Recipe: White Christmas Chili

If you've read my 2011 goals, then you would know I want to cook at least 50 new recipes this year - which equals out to about one per week - and last week I got started on this goal! It was cool outside, so what's better than chili when it's chilly out? (the answer is nothing) I love regular chili, so I decided to give my friend Tyra's White Christmas Chili a go! She and another friend of mine (Rhian) gave me a recipe box full of their favorites as a wedding gift - and I definitely plan on incorporating their recipes into my 50 new ones this year!

Servings: 15

(I split all the following ingredients in half since it's just two of us)

Need:

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 medium onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 (14 oz) cans of chicken broth

4 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15.5) can of cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and mashed

2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chilies, undrained

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Directions: 

1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

2. Saute chicken, onions, and garlic in hot oil in Dutch oven or chili pot over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

3. Stir in broth and next 10 ingredients and bring to a boil. 

4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. 

Serve with desired toppings: Monterey jack cheese, jalapeño peppers, salsa, sour cream, or fresh cilantro.

This recipe calls for a lot of ingredients, but you pretty much just measure everything out, do some chopping, and dump it all in - easy! And for such a simple recipe, it packs a whole lot of deliciousness! I highly recommend anyone looking for an easy soup/dinner to give this a try - and it's just as good the day after, if you're into leftovers. You will not be disappointed! 

If you are vegetation, you could probably just substitute tofu for the chicken or just double up on beans (or add in a couple different beans).

Happy Eating! 

Recipe: Quick and Easy Chicken and Gravy

I found this recipe online last week and loved the fact that:

a.) It looked delicious,

b.) It looked hearty and perfect for a fall meal, &

c.) It looked simple to cook.

And let me tell you, it is all of those things. I tweaked the recipe ever of slightly, but otherwise, this is pretty much an exact replica of the recipe I found. 

Need:

chicken tenderloins

1/2 c. flour

3 c. chicken broth

butter

sage

salt and pepper

1 tbsp diced garlic

rice

Directions:

1. Start by melting enough butter to generously cover the bottom of your pan.

2. As butter just begins to brown, add garlic. 

3. Immediately after adding garlic, add tenderloins. Coat chicken with generous layer of salt, pepper, and sage.

4. Let tenderloins cook until they begin to brown, then turn them over. 

5. Once you turn them over let  them cook for a couple more minutes until the other side begins to brown. Stir just a bit.

6. Now add in flour. Use however much you need to coat the chicken well. 

7. Stir chicken to fully coat. Continue stirring until butter is absorbed and flour begins to brown.

8. Add in 3 c. chicken broth. 

9. Turn the heat down to low. Let simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and gravy thickens. 

Your gravy should eventually look something like this:

Boil your rice. (Or make mashed potatoes. Or noodles.)

Make some sweet tea.

Add 3-4 tenderloins and gravy to a mound of rice. 

Enjoy!

Seriously, y'all this is so easy and so yummy. I think next time I make this (and there will most definitely be a next time) I will add in onions, mushrooms, and green pepper right when I add in the chicken. Also, this recipe is man-approved as Chris loved it too!

Recipe: Homemade Restaurant-Style Ranch

In case you do not know much about me, let me go ahead and say that restaurant-style ranch is one of my favorite. things. ever. ever. Seriously. When I go out to eat, I will almost always order a salad just for the ranch. And if I don't order a salad I just get a side of ranch to go with whatever I got - usually french fries or chicken.

One day I realized the recipe for this stuff is probably floating around the Internet - I was right. So for all of you ranch lovers out there, enjoy! It's delicious and exactly like something you'd get at a steakhouse! (and you most likely have all these ingredients in your kitchen!)

Need:

1 pkg. Buttermilk Ranch Powder Mix

1 c. Mayonnaise 

1/2 c. Milk

1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/8 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper

* Substitute Cayenne instead of Paprika for Spicy Ranch

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl.

2. Whisk until all ingredients are mixed together.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. 

4. Enjoy with favorite salad (or fries, chicken, fried pickles, anything!)

This recipe is quite easy and if you have guests they will be impressed that you a.) made your own dressing and b.) it is so delicious. If you are making this for dinner, I would recommend making it before you start dinner, so that it can chill while you cook. When I was first making this I totally disregarded that it needed to sit and chill so that all the flavors could become more intense and I made it last... oops. Enjoy it!

Baked Cream of Mushroom Chicken

This recipe is pretty much my favorite thus far in my cooking career. It's easy and so. dang. on. delicious. 

I liked this recipe a lot when I lived by myself because it's one that can be cooked for one person or just as easily for an entire family get-together. I also like it because it's similar to a crock-pot recipe in that you just throw all the ingredients into a dish, forget about it while it's cooking, and then it comes out full of warm deliciousness. Here we go!

Need:

2-4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts*

1-2 Cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup**

1 Yellow onion

1/2 stick of butter

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Recipe:

Season both sides of chicken breast using salt, pepper, and garlic pepper.

Place seasoned chicken breast into deep baking dish. 

Slice onion and spread over the breasts.

Put two pats of butter on each breast

(at this point you could also add in some diced carrots, actual mushrooms, diced celery, etc. for additional flavors)

Top breasts with Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. 

Serve with rice and green beans.

Enjoy!

The Cream of Mushroom becomes very soupy when it comes out of the oven and it's perfect for going over the rice.

*I try to prepare an extra breast or two just so that Chris will have something to carry for lunch the next day at work. The last time I cooked this I diced up the leftover breast, mixed it in with the rice, and added some of the cream of mushroom soup from the pan and made chicken and rice with it - that was easier to throw in a container and heat up anyway.

**For every two to three breasts I would use one can. Just to make sure enough flavor is going around and that you have some soup left in the pan for the rice and for leftovers. Also, if you want you can change the soup to Cream of Chicken or Cream of Broccoli - depending on the flavor you want.

Homemade Pizza (and what to do for the next night's dinner)

I'm a fan of delicious food that requires little effort. As I begin to post more recipes (because I generally photograph all the meals I cook, I just forget to post) you will see a pattern: easy.

Last week I threw together a homemade pizza. And here's how it went:

Need:

Can of pizza dough

Can of garlic and basil tomato sauce 

Green bell pepper

Red bell pepper

Red onion

Crumbled garlic feta cheese

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Rotisserie chicken, pulled off and shredded

Recipe:

Roll pizza dough onto baking sheet

Spread tomato sauce evenly onto dough leaving a half an inch boarder

Add feta, diced veggies*, shredded chicken, and shredded cheddar cheese

Bake according to directions on pizza dough can

Enjoy!

*(Obviously) You can add any combination of vegetable to your pizza - these are just the ones I chose for this particular night. I think adding banana peppers, mushrooms, yellow onion, or olives would be just as delicious. 

I hate to go all "Food Network" on y'all, but this pizza had so much flavor! I couldn't get over it - especially to be so easy to put together and cook. This is such a great recipe that could be used for dinner, lunch, adults, children, movie night, and game day. 

So after you finish putting your pizza together, you are going to realize you have a lot of diced veggies and shredded rotisserie chicken left over. What to do with that?

Nachos

Need:

Chips

Leftover cheese, diced veggies, and shredded chicken 

Queso

Salsa

Directions:

Spread chips onto plate

Cover chips with leftovers

Heat up queso according to the directions on the container

Put nachos in microwave for one minute - until cheddar cheese has melted

Pour queso and salsa on top of nachos

Enjoy!

(sorry, didn't snap a photo of these)