Garlicky Chicken Chowder

That's right folks, I'm posting a recipe! This was an experiment gone RIGHT. My cooking experiments don't usually end that way.....it's a combo of a recipe from a magazine, a Rachel Rae and my friend Amber's. Try it out, it was way good, and a little twist on the normal chicken soup, but not so different that picky eaters would scoff.

Garlicky Chicken Corn Chowder

2 T. Olive Oil
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Potato
Shreded Chicken
1-2 Large Garlic Cloves crushed
Broth or Stock 1-2 quarts depending on how much soup you want
4 T. Butter
4T. Flour
1 can evaporated milk (or use regular milk)
1 can corn
Chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large soup pot chop and sautee the Onions, Garlic (crush this) , Carrots, Celery, and Potato adding to the pot as you chop. Season with salt and pepper, and any other dried herb. Sautee until onions are translucent, and other veggies are getting soft.

Add broth (homemade, or canned, or whatever) and simmer on low until vegetables are desired consistency.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small sauce pan, add the flour and whisk together cooking on med high a couple min to get rid of the “floury” taste. Whisk in the can of milk until it begins to bubble and thicken. Add it to the soup.

Stir in the shredded cooked chicken, and can of corn till warmed. Stir in fresh parsley if you have it.

*Veggie amounts depend on how big a pot you want to make. I used 1 large celery stalk, 2 large carrots, 2 med potatoes and one med onion.

Shredded Beef Taco's

Ok since really good crock pot recipes are few and far between, I just have to share this one.
We made this for Josh's fam, and everyone loved it. We had it for dinner, and lunch the next day! The Bridges made it for us once and it's so awesome.

2 lbs london broil (or other cheap cut of meat)
1 whole onion chopped
1 small can chopped green chiles
1 package taco seasoning, mild or hot
2 T white or red wine vinegar
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp minced garlic

Spray inside of crock pot with Pam
Rub Taco seasoning all over the meat
Add everything else on top of meat

Cook on Low 6-8 hours
High 4-6 hours
When it's got about an hour or so left, check the meat and shred if it's tender.
Serve in soft taco burrito things with whatever toppings you like.

Festive Halloween Meal: Pumpkin Penne Pasta with Green "goblin" Garlic Bread

I've made this three years in a row now, and I love it, but Josh finally confessed he doesn't like it very much. WELL!!! To each his own I guess:) Anyway, it's a Rachel Ray 30 min meal from before she was super famous, so yeah, it's better than a lot of her recent stuff.
It's basically a savory pumpkin sauce that goes over Penne pasta. The green garlic bread is made with spinach, but what a great way to disguise some vegetables for picky kids! Hey, you gotta sneak those veggies in when you can.
Pumpkin Penne Pasta
Green Goblin Garlic Bread

Use up Leftover Chicken: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Here's our pretty close, maybe even better knock off of Papa John's creation...Josh couldn't think of anything to improve it, and that's saying a lot.

1. Make your favorite pizza dough
2. Brush with Olive Oil (keeps toppings from making crust mushy)
3. Use a jar of Alfredo for the Sauce
4. Top with leftover choped up chicken, bacon in small pieces, onion, cheese, salt and pepper, sprinkle a little dried herbs on too.
5. Bake at 475 till it looks done, depends on your crust recipe. 10-15 min.

Yay! Delicious and we'll pretend nutritious (if you follow the general rule that it's aways better to make it at home from scratch then to buy it processed...)

Use up leftover Chicken: Thai Chicken Salad

You can make this low fat by using low fat penut butter, and mayo and reduced sodium soy sauce. I didn't have any of that stuff....so it was extra good;)

Whisk together:
1-3 cup Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Add:
2 chicken breast's shreded or chopped ( or equivalent of leftover chicken)
Fold in:
1 cup diced celery
1 medium yellow or red pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Serve over lettuce, or on bread, in a tortilla, on noodles...
Can be made three days ahead (add veggies just before serving)

Apple Pancakes with Boiled Cider Syrup

Another one from the King Arthur Flour website. These were quite tasty, and they puff up pretty fat, although you couldn't really taste the apple very much! We didn't have any "boiled cider" which I've just learned isn't something you can make by just boiling your own cider. It's somehting you buy, and it's made kind of like maple syrup. They boil down the cider a long time until it's syrupy. That would probably have given it the apple kick I was hoping for. So, it was a good basic apple pancake recipe, not my favorite but I'll let you know how it is with the cider syrup (if I ever find it!).

Apple Pancakes with Boiled Cider Syrup

I'm going to try another apple pancake recipe next week and see if it's what I'm looking for!

Inside out Pumpkin Muffins

Holy cow these were AWESOME. Especially hot out of the oven when the cream cheese fillilng was warm. Also really easy. Mix and dump, and the filling is done in the microwave. The white whole wheat added some nice texture, and also it makes me feel less guilty if there is whole wheat or any kind of vegetable;) You can get the white whole wheat at Kroger, and it's not that much more expensive, it has a lighter texture and taste than regular wheat. I expect you could also substitute all purpose.
Here's the link to the King Arthur Flour recipe site. We have all three of the cook books and have never made anything yucky out of it, but the website comes out with new seasonal stuff all the time. Take a look, and I'll give reviews whenever we make something!
Inside out Pumpkin Muffins