Chicken Tortilla Soup

So I'm about to type "What's Cookin' Wednesday" in my post title, and I realize it's Thursday.

That's exciting... haha but anyway.

On Monday I made Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner and it was delicious!
It's another Pioneer Woman recipe which I modified a tad to satisfy our taste buds...

Here is my version....

You can find PW's here

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

About 1 1/4 teaspoons chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package of Chicken Breast tenderloins

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small diced onion

Half of a green bell pepper, diced small

Half of red bell pepper, diced small

3 cloves garlic, minced

One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel

3 cans of low sodium chicken broth

4 cups hot water

1 can of tomato paste

Half a 15-ounce can of black beans, drained

(Use more beans if you like them, I hate them so I only put them in for Ted)

2 tablespoons cornmeal

2 tablespoons of Masa

5 small white corn tortillas

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

 

Start by mixing together the cumin, 1 teaspoon of the chilli powder, the garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the chicken tenders with some olive oil. Then sprinkle with some of the spice mixture. Set the rest of the spice mixture aside. Bake until the chicken is cooked all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Shred chicken.

 

Next, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Throw in the onions, green and red peppers and garlic.

Throw in a tablespoon of the spice mixture used to season the chicken.

Add a little extra chilli powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) for heat.

Stir to cook the vegetables until they begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken and diced tomatoes, juice and all.

Add the chicken broth, hot water and tomato paste.

Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil.

 

Reduce the heat to low.

Add the drained black beans.

Next, mix together the masa with 4 Tablespoons of liquid from the pot.

Add the mixture to the pot.

Give it a taste and add salt or seasonings as needed; be sure to not under salt it!

Then mix together the cornmeal with 4 Tablespoons of liquid from the pot.

Add the mixture to the pot to thicken.

Simmer the soup for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Cut the tortillas into uniform 2- to 3-inch strips.

Stir most of them into the soup just before serving.

This is what makes tortilla soup tortilla soup!

Turn off the heat and get ready to serve it up.

Ladle the soup into a bowl, then add avocado, red onion, sour cream, cilantro, cheese, and extra tortilla strips to the top.

Enjoy!!

~Tiffany~

 

 

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

I mentioned this recipe on Tuesday and said I would share so here it is...

It is something I saw on Pinterest of course, and modified it a little bit and my gosh, the end result was AMAZING! Everyone at the party I brought these to were raving about them. They were seriously delicious.

 

 

 

12 fresh jalapeños - this makes 24

8 ounces softened cream cheese

3/4  cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Sprinkle of onion powder

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Dash of salt and pepper

12 slices bacon, cut in half

24 toothpicks

 

 

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Use a disposable baking sheet for the easiest clean up, or line your baking sheet with parchment paper. 

 

Cut tops off jalapeños then cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds and centers 

 Set off to the side.

 

Using a spatula or heavy wooden spoon, mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, garlic, and paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper together until well combined.

 

With a spoon, distribute filling equally among all 24 jalapeño halves.

This can be a little messy - just accept it. It's worth the mess.

Arrange jalapenos on the baking sheet so they all fit.

Place in refrigerator while you do the next step.

 

Cut your slices of bacon in half with kitchen scissors

par-cook all 24 half slices.

I'd say about 2 minutes per side.

Set on a plate lined with paper towel to cool while you finish par cooking the rest.

 

Once you are done with that and have bacon grease everywhere, pull out the stuffed jalapenos from the fridge.

Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with the par cooked half slice of bacon and stick a toothpick through the center so the bacon stays in place.

 

Place back  on the baking rack and do the same for the rest.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the bacon is crisp to your liking.

Broil for the last minute or two to get things extra crispy.

Serve immediately.

 

I thought about serving these with a cool ranch type dip/dressing, but honestly, they were delicious all by themselves!

 

 

Enjoy!

 

If you have a husband who loves spicy stuff - these will be a hit.

I'm not HUGE on super spicy, so these were a total win for me.

Just enough heat and that gooey cheese and bacon.....mmmmm

 

 

~TIFFANY~

 

Crock Pot Recipe ~ Beef Stew

Linking up with Mel from The Larson Lingo to share my favorite crock pot recipe!!

 

 

I've most certainly blogged about this before because it is so darn delicious!
It's not entirely "dump and go" but it's worth the extra effort, I promise!!

 

 

Crock Pot Beef Stew

 

 

What You Need:

2 pounds beef (I used London broil)

½ cup flour

1 tablespoon seasoning salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 large onion, diced

2 bay leaves

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

2 cups water

3-4 Beef Bouillon cubes, crumbled up

4 medium to large red skinned potatoes, washed & diced

3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

 

What You Do:

If you didn't buy the meat that is pre-chunked up, cut your steak pieces to your size liking.

