Chunky Chicken Chili

I adore soup.  And when Ryan and I saw this one on Food Network, we looked at each and said, "We need to make this now!"  And we did.  

It has just the right amount of heat.  It also comes together fairly quickly, which is always a plus in my house.  

Not a great picture...I apologize...and I'm working on my pictures...just be patient with me.  

And don't let it deter you from making this.  It is really, quite delicious.

Chunky Chicken Chili

    adapted from Food Network

4 Tbsp butter

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 cup flour

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp black pepper

1 Tbsp kosher salt

2 (14.5 oz) cans butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 (4 oz) can mild green chiles

1/2 cup sour cream

cheddar cheese, for garnish

parsley, for garnish

In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken pieces until nicely colored and cooked through.  Remove chicken to a large bowl and set aside.

Add flour to the pan and stir, to create a roux.  Add the onions and peppers.  Add chicken stock to deglaze the pan and stir in the heavy cream.  Lower heat and cook until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  When sauce has thickened, add chili powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne, black pepper and salt.  Stir and cook for a few minutes.  Add the beans, chiles and chicken and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream before serving.  Garnish with cheese and parsley.  

Enjoy!!

Kitchen Happenings

A lot of cooking and baking has been going on in my kitchen lately.  Trouble is...I forget to take pictures...or the kids are "starving", so I just feed them and don't bother with the pictures.  

But...I still want to share some of my favorites with you.  They'll just have to be links to other people's sites rather than posting them on my own.  So in no particular order...

Baked Sandwiches 

from Simply Organized Living

These are delicious!!  And so easy.  We used brown and serve rolls with ham and american and some with turkey and american.  I also left out the poppy seeds (that would have been a melting point for the kids).  These would be great for a crowd and the filling possibilities are endless.

Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)

from The Kitchen Sink

All I can say is "Oh Yum!"  I love all Mexican food...in a "could eat it every day" kind of love.  But this was a first time for me.  And it was so worth the effort of making it.  Like she says, you could substitute the ground beef and pork sausage with ground chicken and turkey sausage or whatever kind of ground meat you like to use.  Its all the other flavors that really make this what it is.  I made 1-inch meatballs, but will make them about half the size next time (I don't like to have to cut things up in my soup.)

Baked Cheddar Chicken

from Jamie Cooks It Up!

The kind of dish my kids won't fuss about when they hear I'm making it.  I did not have cream of chicken soup at home when I made this, so I improvised on the sauce and did more of a "swedish meatball sauce" to go with it.  You could certainly skip the sauce altogether though.  

Bubble Up Enchilada Casserole

from My Baking Heart

This was the perfect combination to satisfy my Mexican desires and the kids picky mouths.  They'll eat any and all of the "bubble" recipes.  {They just really like biscuits I think...and who can blame them!!}

Perfect after work meal, because its quick and easy!  

Freezer Mashed Potatoes

from Once a Month Mom

You know when your potatoes are starting to sprout?  And you really don't want to put them outside for the deer?  And the only potatoes your kids will eat are mashed potatoes or hashbrowns from McDonalds?  Enter freezer mashed potatoes!  I made this about a week ago and pulled out the first one on Wednesday to have for supper.  I wasn't sure how the texture would be coming from the freezer, but they were delicious.  

I think that's it for sharing today.  Hopefully you found some inspiration for your own kitchen.  

Have a great weekend!  

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

We've had a fun filled weekend of activities at our house.  With Ryan gone hunting for the weekend, the kids and I played.  We went to the movie, played with cousins (and Grandma), made a gingerbread house...

Yes...its a store bought kit.  We were focusing on quality time here, not the quality of the gingerbread.  I did my good mother deed by not allowing the kids to eat any of the candy or cookies (who knows how long those had been in there!!)

We watched more movies, went to church and out for lunch, made cookies...

I lied...I made the cookies myself.  No kiddos in the room.  I needed to be alone in my kitchen...just me and my oven and my mixing bowls.  Ever had one of those days??  And then I ate a bunch of the cookies and made by kids have bananas for their snack.  That may veto my good mom deed from earlier.  But like my dad used to say, "Do as I say, not as I do."

And now the kids are wrestling.  Hmm...pretty sure this will end up with someone in tears yelling, "It's all your fault!"

These cookies are soft and chewy.  Chocolaty and sweet.  Very much semi-homamde.  A great cookie to have in your repertoire. 

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

   adapted from Cookin' Cowgirl

1 box devils food cake mix

2 eggs

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 bottle red food coloring

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375.  Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, butter, and food coloring.  Mix well.  

Drop by teaspoon (I used the smallest Pampered Chef cookie scoop) into the powdered sugar.  Roll around to coat (and make into a ball).  Shake off excess powdered sugar and place on cookie sheet.  

Bake for 9 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute and then move to cooling rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

makes about 3 dozen cookies

I'm hoping to get a lot more Christmas baking done, so hopefully I'll have a lot more to share with you soon.
I'm linking up to Jane Deere's Fusion Fridays