it’s loaded with flavor. This would be an awesome start to a pot pie it would also be awesome served loaded full of vegetables and served over biscuits.

What I loved was that it was only 7 Weight Watchers points (plus) not including anything that was being served with it like rice or potatoes.

We served our over mashed potatoes which was amazing. I think this would also be fantastic served over brown rice. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that this isn't a pretty recipe.

Serves 5

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pounds)
1 packages brown gravy mix (I used pioneer)
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) low fat low sodium cream of chicken soup
2 cups water
1 tbsp. dry onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup of frozen pea and carrot mix
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Mashed potatoes or Rice prepared

Directions:

To a dutch oven add dry gravy, onion flakes, garlic powder, water, and cream of chicken soup. Using a whisk mix all together.
Add chicken breast to the pot and cover with gravy bring to a boil then reduce heat to a medium and cover. Cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until chicken starts to fall apart. Stir often to prevent burning and sticking.
Shred chicken breast in the pot then add 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots mix well then recover the pot. Cook for another 2o minutes.
Serve over mashed potatoes, or rice or toast.

Adapted from Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Parmesan Mushroom Orzo

This is a quick and easy recipe I made spur of the moment. It turned out amazing. I will tell you that the quality of the chardonnay will make a difference in your recipe.

Also read about your chardonnay before you use it. This recipe takes on the flavor of the chardonnay. My chardonnay has a strong cinnamon flavor when it’s was cooked. It was incredible! This would be easy to add cooked chicken breast to or even make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth.

This would also be great with fresh spinach added in the cooking process or even adding a bed of spinach to serve it over. I think this recipe would be fantastic for meatless Monday!!

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ white onion sliced
1 rounded cup dry orzo
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic minced

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized pot over a medium heat add onion and garlic and cook until light brown
Add orzo and cook about 2 minutes. When it has taken on a light golden color, pour in chardonnay, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.
Add mushroom and cook for two minutes with 1/2 cup broth. Stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the orzo is al dente, only use as much chicken broth as needed this process should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.