I like to cut it on the smaller side because no one likes

 gnawing on a humongous chunk of beef.

  In a zip lock bag, add the flour & seasoning salt. 

Throw in your beef and shake it up until it's coated.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet & add the floured stew meat to the pan.

Brown on all sides.

Remove using a slotted spoon or tongs & place into the bottom of your crock pot.

Season with pepper (The seasoned salt gives you that salt element, so just use pepper)

Sauté the diced onion in the same hot skillet for 2 minutes.
Don't worry about cleaning it out in between - that's added flavor!
Transfer the onions into the slow cooker as well.
Pour the Worcestershire, water, & crumbled up beef bouillon into the skillet and whisk until mixed, making sure you scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
Turn off heat & set aside for a minute.

Add the diced potatoes, carrots, celery, & bay leaves to the slow cooker.
Pour the broth mixture in the crockpot as well.
Cover; cook on low for 8 hours.
If the sauce isn't thick enough, make a slury of 1 TBSP of corn starch and 2 TBSP warm broth from the crock pot and mix up well, then pour in and stir around a bit.
Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Enjoy!

I know it's not entirely crock pot because of the searing and sautéing and what not, but give yourself a little extra time to do this and then dump everything in and crank that baby for 8 hours on low. It's delicious.

Seriously.

My husband LOVED this!

WCW ~ Salisbury Steak

What's Cookin Wednesday?
Salisbury Steak!

On Monday night, I made the best dinner.

Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

It was DELICIOUS!

What you need

Steaks:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 teaspoons dry mustard

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 or 2 cube beef bouillon, crumbled (or powdered beef base)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Gravy:

1 whole onion, halved and thinly sliced (or diced if you prefer)

2 cups beef broth, more if needed for thinning

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon seasoning sauce, such as Kitchen Bouquet, optional

4 dashes Worcestershire

1 teaspoon cornstarch for thickening

Salt and pepper

What you do

For the meat mixture:
Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, ketchup, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon and some salt and pepper.

Knead until all combined.

Form into 4 to 6 oval patties, and then make lines across the patties to give them a "steak" appearance.

Fry the patties in a skillet with the butter and oil over medium-high heat on both sides until no longer pink in the middle.

Remove from the skillet and pour off any excess grease.

For the gravy:

Reduce the heat to medium and add in the sliced onions.

Stir and cook until golden brown and somewhat soft, for several minutes.

Add the beef stock, ketchup, seasoning sauce, if using, and the Worcestershire.

Then combine the cornstarch with a little beef broth and add to the sauce.

Stir and cook to reduce.

Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and more broth if needed for thinning.

Then return the patties to the gravy.

Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.

Enjoy!!

Recipe compliments of: Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman

~Tiffany~

What's Cookin' Wednesday ~ Pasta Salad

One of my all time favorite summer side dishes is this pasta salad.

I make it all the time in the summer.
It's great to have for lunch the next day too.

 

 

 

Here is what you need:

1 box tri-color spiral pasta

2 slices of provolone cheese cut 1/2 inch thick

2 slices of genoa salami cut 1/2 inch thick

Grape Tomatoes, halved

Small black olives, pitted and halved (or buy sliced)

1 Packet of Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Vegetable Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

 

*

 

What you do:

Make the salad dressing as indicated - good seasons has their own bottle, so if you don't have one, pick that set up up at the grocery store. It gives you the measurements on the bottle. So make that and stick it in the fridge to set.

 

Next, boil your water for the pasta & toss in the pasta

While the pasta is cooking, cut the salami and cheese into small chunks.

Next, slice the grape tomatoes in half

And lastly slice the olives if you didn't get the pre sliced ones.

Once the pasta is cooked and cooled, throw all the ingredients into the bowl.

Then pour the dressing on top and mix up well.

Chill in the fridge before serving!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

What pasta salads do you love in the summer??

 

~Tiffany~

Whats Cookin' Wednesday ~ Recipe Club!

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Recipe Club!

 

Linking up with Andrea to share some recipes with ya'll !

 

Be sure to click through the recipe tab on the right of this page for lots more delicious recipes!

 

Today I'm sharing with you one I've done before but it's just oh so good that I had to share again!! So get your eggs ready for some....

 

Cowboy Quiche

Here is what you need:

1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust (enough For A Deep Dish Pan)

2 whole Yellow Onions, Sliced Thin

2 Tablespoons Butter

8 slices Bacon OR Diced up Ham

8 whole Large Eggs

1-1/2 cup Heavy Cream OR Half-and-Half

Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Here is what you do:

Fry the onions in the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes (maybe longer), stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden brown.
Set aside to cool.

 

Fry the bacon until chewy. Chop into large bite-sized pieces and set aside to cool.

Or if using ham, dice up a ham steak (they are pre-cooked so just take out and chop up)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and press it into a large fluted deep tart pan (or a deep dish pie pan). OR you can use a store bought pie crust. I do this often because, well, it's just easier.

