Chicken Chili Taco Soup

Do you ever see a recipe and know you will like it? Not just think it looks good, but know, from the picture, title, recipe, whatever, that it will undoubtedly be something you will like? That’s what happened to me with this recipe for Chicken Chili Taco Soup. I’m sure it had something to do with the name of the recipe. I like chili. I like tacos. I like soup. It was kind of a no-brainer. I also think I knew the recipe would be a winner because of its similarity to the Taco Soup recipe I told you about way back in the beginning of this blog. (If you click to check out the recipe, please don’t judge me on the photo quality.  I hadn’t figured out the whole lighting thing yet.)

After having tried the recipe, I can tell you that what I like best about it (besides being quick and easy) is its adaptability. The original recipe calls for ground turkey. I substituted ground chicken breast, and I’m sure ground beef would be great too (though I’d drain the beef before adding the soup ingredients to avoid having greasy soup). The recipe also calls for kidney beans, which add to the chili-ness of it. Kidney beans worked great, but black or pinto beans would work just as well. If you want to heft up the veggie content, you could easily add in some chopped zucchini, carrots or spinach. If you don’t have the can of Ro-tel, you can substitute salsa or regular diced tomatoes. You get where I’m going with this.  This recipe is flexible.

It’s also really good.  And ridiculously easy.  All you have to do is brown up the meat, add the veggies and then add everything else.  A 15 minute simmer is all you need to bring all the flavors together.  What you end up with is a chunky, meaty, protein-packed soup full of sweet corn, tender-crisp peppers, creamy beans, and zesty spices (how zesty is up to you).  You can serve it topped with any number of things – basically whatever you like on your chili and/or tacos.  We went for the fairly straight forward combo of shredded cheese and Greek yogurt (subbed for sour cream).  Stan also added enough tortilla chips to his to make it more like chip soup.  I was aiming for something a little healthier, but he assured me his version was delicious.  

Sweet and Sour Pork

It is not often that I try a new recipe and tell you about it the same day.  I also don’t often post two similarly themed recipes in a row. Tonight however, I’m breaking with tradition.  Partly because I finished cooking and cleaning up early enough to tell you about what I made for dinner tonight.  Mostly because it was just that good.  And easy.  And perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork was an unexpected winner.  I don’t normally like sweet meat, but I had most of the ingredients for this recipe on hand, and I needed to figure out what to do with the pork tenderloin taking up space in my freezer.  I found this recipe in TakeOut Tonight!, one of my current favorite cookbooks, and the source of my recipes for Broccoli with Garlic Sauce and Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts.  Since I love those recipes, I figured it was worth giving this one a try.

And I have to say, I’m glad I did.  This recipe comes together very quickly using everyday ingredients.  The pork (or you could use chicken) is lean and tender.  The sauce is sweet and savory and has a nice zing from the rice vinegar.  The bell peppers give the dish a nice crunch, and the pineapple chunks add juicy pops of sweetness.  Served up with some rice and a vegetable (and maybe an egg roll), you’ve got a fantastic dinner for any night of the week.

Feta Walnut Dip

Dips are one of those things that I think pretty much everyone likes.  Sure, you may not love them all, but I’m betting you have a favorite.  Spinach artichoke?  Sour cream and onion?  Black bean?  There are just so many good choices – which would explain why I have about 20 different dip recipes waiting to be tried.  And to tell you the truth, there should be several more dip posts on this site.  I’ve made some delicious recipes that I couldn’t wait to tell you about – only I didn’t take the pictures fast enough, and the dips disappeared before I could get the final shots.  I’m going to have to work on that.  It’s all in the planning… and in the hiding of the dip until the pictures have been taken.

When we lived in Cleveland a few years back, this Feta Walnut Dip was my favorite.  It was kind of my signature dip, if you can have such a thing.  I made it when people came over, and I was often asked to bring it to other people’s houses for parties and dinners.  It was my thing.  I made it so often I kind of got tired of it, and I haven’t made it for a few years.  However, I decided it was time to bring it back for New Year’s.  And I’m glad I did, because it went over big.

