Good 4 You-White Chicken Chili

Good 4 You -White Chicken Chili

1 or 2 Lbs. cooked & cubed chicken breast (I cut it up and cooked it in my crockpot for 30 mins on high with the oil)
1-2 Tbs oil
Packet of McCormick chicken chili seasoning
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 or 2 cans great northern beans with liquid
1 can white or yellow corn
2 small cans green chilis –optional

Directions:  You can cook the chicken in the crockpot.  To the cooked chicken, add seasoning mix and broth. Then add beans, corn, and green chilis, keep on low in crockpot for 2-4 hours…OR stovetop for just 20 mins…top with lowfat shredded cheese, lite sour cream, and chopped green onions…serve with baked corn tortilla chips ! YUM!

Modifications:
-I added a can of pinto beans.
-I left out the cheese, sour cream and chips.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I put 2 frozen chicken breasts in a crockpot with a couple Tbsps of olive oil and let it cook for about an hour.

#2 After the chicken and thawed and cooked for about an hour, I cut it up into chunks and then seasoned it with Home Seasoning.

#3 I added the white chicken chili seasoning, chicken broth, corn, green chiles and beans to the crockpot and let it cook for about 5 hours.

The Finished Product:

Review:

Talk about good!  This dish was so easy and so good.  It was healthy with the chicken breasts and beans.  Since the broth comes from chicken stock and the liquid of the beans, there is no "cream of xx" involved.

I only put one can of the green chiles in and I think that was perfect especially if you are serving it to children.  If you want a little more kick, go ahead and add the extra can.

I did end up adding a can of pinto beans, which the recipe did not call for, because since I didn't measure out the chicken stock, my chili was too runny.  Once I added the pinto beans, I had a great consistency and I love the extra meatiness of pinto beans.

I served this chili with a side of Jiffy corn bread  muffins.

One of the best things about this meal is that it takes about 5 minutes of prep time.  I'd recommend fresh chicken breasts for a faster prep then pop open a couple of cans and walk away!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie from Recipes from Dawn's Daily Life

Beef Filling Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-4 teaspoons chili powder
1 dash pepper
1 (15 ounce) can black beans or refried beans
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Cornmeal Topping

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:  Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet until meat is browned; drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, seasonings, and beans; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until thick; stir in cheese then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, stir cornmeal, salt, and cold water together in a saucepan; cook over medium-high heat (please be careful as hot cornmeal mixture may splatter) for a minute or two, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Turn meat filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon cornmeal topping evenly over entire top of beef filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until cornmeal topping is set and beef filling is bubbly. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream.

NOTE: Family-sized portions of the cooked beef filling freeze excellently in Ziploc freezer bags - To serve: Just thaw, turn meat filling into a prepared baking dish, quickly make and spoon on a proportional amount (for a frozen half-batch to be baked in an 8x8" pan, prepare topping using 1/2 cup cornmeal and 1 1/3 cup water) of cornmeal topping, bake and enjoy

Modifications:
-I used a can of Southwestern Bean Salad which includes a couple of different beans, corn and chili spices.
-I used white corn meal instead of yellow corn meal.
-I did not have a can of black olives so I left them out.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cut up an onion and green pepper.  I put them in a wrought-iron skillet with 93/7 ground beef.

#2 I preheated the oven to 375 degrees.

#3 Once the ground beef is browned, I drained the meat.  I then added the tomato sauce, corn, beans and spices.  I let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

#4 While the mixture was simmering, I measured out the white corn meal mix and added water.  I let it cook until it was thick, pulled it off the stove and added 1 Tbsp of butter.

#5 I added the cheese to the meat mixture and pulled it off the stove, transferred it to a coated 9x13 baking dish and smoothed it out.

#6 Once the butter was added to the corn meal, I poured it out on top of the meat mixture.

#7 In to the oven for about 45 minutes.

The Finished Product:

Review:

This dish was really good.  It had the Mexican-style taste that we love and it was easy to make.

I did pull out the tortilla chips and taco shells in case anyone wanted to add a little extra crunch.  Scott made nachos out of his plate and he had 3 helpings!