 

Whip the eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then mix in the onions, bacon, and cheese. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

 

 

Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the quiche is set and the crust is golden brown. (The quiche will still seem slightly loose, but will continue to set once remove from the oven.)
 

 

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. If using a tart pan, remove the quiche from the pan, cut into slices with a sharp serrated knife, and serve!
 

 

This is a huge hit with my hubby. He LOVES this. I have used this base and made it with Jalapenos and cheddar, or broccoli and cheddar. You could throw any veggie or meat you want in there. I also slice it into portions and freeze it so we can "grab and go" for lunches at work or on the weekend. The flavors in this specific quiche are outrageous!
So go ahead and make it and let me know what you think!! 

And thanks Ree for being amazing and making awesome food!

 

 

~Tiffany~

WCW ~ CoCo Shake

The Best Drink Ever!

Coco Shakes

 

We had these on the way to our hotel from the airport in Aruba.

 

{side story}

Ted's parent's have a timeshare in Aruba and go every year. Sometimes twice.

They became friendly with a guy who lives down there who used to work at the hotel they have the timeshare in.

He and his lovely girlfriend picked us up from the airport for our honeymoon, complete with a sign and all - it was so adorable!

Once we were in his truck and heading to the hotel, absorbing the amazing Aruba air, taking in all the beauty and completely on cloud 9 because we had just gotten married, Eddie pulled off the road rather abruptly and was like, "hey you guys like coconut??"

We both said yes, and next thing ya know - we had these amazing drinks from a tiny roadside stand...something I never would have thought to do as a visitor, but something I totally trust the judgment on coming from a local!

The Coco Shake Cart

Lots of Coconuts! (and a machete)

Tons and tons of coconuts!

We totally staged this photo!

The ice shaver - so amazing

Dr. Coco mixing our drinks!

Dr. Coco

Enjoying our pre-airport coco shakes before heading home!

~
Ok -  

So this is how the Coco Shake is concocted!

It tastes extremely similar.

It's not as out of this world as Aruba, but it's darn close.

They are a bit tricky to whip up - and I always make a mess doing so,

but they are worth it!

 

What You Need:

A coconut

10 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

Whole Milk
Vanilla

Ice

Cinnamon

 

What You Do:
Retrieve your coconut meat from the coconut.
Not gonna lie, I had to YouTube this one...
OR you can buy the frozen fresh coconut from the grocery store.
Add it to your blender.
Cover with milk til the coconut is just about covered.
Strain the mixture over a bowl or large glass measuring cup so what you are left with is coconut infused whole milk (basically)
Put a couple of scoops of the meat from the strainer back into the milk mixture for texture.
Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk
Add a few splashed of vanilla extract (1-2 tsp) and whisk
*This is where mine is different from the video*
I then place that back in a blender with lots of ice to get that smoothie texture instead of straight up poured over ice.
Once I reach a good consistency (adding more meat/liquid as needed)
I pour it into a cup and top it with cinnamon!
It's so darn yummy!!!
 

 ~

 This is the YouTube video I googled when we got back from Aruba.
Again, close...but not quite the same
 

 

Stop what you are doing and make one of these RIGHT NOW!

Happy Wednesday!!
Stop back tomorrow for something fun!

~Tiffany~

What's Cookin' Wednesday

What's Cookin' Wednesday
 

Quick Chicken Marsala

What You Need:
1 package of chicken breast, thinly sliced
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
fresh parsley
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
Chicken Stock for thinning

What you do:
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large zip lock or bowl.
Coat chicken breasts in flour mixture
In a skillet, add oil until hot
Add in mushrooms and garlic
Cook for 5 minutes, add parsley
Sauté for a few minutes more
Add chicken to skillet - cook about 8 minutes, turning once
Add wine and cook 10 minutes
If at this point you don't have a lot of sauce, or it's too thick, add some chicken stock until you get the consistency you desire.

I served this with roasted potatoes and veggies!
You can add prosciutto to this also...
Or you can serve it over pasta!
I love this over pasta...you just may need a little more wine and stock to make enough sauce!

So yummy!!

~Tiffany~
 

Recipe Club & Whats Cookin' Wednesday

What's Cookin' Wednesday

&

Recipe Club

 

Cajun Jambalaya

 ~This recipe is compliments of Mr. Emeril Lagasse, with my slight twists :)

 

Photo Credit

 ~

 

What You Need:

12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped

2 large chicken breasts, diced

1 ring of Andouille sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (recipe below) or store bought

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

1 can petite diced tomatoes

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3/4 cup rice (I used brown)

3 cups chicken stock, more or less to your liking

Salt and pepper

 

What You Do:

In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well.

In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat, add onion, pepper and celery...

