Chicken Fajita Soup

Hey All! It's been forever since I've added anything to my blog, and I have a ton of recipes that I've recently discovered, so I need to get on it!

The other day I combined a few different Mexican soup recipes and came up with this soup. It turned out delicious, (not just by my taste, but also according to some friends of mine including a husband who usually refuses to eat soup ;] ). So anyways, I didn't write it down while I was doing it, but here is the jist of what I made!

What you'll need:

2 tbsp of EVOO

1 small onion chopped

1 jalapeno minced

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

1 TBSP of Ancho Chili Powder

1/2 tsp of Hot Mexican-Style Chili Powder or 1/4 tsp Cayenne if you don't have that

1 tsp of Paprika

2 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of water

1 cup of yellow or white corn(I used from the cob, but you can use canned if that's what you have, but be sure to drain it!)

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup of salsa(I like chipotle because it adds some smoky flavor, use your favorite)

1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken

For topping:

Cilantro ( I like to tear it, instead of chop it)

Sour Cream

Sharp Cheddar or Crumbled Mexican Cheese

Tortilla Chips(blue corn are good, I made my own from white corn tortillas and fried them in canola oil with lime salt-DELICIOUS!)

Lime Wedges

Start with your 2 TBSP of EVOO in large soup pot over medium/high heat; add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until wilted and the onion is slightly transparent. Season the veggies with the two chili powders and the paprika and cook for another minute. Add your chicken stock, water, can of tomatoes, black beans and salsa; bring to a boil. (If your corn is fresh off the cob, add this too then, but if it's from a can, add after you've boiled). Let boil for a few minutes, then bring it down to a simmer and add your shredded chicken. Let all the flavors combine well on a simmer. I like to simmer mine for about 10-15 mins.

Serve hot and let your guests top as they like. I recommend a little bit of everything, and a healthy handful of tortilla chips for that extra crunch! Also, the lime wedges pack a perfect punch of flavor on your palate :)...you liked that consonance, didn't you?

Let me know what you think!

Sparse/Home-Made Granola

So, I realized today, (after reading a few other blogs), that I have neglected my own way of creative outlet in my life...namely: my blog. So, I don't have anything profound to write really, but I DO have an incredibly delicious new granola recipe that will knock your socks off. Or as my husband says, "I can't stop eating this stuff!"

If you like granola, this is super easy to make, a little easier on the budget than buying the boxed stuff(and generally much healthier due to the enormously lesser amount of sugar), and delicious.

What you'll need:

Old Fashioned Oats

Cinnamon

Salt

Vanilla Extract

Brown Sugar

Vegetable Oil(we use EVOO)

Honey

Almonds/Preferred Nuts(I like sliced, but you can use slivered or chopped)

Sweetened Coconut Flakes(if you like it, it adds delicious texture, but you don't need it to make it delish!)

Preheat your oven to 315

Measure 2 cups of your oats into a medium bowl. Add to it 1/2 Tbsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp salt. Mix until all the oats are evenly covered.

In a small bowl mix together: 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract, 1/4 firmly packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup honey, 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp oil, and 1/2 cup of firmly packed coconut(optional!).

Add the wet onto the oat mixture and make sure it's all evenly covered. I would recommend doing this with your hands and squeezing some of the oats together to make sure you get some of those delicious clusters when you cook it. :)

Pour out your granola onto a baking sheet, leaving a few of those clusters. Bake for 10 minutes on top shelf. Remove from oven and flip the granola, then add 1/2-1 whole cup of your favorite nuts. I like a lot of nuts, if you don't...only add 1/2 cup.

Bake the granola for another 10 mins. Let cool completely. If you like, at this point you can add some dried fruit. Craisins, Raisins, or dried cherries would go well with this recipe. Add about 1/2-3/4 cups of fruit once the granola has completely cooled.

Put in an airtight container and munch away! The granola holds it's freshness for about 1 to 1-1/2 weeks.

I hope you enjoy this granola recipe! My favorite way to eat it is over yogurt, but it's also delicious as a dry snack!

Infamous Enchiladas

So, I think I've given this recipe out to about 30 people...not sure exactly why everyone likes it so much. I've made it countless of times when I'm out of new ideas or to make an easy meal to entertain. It seems to be a hit with both the ladies and the men(which is always a plus)...I've made it at leader retreats, for large crowds, for family get-togethers...you can probably name an event and I've prepared this in some form for it. But really, it's just not that spectacular.

Don't get me wrong -These enchiladas are delicious. Just nothing special, no special sauce or crazy mixture of hard-to-get ingredients-just plain comfort food...but I guess that's just kinda my style. Also, there are a million substitutions for things(I will try to list as many as I can, so you can switch it up if you want) because I like to try lots of different variations.

So here goes...

