Soup, there it is!

Ok i stumbled upon this and am SO glad i did. this is my new favorite soup. seriously.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground sirloin

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup finely diced onion

1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried sage

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup white rice

DIRECTIONS
In a large stock pot brown ground meat. Drain fat and add pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent, not letting them brown.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, thyme, sage and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until peppers are tender.
In another saucepan boil 2 cups water, and add rice. Cook until rice is tender and then add to soup. Heat soup through and serve.

i'm really starting to love my Crockpot!

When i first got my crockpot, i was not pleased. everything kept coming out super dry and i was getting really discouraged. I put it away for awhile, and recently pulled it out and haven't put it back since! Now that i'm home i can monitor it, which i know makes no sense for a crockpot, but the sucker runs really hot. the low setting has stuff boiling!
Well i finally decided to try a soup in the pot. and this week's potato sale at the grocery store spawned this recipe.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
(directions are for stove top- i followed everything up until added the onions, bacon bits etc. at that point i threw everything in the crockpot.)

Ingredients

• 9 baking potatoes
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups whole milk
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup bacon bits, divided
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 10 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. Prick potatoes with a fork and cook in the microwave, 3 or 4 at a time, and scoop out the flesh (while the others are cooking).
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook about a minute. Whisk in milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes, salt, pepper, 1/3 cup bacon bits, 2 tablespoons green onions and most of the cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve topped with remaining bacon, onions and cheese.

Garlic and Lime, is there really anything better??

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons lime juice

Directions
In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce

Don't bust my chops!

Well I pulled out pork chops for dinner and then had no idea what to do with them as i didn't plan any recipes this week (i know, horrible person.) So i looked through a million recipes and was missing just one thing from a bunch of different recipes, so i decided to take it upon myself to just wing it. And i'm going to name it

Cola Chops

1 cup of Coke
1 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp. of brown sugar.
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. chili sauce
flour
salt
pepper
2-4 boneless pork chops

I created a marinate with the ingredients and let it sit for a couple of hours.
I took a little flour and salt and pepper to taste and coated the chops and fried them on each side for a minute or 2 to seal in the juices.
Then i put everything in a cassarole dish and threw it in the over for an hour at 350 degrees ( i had thick chops)
these were pretty good, and may just become a staple at the Cordeiro House.

Some like it hot!

Tonight's dinner is for those spicy food lovers....

Chipotle Pepper Chicken

1 can of chipotles in adobe sauce
1 lime
2 tbsp. olive oil
Chicken Breasts

Directions:
Put the can of chipotles in the food processor and puree it. Add the juice of the lime and add the olive oil.
Place in a bowl and add the chicken. Let it marinate for at least 3 hours. (best over night if possible)
You may either fry or grill the chicken. both ways taste amazing.

MMMMMMMMM Waffles!

Saturday morning also made the breakfast monster in me come out, so i busted out the waffle iron and got to work. Our trip to NH last month we purchase nice fresh maple syrup, so these were so good on a cold, rainy morning...

Basic Waffles

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 5 tablespoons melted shortening

Preparation:

Mix and sift dry ingredients. Combine beaten egg yolks, milk and shortening; add to dry ingredients, beating until smooth. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour batter into each section of a hot waffle iron. Cook waffles until crispy and browned. Waffle recipe serves 6.

Weekend Warmer

It is so cold in New England this weekend, that it was perfect for chili. Made Saturday and heated repeatedly all weekend. So good.
I did mine in the Crockpot, cause really, the longer it cooks the better it tastes. Brown the meat and then throw everything in the crock and let it go!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 pounds ground chicken
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
• 1 can stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)
• 1 sack whole grain tortilla chips, lightly crushed
• 3/4 pound Maytag Blue cheese, crumbled
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Preparation

Place a large pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the ground chicken and break it up, lightly browning it for 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, paprika and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and the stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes to the chili and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes more to let the flavors come together.

While the chili is simmering, pre-heat the broiler.

Spread the chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Top each serving of Buffalo Chicken Chili with a few blue cheese chips.