This dip is big on flavor and small on effort.  All you have to do is toast some walnuts and then toss all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor.  A minute or two later, and you are ready to dig in.  The feta is the star of the show, giving the dip a creamy texture, while the toasted walnuts add richness and a subtle nutty flavor.  A few crushed red pepper flakes help make the dip as spicy (or not) as you want, and a few sprigs of fresh parsley keep things light and fresh.  Blended together, the ingredients in this recipe combine to form the perfect dip for pita bread, crackers or veggies.  It would make a great sandwich spread too.  Give it a try.  It might just become your new “signature” dip.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Happy New Year!  I 2012 is off to a great start for you.  We kicked things off in style with some major festivities at our house.  I’m talking tinsel garlands, strands of beads and lots of confetti.  It was classy.  We also had enough food to feed twice the number of people actually at the party.  That seems to me to be just the right amount of food to ensure a nice supply of leftovers, which is key the day after a big party.

Food, drink and friends – what else do you need to ring in the New Year?  Nothing I can think of, except maybe some healthier food to balance out all of that end of the year excess.  And if that healthy food tastes so good you forget it’s good for you?  So much the better.  If you’re like me and you prefer to eat healthy food that doesn’t scream “I’m on a diet!”, you will love today’s recipe.  It has all of the flavor of Buffalo wings and none of the fat.  Actually, this Buffalo Chicken Chili has hardly any fat at all – a fact that I’ve kept secret from Stan since he views fat as one of the most important food groups in his daily diet.  He hasn’t noticed.  He loves this stuff.

Despite its New Year’s resolution friendliness, this chili rocks.  The chicken makes it filling and the little pieces of carrot and celery running through it echo the carrot and celery sticks typically served alongside a basket of wings.  For those of you who aren’t into spicy food, don’t be scared by the amount of hot sauce going on here; it adds a great tang without too much heat.  For those of you who can’t get wings hot enough, add as much hot sauce as your poor stomach can handle.  Either way, top off your bowl with some (low-fat) sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, or whatever you like with your wings.  And don’t forget to smile, because you’ll be back in your skinny jeans in no time.  Unless you stick around to check out my upcoming New Year’s Eve posts… in which case you might want to stick with some comfy elastic waist sweatpants.  Whatever you wear, it’s going to be a tasty year.

Brussels Sprouts with Apples, Onions and Bacon

I was all set to tell you about my new favorite dessert today – a dessert that is fast, easy, and perfect for a weeknight treat.  So why, I’m sure you are asking, am I telling you about Brussels sprouts?  Because I made this recipe for Brussels Sprouts with Apples, Onions, and Bacon last night, and it rocked my world.  So much so that it jumped right to the head of the line.  You’re just going to have to trust me on this one.  (And trust that the dessert recipe won’t remain a mystery for long.)

But I digress.  Back to my new favorite veggie recipe… It all starts with a little bacon – just enough to make the whole dish smoky and incredible tasting.  Diced granny smith apples and red onion come next, cooked in the bacon drippings until they are softened and sweet.  Finally, shredded Brussels sprouts are mixed in, along with some great flavor from apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard.  All in all, the combination of flavors and textures is, as I said, kind of world-rocking.  At least for a vegetable recipe. 

Cheesy Chicken and Corn Stuffed Peppers

So… hello.  It’s been awhile.  I know I’ve said that before when I’ve disappeared for a week or two - you know, for moving, a dead computer, mono… those sorts of things.  Dropping out of the blogosphere for over a month, however, is pretty much unheard of for me.  I feel like I owe you an explanation.  I don’t normally share super-personal stuff here because, well, it’s super-personal.  But you’ve stuck around.  You kept coming back even when I wasn’t posting.  You didn’t give up on me.  And I appreciate that.  I really do.  So I have a story for you… 

This story starts about 2 and a half months ago, over Labor Day weekend.  While you were out (hopefully) enjoying the long weekend, I was in the hospital having surgery.  Fortunately, everything went well with the surgery.  Unfortunately, I ended up being allergic to the antibiotic they gave me at the hospital.  That one fateful dose resulted in approximately six weeks of allergic reactions.  We’re talking hives, rashes, swollen joints, swollen eye... and that’s in addition to the surgery recovery.  I was a hot mess.  I was also pretty much at a cooking standstill as I wasn’t allowed to bend, lift anything, etc. 