Sauté for about 3-5  minutes.

 

Add in your garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves.

Then splash in the Worcestershire and hot sauces.

 Stir in rice (yes rice first) then slowly add broth.

 

Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. This is the point where you may need more liquid, if so add a little, if not, proceed to the next step...

When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage.

Cook until meat is done, about 10-15 minutes more.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning.

**This is spicy - taste as you go along!**

 

Creole Seasoning

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast)

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoons garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

*You can double this if you want more spice... I halved Emeril's original recipe

~

I made this last week for Ted & I

It's typically a fall/winter dish, but I was in the mood for it for some reason.

So I whipped it up pretty quickly and we enjoyed it on our bistro table outside one night with an iced cold beer. It was a nice change up/break to all the grilling we've been doing.

 

Linking up with Andrea today

 

 

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

 

~Tiffany~

Grilled Hawaiian Pork Chops

This recipe is one of my absolute FAVORITES! It's so full of flavor and screams summer! My mom found this recipe in a tiny "grilling" cookbook YEARS ago. They are truly delicious! So here it is...

Hawaiian Pork Chops

2 packages of thin cut boneless pork chops

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1 small onion, sliced thin

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 can of Pineapple slices in juice

What I do, and what my mom did was this:

Mix soy sauce, vegetable oil, a splash of the juice from the can of pineapple, garlic onion and brown sugar in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Then simply trim the little bit of fat that may or may not be on the chops off, and toss them around in the dish to  coat them.

 

After that, I like to take the slices of pineapple and put them on top. That way some of the marinade gets on them which makes them so very delicious when you grill them!

 

At this point, it all smells so delicious

Then cover them up tightly with plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge for a good hour or two.

(the longer the better)

Once they have marinated and are basically the color or the marinade itself, throw them on the grill!

Don't mind my grill, it gets used A LOT! (photo bomb of the zucchini!)

Since they are thin, they do cook quickly. I do just a few minutes on each side until they are marked well by the grill. As soon as I flip them all over, I put the pineapple slices on the grill for about 2 minutes each side just to heat them a little. (I spoon on the juices from the marinade several times throughout the grilling process to add flavor) Once the chops are cooked and the pineapples are charred a little bit, place the pineapple on top of the chops, and pour some more juices on top to finish them off! These are so yummy I promise!

Don't mind the cheesy paper plate, I wasn't feeling dishes last night!

I made these a few nights ago! They were delicious as usual! I grilled some local zucchini that I tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic pepper and made some brown rice. I've made these with corn on the cobb and pierogies. Or boiled red potatoes and asparagus. The possibilities are endless!! Just trust me on this recipe! It is insanely good!!

WCW ~ Roasted Poblano Adobo Grilled Chicken

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

 

Roasted Poblano Adobo Grilled Chicken!

Whew! That was a mouthful!

 

 

This recipe was one that I caught on Pioneer Woman 2 weekends ago.

Ted happened to walk into the room and see Ree mixing up the marinade in the blender and looked at me and said, "You're making this!"

So I looked up the recipe and it seemed easy enough....so I went out a few days later and got a few things that I needed to whip it up.

 

Here is what you need:

1/2 cup Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice

2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce

2 cloves Garlic

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

6 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

(I used 3 large and split them in half to make them thinner)

6 Poblano Chiles

1/2 pound Monterey Jack Cheese, Cut Into Slices Or Grated

Pico De Gallo Or Salsa, For Serving

Beans, For Serving

Rice For Serving

 

What You Do:

 For the chicken marinade:
Combine olive oil, lime juice, chipotle peppers, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in a blender and mix until it's totally pureed.
(I used the nutribullet because it wasn't much and thought the huge blender would make a big mess. So if you have a small mixer type thing like a ninja or bullet, use that)

Pour into a large Ziploc bag with the chicken breasts.
Seal the bag up, mush it around to coat the chicken, and stick it in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours (overnight if possible.)

 

Once that is all done....and ready to grill...

 

 Roast the chilies on the grill turning frequently.

When the skin is totally blackened, place the chilies in a large Ziploc and seal the bag to allow the chilies to sweat for a good 20 minutes. Remove them from the bag and use a knife to scrape off most of the blackened skin. Slice the chilies in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds and membranes. Lay out the roasted, seeded  halves so they'll be ready.

Grill the chicken over medium-high heat until completely cooked.
At this point, you can top your chicken with the roasted pepper and cheese while it's still on the grill. I didn't do this, I did it once I brought it inside so my cheese didn't melt right away.
But Ree's recipe says to do it while it's on the grill

The finished product

I made brown rice and grilled asparagus 

 

 

 I made this with about 5 adobo chilies and it was SUPER hot.

Definitely only use two for the marinade!



 

ENJOY!

 

~Tiffany~