Friday, April 17, 2015

Chile Cheese Corn

Chile Cheese Corn
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
In a large skillet, combine cream cheese and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes, until heated through.

Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Soup

Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Soup
32 oz chicken both
24 oz chicken breasts
2 cans or Green Chili enchilada sauce
4 oz can of diced green chilies
3/4 cup of water
2 tbsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp of chile powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 cup of frozen corn
1 block of PHILADELPHIA cream cheese
3/4 cup of instant rice
salt and pepper to taste
table spoon of corn starch
In your slow cooker, mix together the broth, green enchilada sauce, green chilies, water, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. (My spice measurements are to my taste, it is up to you if you like more or less...) Add the chicken breasts to the crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours.  At the 7 hour mark, remove the chicken to another dish. Shred the chicken and put back in your slow cooker. Add the rice, corn and cream cheese to the soup mixture and replace the lid. Cook for another 30 minutes and stir the soup, making sure to get the cream cheese mixed in. You may need to cook just a bit longer to ensure the cream cheese is melted completely.  At this point, you can judge to consistency of your soup. If you would like it thicker, mix a table spoon of corn starch with about 1/8 cup of water and then mix into the soup, after 10 to 20 minutes the soup should thicken considerably.

Cajun Chicken & Rice

Cajun Chicken & Rice
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cajun or Creole Seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups diced onions and bell peppers
1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
Combine rice, water (or broth) and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 14 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside when done. Keep covered.  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch cubes. Season generously with cajun seasoning. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken in a single layer. Brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.  Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, increase heat to high, and when the oil is hot, carefully add the onions and bell peppers. Add more seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and browned.  Add the tomatoes to the onions and bell peppers, then add the chicken back in, along with any juices that may have collected on the plate. Add the cooked rice and stir until well combined.

Mississippi Sin Dip

Mississippi Sin Dip
24 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
8 oz chopped green chilies
2 cups cheddar cheese
16 oz sour cream
12 oz deli honey ham, very finely chopped.
Preheat over to 250.  Mix all ingredients together.  Bake for 30 minutes 'til hot and bubbly.  Serve with corn chips or any type of cracker you like.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Red Posole

Red Posole
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 (2 or 2.5 pound) boneless pork loin roast
1 (14.5 ounce) can MEDIUM enchilada sauce
1 (28 ounce) can MILD enchilada sauce
4 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped (or dried chopped onion)
1 (4.25 ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 (32 ounce) carton beef broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more if you can handle it!
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cut the pork loin into large chunks, about 6-8 big pieces.  Heat the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Place pork in skillet and sear all sides. You don't want to fully cook the pork, just sear the sides to seal in all the juices.  Place the meat in a large crock pot. Pour the enchilada sauce over the meat. Top with the chickpeas, onion, chiles, garlic, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Pour in enough beef broth to fill the slow cooker (you might not need the entire carton).  Cover and cook on High for 6 to 7 hours.  Remove the chunks of pork spoonfuls at a time to shred.  At this point, you should only have to smash them with a large wooden spoon and they fall apart.  Find and discard any bits of fat.  Stir in can of tomato paste to crock pot until blended.  Carefully put shredded pork back in crock pot.  Add salt.  Cook for about another hour on low.  Taste broth and add additional salt or cayenne pepper as necessary.  Serve with fresh tortillas, chips or corn bread.

Bowtie Lasagna

Bowtie Lasagna
1 lb bowtie pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground chuck
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup sour cream
Boil pasta in large pot of salted water until al dente, drain.  In large skillet, brown and crumble ground chuck until fully cooked, drain fat and return to pan.  Pour cooked pasta on top of meat, then drizzle on olive oil.  Pour on jar of sauce, salt, garlic powder and Italian seasonings.  Stir.  Add cheese and sour cream.  Stir over low heat until cheese is melted and all ingredients are combined.  Taste and add salt and pepper, if necessary.  Serve with parmesan or additional mozzarella, if desired.

Kentucky Sweet Corn Pudding

Kentucky Sweet Corn Pudding
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Dash salt
1 14-3/4 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14-3/4 oz can creamed corn
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs, then add the flour, sugar and salt, mixing well. Fold in the corn and melted butter. Pour the mixture into an 8″ x 8 glass” casserole dish or tall 8″ ramekin. Without stirring further, bake at 400 degrees F for 30 – 40 minutes until the top is browned. Remove the finished pudding from the oven and allow it to set for a few minutes before serving.
Notes:  Add a few small (1/4″ square) blocks of butter to the top of the pudding before baking to improve browning if desired.  The whole kernel corn can certainly be replaced with newer products containing chopped bell peppers and other additions.  Other additions can also be made such as chopped or sliced jalapeno, chopped green onion, or even chunks of cooked bacon or ham. Use your imagination!