Over the past few weeks, I have returned to the living – and the kitchen.  I am so glad to be back and able to share recipes with you.  Like today’s recipe for Cheesy Chicken and Corn Stuffed Peppers, one of the first things I made when I got back in the kitchen.  These peppers are ridiculously good.  Filled with chicken, corn, cream cheese, salsa, mild green chiles, fresh jalapeno, and two more kinds of cheese, these stuffed peppers are jam-packed with flavor.  They also have great texture from the creamy cheeses, crunchy corn and peppers, and chewy chicken.  And like most of my favorite meals, these stuffed peppers are quick and easy to make.  These peppers welcomed me back into the kitchen, and I’m sure they would be a welcome addition to your table any night of the week.

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is one of those foods I associate with childhood.  Growing up, my mom would make pudding for us using the box mix.  Sometimes she made instant pudding.  That was fun because it required putting the pudding mixture in a sealed container and shaking the daylights out of it to mix it up.  (At least that’s how we did it when I was helping.)  More often, Mom made the kind you had to cook and then let chill. That was also fun because we never put plastic wrap on the top of the pudding cups so they got a nice thick film.  (Am I the only one who thinks it’s fun to eat pudding skin?)

I never was into the pudding cups you could buy at the store.  My mom’s “homemade” pudding seemed far superior in taste.  Plus I was weirded out by the idea of pudding that didn’t need to be refrigerated.  That went against everything I knew about dairy products at that point in my life.  (Shelf-stable boxed milk would have probably blown my mind.) Homemade pudding from scratch was not something I knew anything about as a kid.  As an adult, I knew you could make pudding yourself, but I’d never tried it.  Over the past couple of years, I’ve saved several pudding recipes to try.  For whatever reason, I’ve never gotten around to making any of them.  The other night however, I was having a serious sweets craving.  Stan was at the store getting groceries, and while I’d texted him a request for ice cream, I had my suspicions he wouldn’t remember to bring any home.  (I was right.)  I didn’t want to take any chances, so I went looking for the chocolate pudding recipe I knew I had stored away.

And I gotta say… I’m glad Stan forgot the ice cream because homemade chocolate pudding rocks.  It is richer and more chocolaty and more decadent than anything you can made from a box mix.  And much to my very happy surprise, homemade chocolate pudding is just about as easy to make as the pudding you cook from a box.  All you have to do is whisk a few things together, heat everything up, and whisk a little more.  See?  Easy.  Perhaps the very best part about scratch-made pudding is that you probably already have all of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry so you can make it anytime you have a craving.  And I suspect you’ll be having lots of cravings once you have a taste of this homemade pudding.

Spicy Honey Chicken

For most people, summer is the perfect time for grilling.  Not so much for us.  At least not this summer.  Stan does our grilling, and this summer he avoided our grill like the plague.  Not because he has developed an aversion to one of his favorite toys, but rather because it was approximately 150 degrees all summer long.  (That may be a slight exaggeration, but you get where I’m coming from.)  We have a charcoal grill and convincing Stan to stand outside for extended periods of time in the sweltering heat was just not going to happen.

And I was okay with our lack of grilling… mostly.  What I missed though, was the opportunity to try the many recipes I had lined up for summer grilling.  Fortunately, Stan decided to brave the heat a couple of weeks ago and let me pick out the recipes.  Enter today’s recipe for Spicy Honey Chicken – otherwise known as possibly the best chicken we ate all summer.

This chicken recipe is fabulous for many reasons.  First, it is easy.  Ridiculously easy.  Rub on a spice mixture, grill, and brush with honey-easy.  It is also insanely delicious.  The chicken is spicy, but not too hot.  It is smoky from the grill.  It is sweet (but not too sweet) and caramelized from the honey glaze.  It is economical.  And in addition to all of those reasons, this chicken recipe is great because it works just as well in a grill pan as on a real grill, making it perfect for year-round cooking. 

Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Casserole

I don’t know about you, but after a rough day, I crave comfort food. And when it comes to comfort food, I like it as carb-y and cheesy as possible. Not exactly healthy, I know. But that’s why it’s comfort food, right? I mean come on, who ever wanted carrot sticks and bean sprouts after a hard day? Unless maybe they were tossed in an Asian-inspired dish and smothered in peanut sauce. In which case, sign me up.

But what if comfort food could be healthy(ish) and comforting at the same time? What if you could still satisfy the craving for carbs and cheese and stick-to-your-ribs casseroles without completely destroying your waistline? That would be a good thing right?

I thought so. And so I tried today’s recipe. One, because it looked ridiculously good. And two, because it wasn’t nearly as unhealthy as it would appear at first glance. This casserole is full of good things. Chicken and brown rice and chiles and black beans and corn and salsa. All healthy. Sour cream (I used reduced-fat) makes it a little creamy, and just a little cheese makes it gooey. All you have to do is stir everything together and bake until bubbly.

One bite and I was in love. This Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Casserole is complete comfort food, but it doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure. Serve it up with a salad on the side and you’ve got a meal that will comfort your belly… and your conscience.

Five-Spice Chicken with Fresh Plum Sauce

Until last year, it never occurred to me to bake with plums.  And then I discovered the magic of the Dimply Plum Cake.  Also until last year, I never thought about using sweet plums in savory dishes.  And then I made the Spinach and Black Plum Salad.  Both of those recipes changed how I look at plums – and made frequent repeat appearances in our kitchen.

Last night I expanded my plum repertoire a little further with a fantastic recipe for Five-Spice Chicken with Fresh Plum Sauce.  This recipe has a lot going on in the flavor department, and it is all delicious.  Let’s start with the chicken – it’s coated in ground almonds and five-spice powder and then cooked until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  (Five-spice powder, in case you aren’t familiar, is a Chinese spice blend typically containing star anise, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and fennel seeds.  You can usually find it in the regular spice aisle of your supermarket.)

The chicken alone is so delicious I had to restrain myself from going back for second piece.  Together with the sauce, however, this relatively simple chicken dish becomes something special.  As the name of the recipe implies, the sauce contains fresh plums, which are cooked down until they become soft and saucy. The addition of fresh garlic and ginger and a little more of that five-spice powder keeps the sauce from being too sweet – which I appreciate because I don’t typically like my meat to be sweet.  You get the plum taste, but it’s savory.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it could be adapted in a variety of ways.  I can image the almond/five-spice coating on fish or tofu.  The plum sauce would be delicious with pork.  Or of course you can just make the recipe as is – which is what I’m planning to do again very soon.

Edamame Succotash

I know I’ve been giving you a lot of vegetable recipes lately.  I’m sure you’re wondering where the sugar and bread and meat have gone.  Or maybe where you live it’s also 123 degrees every day, and you can’t think much past lighter, veg-heavy dishes either – especially if they’re jazzed up with the good stuff.  Lately we’ve had vegetables with goat cheese, vegetables with Pecorino and almonds, and most recently, we’ve had vegetables with bacon.  You can handle another veggie recipe if it contains bacon, right?

I hope so, because today’s recipe for Edamame Succotash is a good one.  Succotash is a dish traditionally made with corn and lima beans, and sometimes tomatoes and bell peppers.  This recipe swaps out the usual lima beans for edamame – the bright green soybeans you eat straight from the pod at Japanese restaurants. 

This dish is quick-cooking, easy to make, and packed with great flavor and texture.  Fresh corn from the cob, juicy tomatoes, crunchy red bell pepper, sweet Vidalia onion, and those bright green soybeans come together in a colorful and delicious combination.  The crisp bacon and fresh basil added at the end take the succotash from ordinary to something pretty darn delicious.

Succotash is a great summer side that works well at barbecues and picnics since it doesn’t contain any mayo or dairy.   And, since edamame packs a big protein punch, you could also serve the succotash as a light entrée, with some great bread alongside.  However you serve it, I think you’ll like it.  I mean, c’mon, there’s bacon in there!

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

When it comes to weeknight cooking, fast, easy, and delicious are my favorite buzzwords.  Are you with me on this one?  If so, you are going to love today’s recipe with a capital L.  Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Goat Cheese – what’s not to like?  Just the name has my mouth watering.  (If you haven’t noticed, I kind of have a thing for goat cheese.)