I was a little wary of the corn meal mix on top but I actually wish that there was more of it.  I wonder how it would taste if I were to add the thickened corn meal mixture throughout the entire casserole?  The top layer or bite of this was really good with the extra texture of the baked corn meal but it was it was the second and third layers where the bites were basically just the meat filling.  (If you know if I could mix the corn meal in with the rest and make it have corn meal bites throughout, let me know!)

Overall, this was a successful dish.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Beer and Kraut Brats

Beer and Kraut Brats by Campbell's Kitchen
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced

1 pound bratwurst, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can (12 fluid ounces) beer
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed French Onion Soup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 package (16 ounces) fresh sauerkraut, drained (about 3 cups)
Hot mashed potatoes or egg noodles

Directions:  Cook bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off drippings.  Add the bratwurst and cook until it's well browned.  Add the beer, soup, brown sugar, sauerkraut and bacon. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 15 minutes or until the bratwurst reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. stirring the mixture a few times while it's cooking. Serve over potatoes or noodles.

Modifications:
-I used beef sausage instead of bratwurst.
-I used turkey bacon instead of pork bacon.
-I used instant mashed potatoes instead of "real" potatoes
-I cut the bacon into little pieces and added them to the mashed potatoes.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cooked a few pieces of turkey bacon in some olive oil until it was crispy.

#2 Once finished, I pulled the bacon and put the cut up pieces of sausages in the same grease.

#3 I put the bacon on paper towels to drain.

#4 I added the French onion soup, saurkraut, beer and brown sugar.

#5 While the mixture was cooking down, I cut up the bacon into little pieces.

#6 I made the instant mashed potatoes according to directions and added the cut up pieces of bacon bits into them.

The Finished Product:

Review:

This dish was so good.  Polish sausage and saurkraut is one of my family's meals anyway but this sausage with the kraut added with the mashed potatoes made it feel more authentic.

The recipe called for a beer to be added but then said to only cook for about 15 minutes.  I let this simmer for about 25 minutes because the beer flavor was still too strong after 15 minutes and hadn't cooked off enough.  The French onion soup, though, was a nice surprise and I will definitely use it again.

This dish was supposed to be in honor of Germany making it into the final game of the World Cup and even though that didn't happen, I decided to make it anyway.  LOL

Hope you enjoy!

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!

Sangria Perea

Sangria Perea by Guy Fieri
3 cups ice cubes
1/4 cup lemon slices
1/4 cup lime slices
1/4 cup orange slices
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup seedless grapes
2 bottles red wine
1 cup peach brandy
2 cups orange juice
2 cups lemon/lime soda

Directions:  In a pitcher, add all the ingredients and stir to combine.  Ideally, you want to wait about 1 hour for the fruit and the wine to infuse each other, but you can drink it right away.  Makes a 2 gallon pitcher.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cut up all of the fruit.

#2 I emptied 2 bottles of wine into the pitcher and added all of the fruit.  I refrigerated it for about 2 hours.

#3 I then added the brandy, orange juice and soda.  I poured over ice and enjoyed!

The Finished Product:

Review: 

This sangria was SO good.  Refreshing, sweet, tangy, citrusy--everything summer!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad from my friend, JoAnna Sullivan
1 box of mostaccioli
1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp accent
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-4 cucumbers, diced
1-2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 large green bell peppers, diced

Directions:  Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Whisk together all of the ingredients (minus the vegetables).  Add the chopped vegetables together, stir in the pasta and chill.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the box.  While that was cooking, I cut up and diced 3 cucumbers.

#2 I halved 2 pints (containers) of cherry tomatoes.

#3 I diced 2 green peppers.

#4 I added all of the herbs, sugar, oil and vinegar.

#5 I stirred in the pasta.

The Finished Product:

Review:

A couple of weeks ago my friend, JoAnna, came over for a playdate and she brought this pasta salad.  It was so delicious that I had to make it for the 4th of July and it was a big hit.

The vinegarette dressing is sweet and tangy and when combined with the crunchiness of the cucumbers and green peppers it is a great combination.

Believe me, you will love this!

Hope you enjoy.

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!