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken, ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef

1 can of rotel, ( you could also used sauteed onions and bell peppers with some salsa if you want to be really adventurous)

1 can black beans(drained), refried beans, or refried black beans

1 pkg taco seasoning(or homemade: refer to bottom of page for my version)

1 bag quick cook rice(we prefer brown, but any will do)

8 large flour tortilla shells

lots of shredded cheese(cheddar, jack, or "mexican" all work well)

1 large jar enchilada sauce + 1/2 small jar

sour cream

Directions:

1.) brown your meat, then season...once it's all cooked/incorporated, add your rotel. Drain a little bit of juice, but you'll want to leave some of it because it adds a lot of flavor.

2.) add your beans and rice and cook until heated through.

3.) use a large deeper dish to bake the enchiladas- to prepare the pan, pour about 1/2 of your large can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan. (preheat your oven to 375)

4.) take one tortilla and scoop about 1/2-3/4 cup of filling into the middle, fold up the bottom to cover your mix, fold in both sides, then roll it to close it. Place seam side down in the pan.

5.) repeat until you've used all 8 tortillas(squeeze them into the pan if you need to, the closer together the better)

6.) pour the remaining sauce of the large can over the enchiladas and about 1/2 of the smaller can. You want them to be completely covered in the sauce.

7.) sprinkle the tops with lots of cheese and let it sit for about 15 mins.

8.) bake in your 375 oven for about 25 mins or until cooked through. (if you want to prepare this ahead of time, it works really well. You will just need to cook it for about 35-45 mins to heat all the way through.) You want the sauce to be bubbly and the cheese nice and melty(yum!)

9.) I like to serve mine with a little dollop of sour cream on top and with chips/salsa as a side.

Hint: if you have leftover filling, it works really great as a topping for nachos. Just spread some chips on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with filling and cheese, and a little bit of salsa. Bake at 350 for about 10 mins. Yum!

Taco Seasoning:

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tbsp Paprika

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

1/2 Tsp Cayenne or Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Tsp Onion Powder

Hope I got your mouth all watery and excited! Let me know if you do try the recipe...I'd like to see what changes you made or just how yours turned out!

Tortellini Soup

So, a few different people have asked me for this recipe, and I figured it would make sense to put it on my blog, because then it can be accessed pretty easy...(plus, it might attract more people to read my blog)...and, I'm thinking about adding some cooking stuff to my blog, maybe telling people about my journey in cooking.

So, here goes!

Growing up, my mom cooked all the time. I didn't realize how great she was at it until I was in middle school. We would all take turns hosting our team(volleyball, soccer, basketball...) over for dinner before games and everyone would rave about how great of a cook my mom was. I had taken advantage of it my whole life-not realizing her amazing food wasn't the norm.

She used to make this recipe for cold days, and I have always loved it. I'm a sucker for pasta in any form, but this makes it a little healthier with all the veggies and not quite so heavy and filling(don't get me wrong though...it's completely satisfying!)

I am a huge fan of a good hearty soup, and this is one of those, so I hope you enjoy!

Tortellini Soup

2 TBSP EVOO

1 small onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 green pepper chopped into small pieces

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 large zuchini chopped

1 large yellow squash chopped

2 links of italian sausage, pre-cooked and cut into bite-size pieces(I've used both chicken and regular sausage and both taste great)

1 box of chicken stock

1 1/2 cups water

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 small package of any type of tortellini you like(I prefer a cheese-filled)

parmesan to sprinkle

1.) Heat the 2 TBSP EVOO in the bottom of your large soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, and celery and cook until tender and the onion is almost translucent.

2.) Add all the veggies and season with some salt and pepper, cook for about 2 minutes

3.) Add all of the seasonings to your cooked veggies

4.) Add the sausage in and once it's heated through, add the chicken stock. Add 1/2 cup of water at a time until you get the consistency that you want for your soup. ie: if you like yours really chunky, put less water; if you like it really soupy, add more...

5.) bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10 mins.

6.) add your tortellini to your soup about 8-10 minutes before serving(test one before you serve to make sure it's cooked through)

7.) serve hot with a sprinkle of parmesan and a crusty bread.

Serves about 6(but I like big servings!)

The veggies in my soups are interchangeable if you like others. ie: I added green beans this last time I made it, and enjoyed it a lot!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and feel free to share my blog with others!

Everywhere except the Sanctuary

So, I was reading in the Word this morning, [and by Word, I mean Bible-the B I B L E, yes that's the book for me, I stand upon the Word of God, the B I B L E...ha, sorry, had that running through my head] and I realized that David was so human. I mean, duh, but I he is so down to earth and relatable.

