Creamy Chicken and Corn Chowder

I haven't made a new post on this blog since AUGUST 5th, 2015!! Needless to say, this school year has kind of been out-of-control crazy. Between teaching a brand new grade level that is nothing like I'm used to, AND getting knocked up, I haven't had much time to do anything.

But this is SO DELICIOUS, it requires an entry in the blog. This weather is perfect for soup, so make this now!

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded (3 c)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used real bacon bits)
• 1/4 c butter, diced into 1 tbsp pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 c)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (1 1/4 c)
• 1 - 2 jalapenos, seeded for less heat if desired, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 6 c low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced slightly less than 1/2-inch thick (3 c)
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 1/2 c fresh or frozen corn
• 1 1/2 c half and half
• Green onions and seeded, finely chopped jalapenos (optional), for serving

• In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add red bell pepper, onions, jalapenos and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. While stirring, slowly add in chicken broth and whisk until well blended.
  
• Add potatoes, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil stirring frequently, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or just until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
  
• Add in cooked chicken, corn and half and half and simmer, uncovered 10 - 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Serve warm topped bacon, green onions, and optional jalapeno peppers.
  
  Original recipe found here.
  

Slow-Cooker Breakfast Casserole

For the last few years, I've made these amazing Sticky Buns for Christmas morning breakfast. This year I wanted to try something different. It was a success!! It smelled delicious and was just perfect when we woke up.

If you have a big crock pot (6 quarts or so) you will probably want to follow the original recipe. But the site said you can't make it in a smaller crock pot because it won't fit. I think my crock pot is somewhere around 3-4 quarts, so I just (kind of) halved the recipe. Below I posted how I made the casserole in my crock pot.

20 oz hash browns (I used a bag of the shredded "Simply Potatoes" hash browns, near the eggs - you can also use frozen, shredded or cubed)
12 oz ground sausage, browned (we used the reduced fat kind)
1 c shredded 2% cheddar cheese
1/2 c shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 of an onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
8 eggs
1/4 c skim milk
1 tsp salt/pepper, each
additional seasonings (use whatever you like, I also used some seasoning salt, this stuff called bacon salt, and some parsley)

Spray a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker. Top with half everything else: the sausage, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, onions, and red peppers. Repeat the layers again, and then top with the last 1/3 of potatoes.

Beat eggs, milk, and salt, pepper, and other seasonings in large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour egg mixture evenly over potato-sausage-veggie mixture.

Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high setting for 4 hours or until eggs are set. Sprinkle a little cheddar over the top, let it melt, and enjoy! Top with green onions, salsa, tomatoes, mushrooms, avocado- whatever you like!

Original recipe found here.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

This was incredible! The recipe came from SkinnyTaste.... however, adding crescent rolls over the top was not part of the recipe. But we could spare some calories in order to have a warm delicious crescent crust over the top of our soup!

1/2 c flour
1/2 gallon skim milk
4 c water
2 large celery stalks, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
16 oz bag frozen mixed veggies
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
1 lb cooked chicken breasts, shredded or diced

Create a slurry by combining 1 cup of the cold water with 1/2 c flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.

Pour remaining water and milk into a large soup pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, potatoes, chicken bouillons, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 10 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

If you want to put crescent rolls on top, get the reduced-fat ones, and make sure you have oven-safe bowls. Just lay a couple crescents over your soup and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. ENJOY!!

Original recipe found here.

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

YUM! Delicious. Like I've mentioned before... I am obsessed with sweet potatoes right now.

1-1/2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
2 medium to large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp melted light butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into 1 & ½ inch thick slices. Boil water in a 3 quart sauce pan with a tsp salt. When the water is simmering, add the potato slices and cook for around 10 minutes, until the slices are getting a little soft.

Oil a large baking sheet and mix together all of the dry spices in a small bowl.

Remove the slices to a cooling rack. You can leave them on the rack until they cool off and the outsides are dry, or if you are in a hurry, blot all of the moisture from the surface of the slices. This is important – they have to be dry on the outside or they won’t get crispy.

Start the oven preheating to 400º Lay the slices of sweet potato on the prepared pan, and use a water glass to gently compress each slice – you want them to flatten out and the edges should get kind of ruffly. Mix the butter and oil together. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, spread a thin layer of the oil and butter mixture on each slice. Sprinkle some of the spice mixture over each slice, and press onto the surface lightly so that it sticks to the potato slices. Gently turn oven each slice, and repeat the oil/butter and dry spice application as you did on the first side.

Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the bottom of the slices is getting caramelized and crispy. Carefully flip over each slice and roast another 10 minutes or so, until both sides are crispy and the spice mixture has melted together and turned all nicely brown. Serve immediately.

Original recipe found here.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I never liked sweet potatoes. Even with all the marshmallows on top during Thanksgiving... I just couldn't do it. I recently found out that these days I LIKE sweet potatoes. Will's mom made some roasted sweet potatoes a couple months back that were delicious, then I tried sweet potato fries and they were amazing! So now my mom has a bounty of sweet potatoes from her garden. I made these baked sweet potato fries and they were SO delicious. Super tasty. I like to say my tastebuds have matured. ;) I should try fish again to see if I like that now too!

Another time I made these thinner:

2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 3 large ones)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp spice of your choice (I had no idea what to use so I just used some Cajun seasoning - one of the suggested spices...)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut up. I did flat sticks kind of, but you could also do rounds or wedges. Put sweet potatoes in a large bowl, and add the olive oil, sugar, salt, and spices. Toss and mix well.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place wire rack on top of it. Spray with olive oil. Lay potatoes on the rack and bake for a total of 25-30 min. After 15 min I flipped them over and continued cooking. I didn't need anything with them, they were so good!

Original recipe found here.

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes

These were so good! It had been forever since I made twice baked potatoes. I like them because you can make them ahead and get them all ready, then just put them in the oven when you're ready. These were delicious!

Also, this recipe called for 4 potatoes. I used 8, but I really did not double the ingredients. I did use 2 cups of cheese, but the bacon, sour cream, butter, milk, and green onions all stayed the same. I didn't want it to have too much sour cream or milk, so I figured I could add more if I needed it, but it was perfect the way it is below.

4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon (I just bought real bacon bits)
1 c sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 c milk (I used 1/4 c unsweetened almond milk)
4 tbsp lite butter
1/2 teaspoon salt/pepper, each
1 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour (mine ended up being in there 1 hr 20 min). You can just microwave the potatoes instead because it is way faster and they taste just as good. About three minutes per potato, just check for tenderness. So if you are cooking 4 potatoes in the microwave you will need to cook them for at least 12 minutes. Make sure to poke holes in the potatoes with a fork before microwaving so that they don't explode.

When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise (I didn't cut mine in half, I used whole potatoes and just cut the top part off) and scoop the flesh into a large bowl leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh so the potato maintains it's shape; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, bacon, the green onions, and milk. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato.

Bake for another 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes and broil for just a few minutes. Mmm!

Original recipe found here.