Crock-Pot Chicken & Tomato Soup

Crock-Pot Chicken & Tomato Soup
2 onions, diced
2 Large chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups broth
1 Tsp garlic powder and paprika (if you have any)
Salt & pepper to taste
*Add more veggies if you want, we were just low so I used what I had!*
In a 5 quart crock pot place the diced onions, then the chicken breasts, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, celery, then stock. Add the seasonings and gently stir.  Turn slow cooker onto low for at least 5 hours if the breasts are frozen, or 3-4 hours if they aren't. This can stay in the slow cooker for up to 8 hours on low.  Once ready to eat, get the chicken breasts out of the slow cooker by using tongs, or two spoons, or whatever. Just pull them out and place them onto a cutting board.  Cut or shred the chicken, then place back into the crock pot (you will find the chicken is very tender and may fall apart as you take it out of the crock pot, but that's a good thing so don't worry about it!) Give it all one good stir, add salt & pepper as needed, scoop it up and serve!

Lemonade Magic Pie

Lemonade Magic Pie
One 9-inch chilled crumb pie crust
One 15-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
One 6-oz. can frozen concentrate lemonade
One 9-oz. container Cool Whip
Blend milk with thawed can lemonade. Stir until well blended. Fold in Cool Whip. Blend well. Pile lightly on chilled pie shell. Chill in refrigerator 12 hours.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

Chicken and Corn Chowder
4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
2 cups milk
2 cups corn, canned, organic, drained
1 cup sharp cheese, grated
1 cup potato flakes
1 tablespoon creole seasoning
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano, dried, crushed
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
green onion to garnish
cheese to garnish
extra virgin olive oil
Mix seasoning blend together and set aside.  Rinse chicken, pat dry, cut into 1 inch cubes, place in a large bowl.  Season chicken with half the seasoning blend, mix well.  Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a soup pot over medium heat.  Add chicken, saute chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side.  Add vegetables to pot and saute 5 minutes more.  Add broth and corn, remaining seasonings, mix well.  Bring mixture to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, simmer 10 minutes.  Remove lid, stir in milk, cheese and potato flakes.  Cook 5 minutes more.  Serve with cheese, garnished with green onions.

Mexican Pozole

Mexican Pozole 
3 Tbsps. oil
1 lb. pork loin, cubed bite-size
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tsps. garlic, minced
5 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can mild red enchilada sauce
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1 tsp. each ancho chile powder, chili powder, cumin
½ tsp. each Mexican oregano, paprika
1 (15.5 oz.) can white hominy, drained
1 Tbsp. lime juice
⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. Add pork, onion, and garlic. Sauté 3-4 minutes searing pork on all sides.  Stir in broth, enchilada sauce, green chilies, and spices. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 40 minutes.  Add hominy. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Spicy Slow Cooker Beef & Bell Pepper

Spicy Slow Cooker Beef & Bell Pepper
2 lbs beef chuck, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped to 1 inch squares bell pepper
½ medium onion, peeled, cut in half, sliced
1 cup broth or 1 cup water + 3 bullion cubes
2 tsp freeze dried garlic
⅓ cup chopped parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp – 1 Tbsp Siracha sauce
To thicken
½ cup water
2 Tbsp corn starch
Place the meat on the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with sliced onion. For even better flavor, sauté onion in skillet until golden brown, then add it to the slow cooker.Top with cut up bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic.  Mix the broth with Siracha, or water, bullion cubes and Siracha. Pour over the peppers and beef.  (if using bullion cubes, add only 1 tsp salt). Set on high heat for 3.5-4 hours.  Mix ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons corn starch. Add 1 cup of liquid from the meat & pepper mixture and cook on medium heat until boiling, then cook 2 minutes past boil to remove the cornstarch flavor. Add this mixture back to the meat and bell peppers. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, stir and serve.  Serve hot over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

COWBOY CASSEROLE

COWBOY CASSEROLE
½ pound ground beef
1 15.25-oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 10¾-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1¼ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided
⅓ cup 2% milk
¼ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups frozen tator tots
¼ cup Rotel tomatoes
1 tablespoon chives
¼ cup olives, sliced *optional ingredient
Turn on your oven to 425°.  Cover the bottom of your casserole dish with tator tots and place in the oven (while it's still cold and warming up). Leave them there until you are ready to assemble the casserole. Mine were cooked about ½ way when I pulled them out to put my casserole together. I put them on a plate while I put all of my other ingredients in the casserole dish and then added them back to the top before putting everything in the oven to finish cooking.  In a medium skillet cook your hamburger over medium heat until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate. Drain the grease and lightly wipe most of the remaining grease out (you want to leave a little bit to cook your onions).  Add your onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add your hamburger back to your skillet with the onions and garlic. Add ¼ cup of Rotel tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and stir well. Let cook over medium heat until most of the liquid from the Rotel tomatoes has cooked off.  Add your sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, drained corn, ½ of your cheese and milk. Stir well. Let cook until cheese is melted.  Put your cheesy hamburger mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add your olives and ½ of the remaining cheese.  Add your layer of tator tots and press down a little bit to make sure they are stuck in the mixture just a little bit. Cover the top of the tator tots with your remaining cheese and chives.  Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is all the way melted and you can see the casserole bubbling up on the sides and the middle just a bit.