Chicken Enchilada Soup

This soup is soo good!!! You definitely need to try this one!

• 1 can (15 Oz.) Black Beans, Rinsed And Drained
• 1 can (14.5 Oz.) Diced Tomatoes
• 1 package (10 Oz.) Frozen Corn
• ½ cups Onion, Chopped
• ½ cups Red Pepper, Diced
• 1 can (10 Oz) Enchilada Sauce
  
• 1 can (10 3/4 Oz) Can Condensed Cream Of Chicken Soup
• 1-½ cup Milk
• 2 whole Chicken Breasts
• 1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, Shredded

In a 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of the mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into the soup. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. The soup can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips.

Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.

Menu Plan

Here's a look at this weeks menu.....

Monday: Quesadillas, fresh fruit and veggies
Tuesday: Cheesy potato soup and homemade bread
Wednesday: Spaghetti and garlic bread
Thursday: Chicken pot pie
Friday: Margarita pizza*
Saturday: Enchilada Soup*
Sunday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

*Will post recipes soon.

Potato Soup

I made this soup tonight and did it a little differently than normal. I added cheese and dried parsley. It was sooo good!!!

Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 cups cubed peeled potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives

Directions

In a 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat, combine water, bouillon, potatoes, onion, celery, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add 1-3/4 cups milk. Combine flour with remaining milk; stir to form a smooth paste. Add to soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Add a small amount of hot liquid to sour cream; stir to mix. Gradually add to soup, stirring constantly; heat through but do not boil. Add parsley and chives just before serving

Yield: 4-6 servings.

What I did differently:
I used 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper instead of the black pepper, I also added a tsp of dried parsley flakes to it with the salt and pepper. After I stirred in the sour cream, I added 6 slices of Deli Deluxe cheese. One slice at a time, torn in pieces and stirring until melted. I also stirred in 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree and heated it through. The cauliflower was more for extra veggies than taste, you can't even tell that the cauliflower is in there. It was SO good this way!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's a look at what's on the menu for this week....

Monday: Chunky Potato Soup (look for the recipe tomorrow!) and homemade bread
Tuesday: Chicken strips, fruit and veggies
Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread and veggies
Thursday: Quesadillas
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Chicken Parmesan
Sunday: Not sure yet.....

Menu Plan (a day late)

Here's this weeks menu plan....

Monday- chicken salad sandwiches, grapes and cut up veggies
Tuesday- quesadillas, cut up veggies
Wednesday- Lazy day Lasagna, garlic bread, salad*
Thursday- Southwest Chicken Roll-ups*
Friday- Homemade pizza
Saturday- Chicken noodle soup*
Sunday- Sandwiches/leftover soup

*Recipes will be posted later this week.

Homemade Hamburger or Hotdog buns

I found this recipe a while ago and have been wanting to try it. I finally tried it Wednesday and they were sooooo good!!!! So simply and yummy! Definitely much better than store bought buns. In fact, I don't think I'll be buying buns any more. These are just too good!

This recipe is for a bread machine.

1 1/4 cup milk
1 lg egg
6 Tbs oil
3 Tbs sugar or honey
4 cups bread flour
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp vital wheat gluten*
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine pan (in order listed). Program for dough setting. When done, roll out on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal parts, I used a big plastic cup to cut them out. Form into a flat round for burger buns or a small loaf for hotdog buns. Cover loosely and let rise for 30 min. or until doubled in size.

Bake for 15 min. or until golden brown at 375 degrees.

*I didn't have any vital wheat gluten so I used 3.5 cups bread flour and 1/2 cup all purpose.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I love these sandwiches!! So quick and easy!

Leftover cooked pork (from the sweet & sour pork)
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 kaiser rolls (I used homemade buns this time, I'll be posting the recipe for those soon)

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Set pan over med. heat and bring to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, or until liquid reduces and sauce thickens. Serve on buns.

That's it! It's that easy and so yummy!