Chicken Chili

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 16-oz can tomato sauce
10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies (didn't have this so I used a small can of chopped green chilies along with two cans of tomatoes)
1 packet taco seasoning (I make my own and have listed the recipe below)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro (I just threw in some dried cilantro directly into the chili instead of garnishing)


Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker.

 Place chicken on top and cover.

 Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred.

 Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro.

Serve with a side of corn bread and top off with some shredded cheese and/or sour cream

Taco Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Much healthier for you than the packaged stuff and tastes way better. Add as much as you want to taste.

Original recipe here

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup S'mores

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cups
Marshmallows
Graham Crackers


Pretty simple. Unwrap peanut butter cups and place on graham cracker.

Throw a marshmallow on top and throw in the oven on broil. Keep an eye on them as they can get dark pretty fast.

Enjoy!

Maryland Crab Cakes

So i'm a bit behind, haven't been able to post in awhile so bear with me as I do a few posts to catch up.


Maryland Crab Cakes

1 large egg
2½ tablespoons mayonnaise
 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup finely diced celery (you’ll need one stalk)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 pound lump crab meat (I cheated and used 3 cans)
½ cup breadcrumbs
oil


Combine the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat and bread crumbs. gently fold mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.

If you want them to hold together better place onto baking sheet covered in foil and put in fridge for 1 hour. I skipped this and they help up fine.

Place crab cakes in pan with oil on medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown. I served them with tartar that I make from scratch.

Take finely chopped onion, sweet pickles, and add mayo and lemon juice to taste.

Original recipe found here

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

I don't think I will even bother putting the recipe for this one down. It was awful. It ended up having almost a bread like consistency and just wasn't like mac and cheese at all. Not much flavor to it. The original link for the recipe is found here. We didn't add any vegetables into it, Nathan asked me not to. It had also suggested hot sauce so maybe that would have helped a bit but i'm not sure that would have fixed the lack of cheesiness and bread like texture. All in all, not one I plan on remaking in the future.

Easy Cheese Danish

Wanted to try an easy breakfast this morning so I pulled this one up to try. Had it cooked and ready to eat in about 45 minutes. Original link for recipe can be found here


Ingredients

2 cans crescents rolls (I used pillsbury crescent roll sheets so I didn't have to pinch together)
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 T milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan, I used pam. Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 egg until smooth. Lay 1 pkg of crescent rolls down in the bottom of the pan and spread mixture on top. Lay last pkg of crescent rolls on top of mixture. Brush with egg white and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Side note

The original recipes calls for 2pkgs cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 egg for the filling but I found that cutting it in half was plenty filling. If you do decide to double it bake for 40-45 minutes.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil and Parmesan Soup

I decided if i'm going to be pinning all these recipes I may as well be putting them to use and actually start cooking and baking some of them. Nathan requested this one so we tried it out first.



The original link for the recipe you can find here


Ingredients Needed

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

I used fresh oregano and fresh basil, and I left out the bay leaf as well as the salt and pepper. I found the chicken broth had enough salt for my taste but if left out everyone can add more to their liking. I also substituted 2% milk for the half and half to cut out some calories. I don't think it came out as thick as it would have but was still super yummy like that.



Combine diced tomatoes, chicken broth, celery, carrots, and onions in crock pot along with the oregano and basil.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until vegetables are soft.
Melt butter in skillet and mix in flour to start a roux. Original recipe calls for adding in 1 cup off hot soup and then adding 3 more but I only mixed in 2 or so. I didn't read closely enough and didn't use a big enough pot.

Add the roux back into the crock pot and whisk until blended. Add in the parmesan cheese, half and half or milk and whisk in. I found that the parmesean doesn't melt super well and got sort of lumpy at the bottom even with constant stirring.

At this point I added in more basil and oregano because the flavor had cooked down a bit at this point.

Cover it back up and let simmer for another 30 minutes until done

This was a huge hit, Nathan absolutely loved it and it went perfect with homemade cottage cheese herb rolls but I will have to cover that recipe another night