In Psalms 73, David is talking about how all the people around him are rich and sinful-that is doesn't make sense why they prosper while they curse God. He even goes to say, "When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me--"...but then he has a turn around and realizes how to get his perspective right. And it's so true and I needed to hear it:

Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. Psalms 73:17

I realized, why do I go everywhere BUT into the presence, the sanctuary of God, to find out answers? As humans, or at least as the person that I am, I try to scheme and figure out and fix things myself. But really, if I just give it to God, get in His presence, and seek Him, I will find understanding. Not just understanding, but wisdom for my situation. And the grace to live it out and work out the things God is putting before me. When I put all my trust in myself-to try and figure things out on my own- it makes for so much more stress...but when I just give it to God and trust Him--What a relief! It's like that song, "What Joy, What Joy for those whose Confidence is in the Lord, What Peace, What Peace for those Whose Confidence is Him Alone."

So, I will end with this verse, because it's the end of Psalms 73, and it pretty much sums up my thoughts for this post:

But it is good for me to draw near to God;

I have put my trust in the Lord God,

That I may declare all your works.

Psalms 73:28

All Moved In

So, I've been neglecting the blog a bit due to all the extra work with moving and settling into our place, but it's coming along and looking GREAT! I'm so excited to have a yard for Malachi to play in. We haven't had to deal with any slamming doors or late night music. We've been able to paint and decorate to make this place our own. There are still some things we want to do, but for only being in the house for 12 days(3 of which were at a hotel-more to come on that) I think the place looks great!

We moved in on the 19th, and that same day discovered a mysterious wet spot in the middle of the hallway carpet. It was small, so I just figure that Malachi had spilled some juice or something...but oh boy, was I wrong! The carpet kept getting more and more wet until we discovered that our AC unit wasn't draining into a drain, and instead draining onto the floor and coming up under the carpet!!! Ugh. It was wet and starting to smell. Then we found out that the hot water heater was broken. It worked for the first about 24 hours we moved in, then it wouldn't stay lit. So, no hot water with two babies and two sweaty parents-NOT ideal! All at the same time, we discovered that our kitchen drain wasn't draining(unless you waited like an hour after running the water for a minute). Plumber came to look at the drain and discovered that our pipes had a TON of roots going through them. He was almost like, get out of the lease now, because this could be a major complication. So, we went to a hotel. They dug through the concrete slab, fixed the pipes, the AC unit, the water heater. They even replaced the carpet and nasty linoleum floor with some nice ceramic tiles...and all was well.

Or so we thought.

The next day, I go to do laundry. Anyone who has kids knows you have to do laundry like almost every day, if not every day. [I'm sure I could scrounge up a load a day]. So, I put a load in, I've got all the other laundry sorted and ready to go for a days' worth of laundry washing, drying and folding. Bet you can guess what happened....the laundry drained...INTO THE TUB! yucky dirty laundry water drained into our tub and our toilet spilling over onto the bathroom floor and soaking our new bathrug. Thankfully I got in there fast enough to get the rug up and drying...called the property manager asap and had another plumber out here in about and hour or so. They were here almost all day, but got everything fixed up. So, now we have new pipes, new washer, new stove, new tile floors, new carpet, new house. [just hoping for NO MORE disasters!]

So, Mark and I are putting in a patio. It's our first time doing it, and it's truly back-breaking labor, but looks so great! Our good friend Sam is also helping Mark out today to get it finished so it's all ready for our July 4th cookout! It's the debut of our new home, and it's going to be a blast! Can't wait to have friends over to see our place.

So much work accomplished, yet so much more to be done. On the list next is:

1.) put tomato plants in the planter boxes out back

2.) give some identity to the front living room/dining room

3.)get another red chair for the den

4.)continue to clean up what Mark calls the "board walk" in the back yard

5.)prune front bushes and define the flower bed

6.)get dead tree in back yard removed

We are loving life being in a house!

Muffins, Men, and Moving

So, yesterday I made muffins. In the midst of moving and packing and taking care of my men, we had some bananas that were going brown and a few apples sliced in the fridge that no one was eating, so I made muffins. Apple Banana Oatmeal Muffins-they were yummy...I wonder if that's sort of my stress relief. I mean, I didn't need to make them, and quite honestly, I'll end up eating most of them. ha. But it was kinda nice to make them...I just wish the dishes cleaned themselves afterwards.

We are moving this week. I did not realize how hard this is to do with two mobile men under the age of 3...who get into everything, and unpack the toy box every time I put the toys away. It's amazing all the people up here who move so often-minimalism is the key! I have thrown so much stuff away, donated so much stuff, and we have a closet full of things to take to donate to the GC Camp Yardsale Fundraiser-and we still seem to have too much stuff!

But, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Our apartment is starting to look a little more empty, and our new house is starting to come to life. We've painted our bedroom and the boys' room, and my good friend Liz is painting an awesome mural on the boys' wall. Today, I'm going to take some more stuff over there. My downfall is that I want everything in and settled immediately! I hate the feeling of being unsettled. So, as soon as I get in there with the boxes, I go into a frenzy of finding a spot for it to fit. So, we will have everything moved in by Saturday afternoon, and our new place will be settled and decorated by Saturday evening. That's just the way it is. Ha.