Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Alright so I have one more soup/chili recipe to post before it definitely gets too warm to make anymore!  I LOVED this recipe! It is SO easy because you just throw everything in the crock pot and then let it sit all day.  And it tastes SO good! Very creamy and delicious! I even used frozen chicken breasts and it turned out wonderful.  One tip for shredding the chicken when it is cooked- throw the chicken into a kitchenaid mixer straight from the crock pot and set the speed to low/medium for around 20 seconds.  You will then have beautifully shredded chicken in seconds! The best tip I've seen on Pinterest so far!

 Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
from Plain Chicken, adapted from Tried and Tasty

1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
2 chicken breasts

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

 

It's getting warmer here in Mesa and chili/soup season is almost over!  I'm almost a little sad about the cool weather disappearing... until I think of summer and all that it entails! I cannot wait for a break from school, the beach, swimming, baking yummy summer treats and eating ice cream of course!

But before you get ahead of yourself, go ahead and make this scrumptious soup from Jamie Cooks it Up!  She has an awesome blog and I definitely want to try more of her recipes.  This one is SO easy because you can throw it in the crock pot and can even use FROZEN chicken breasts! Now that is my style :)

Chicken Enchilada Soup

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 10 min. hands on + 4-6 hours crock pot cooking
Yield: 8 servings
Recipe adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
2 (15 ounce) cans corn
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/2 C red or green pepper, chopped
2 chicken breasts (I used frozen)
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 C milk
4 bullion cubes (or 4 t bullion granules)
1/2 t lime juice (can be bottled)
1/3 C sour cream
2 T butter

Toppings:
Tortilla Chips
cheddar cheese
cilantro
avocado
 
1. Pour the whole can of stewed tomatoes into your crock pot, juice included. Diced tomatoes work best...but if you only have whole stewed tomatoes, like me :)...then stick some kitchen scissors into the pot and cut up your tomatoes.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans and add them to the pot.
3. Drain the corn and add them as well.
4. Roughly chop up 1/2 C onion and 1/2 C of red or green pepper and toss them in.
5. Pour the enchilada sauce into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the cream of chicken soup, 2 1/2 C milk and then crumble the bullion cubes over the top.
6. Whisk it all together until nice and smooth.
7. Place two chicken breasts over the vegetables in your crock pot. (I used frozen)
8. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken.
9. Cover your crock and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7-8, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks things.
10. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Shred it with a fork.
11. Add the 1/2 t lime juice, 1/3 C sour cream and 2 T butter to the soup. Whisk it in until the butter has melted and the sour cream is well combined.
12. Toss your chicken back into the pot, give it a stir and you are ready to eat.
Serve with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese. Cilantro and avocado are also fabulous.

Enjoy!

Southwest Pasta Salad

Okay FINALLY I'm posting again! Ha it seems like I'll do really great at posting for a week or so, posting every day, and then all of a sudden I get super busy and don't post for a long time.  I really want to break this habit, I do... but I am just so stinkin busy all of the time! I barely have time to cook/bake the things I put on here!

 

However,  I did make this  fabulous pasta salad a few weeks ago... and it was SO good!! We brought it to a potluck dinner and it got many compliments.  My husband rated this as a "keeper."

Southwest Pasta Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 lb bowtie pasta
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced or about 3/4 C or halved cherry tomatoes
1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 C sliced green onions
1/2 C frozen fresh corn
zest from 2 limes
optional: 8 oz diced cooked chicken
1/2 C Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese (or you could sub grated jack, cheddar or pepperjack)

Dressing:
6 Tbs fresh lime juice (about 3 juicy limes)
1/4 C white wine or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tsp sugar (add a touch more if your limes are extra sour/bitter)
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro


Boil pasta in salted water until cooked.  While it’s cooking, prepare dressing.
First zest your limes and place the zest in a large salad bowl.
Place the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and sugar in a blender.  (Basically everything except the cilantro and oil)  Process until smooth.  With the motor running slowly, add the oil in a steady stream until incorporated.  Add the cilantro and pulse so it gets broken up, but some pieces still remain in tact.
When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse immediately with cold water to cool.  Place the pasta in the large salad bowl with the lime zest.  Add black beans, tomatoes, diced pepper, green onions, corn (no need to thaw the corn),  and chicken if desired.  Toss with dressing.  Taste, and add additional salt and pepper to taste.  For best results, chill for 1 hour before serving.  Right before serving, sprinkle cheese on top.  Serve with extra lime wedges if desired.

Makes about 4-6 dinner sized servings or 10-12 side servings

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

The CREEPIEST thing happened when I was making this salad. The salad, oh it was divine, it is a recipe from the magazine Cooking Light on MyRecipes.com but let's just say that I have lost all faith in bagged grocery products.  As I was measuring out the 8 cups of romaine lettuce (I doubled the recipe),  I noticed a little critter in my bowl of greens.  A live WASP!  Needless to say I freaked out a little bit, but my mom came to the rescue and squished the little demon right there in the bowl.  The bowl that would contain our dinner.

Not even a WEEK ago, we were doing the same exact thing- measuring out cups of lettuce from a bag- and found a live MOTH that had been hibernating in there.  are you serious, people?!  These bags were two different brands, mind you, because after last week's episode we didn't trust the "Marketside" by Walmart brand.  Well I guess we can't trust any brands anymore.

We definitely threw the bug-infested lettuce away and luckily happened to have a fresh head of lettuce in the fridge, which is what we chopped up to use for this salad.

No more bagged lettuce for me, thank you very much.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)
DRESSING:
1/3  cup  chopped fresh cilantro
2/3  cup  light sour cream
1  tablespoon  minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1  teaspoon  ground cumin
1  teaspoon  chili powder
4  teaspoons  fresh lime juice
1/4  teaspoon  salt

SALAD:
4  cups  shredded romaine lettuce
2  cups  chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
1  cup  cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2  cup  diced peeled avocado
1/3  cup  thinly vertically sliced red onion
1  (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1  (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well. To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat.  Serve immediately.
Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad.  Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.