This recipe uses fresh asparagus – plentiful, inexpensive, and in-season at this time of year.  The asparagus gets a quick cook (we’re talking 2 to 3 minutes) in boiling water before getting an incredibly flavorful topping.  To make the topping, halved grape tomatoes are quickly cooked with a little garlic and balsamic vinegar.  That sounds simple enough, but the flavor produced is anything but.  As the tomatoes cook, they get soft and sweet and a little tangy from the vinegar.  After a couple of minutes, the tomatoes take on an almost jam-like consistency.  It is “lick the pan” good.  And it takes about 5 minutes.  The fact that creamy goat cheese tops every off is the icing on the cake. 

A few notes: this recipe originally called for using whole asparagus spears.  I had intended to prepare mine that way as well, but my asparagus was on its way out the door, and the tips weren’t looking so hot.  I decided to trim them off and go for bite-sized pieces instead.  Not as pretty, perhaps, but nice and easy to eat.  Also, while this recipe is delicious made with asparagus, I think it would be equally delicious using any number of vegetables, especially green beans, spinach, or roasted broccoli.  The balsamic tomatoes and goat cheese would also make an amazing topping for bruschetta, polenta, or even pasta.  However you tweak it (or make it as it), this recipe is a spring and summer weeknight winner.

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos

Today I was planning to share a side dish recipe with you guys.  It has vegetables and cheese and a crunchy breadcrumb topping.  I made it last night, and it rocked.  But then I got to thinking…  Cinco de Mayo is coming up next week, and I have a whole lot of Mexican recipes in the backlog waiting to be posted.  Seems like the perfect time to share them with you, no?  (Let’s just agree to ignore the fact that I completely ignored posting holiday recipes for Passover and Easter.)

To kick things off right, today’s recipe comes from Mexican food and Top Chef Master Rick Bayless.  If you’re not already a Rick Bayless fan, let me tell you - he’s kind of awesome.  He takes traditional, authentic Mexican recipes and makes them accessible.  And incredibly delicious.  Like that recipe for Jalapeno-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes I told you about a couple weeks ago.

Or today’s recipe for Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos.  Tacos which are good.  So very good.  And so very, very easy – because you make the filling for the tacos in a slow cooker.  Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?  Authentic Mexican food coming out of the slow cooker at the end of a long workday?  Yes, please.  Especially if that food tastes like this – soft corn tortillas filled with tender, smoky chunks of pork and cubes of potatoes steeped in the meat juices.  Topped off with cubes of creamy avocado and fresh cheese, these tacos take slow cooker food to another level. 

No-Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is a popular dish in Indian cooking (Punjabi to be exact). As its name suggests, the dish is rather rich. Chunks of chicken are marinated in yogurt and spices and then bathed in a tomato-based sauce that is made rich and luxurious with ample amounts of butter and cream. If you are in the mood for a treat or are in the looking to walk on the caloric side of Indian cuisine, butter chicken is a delicious way to go.

However, I know not all of you prefer your meals with “butter” in the recipe title. For a lighter, more everyday way to treat yourself to the delicious flavors of butter chicken, consider this recipe for No-Butter Chicken. In this healthier take on its namesake, chunks of chicken are cooked in an aromatic sauce redolent with the flavors of onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, and other spices. The sauce gets its wonderful creaminess from non-fat plain yogurt rather than butter or cream. But don’t worry – you won’t miss the fat or calories one bit. (And I’m not one to make that claim lightly.)

The flavor of this chicken is so good that you will likely impress yourself with your culinary abilities. I don’t know about you, but I love it when that happens. I could not believe the amazing taste that was produced with such relatively little work. Just make sure you have some rice or naan to serve alongside this chicken when you make it – you aren’t going to want to waste a single drop of the deceptively rich-tasting No-Butter sauce. It is plate-licking good. Which, of course, is why you need the naan. Because plate-licking is typically frowned upon. Especially if you have company over for dinner.

Jalapeño-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes

There are certain recipes that just aren’t that pretty. They might be incredibly delicious, but they won’t win any beauty pageants – or food styling contests. If you were telling your friends about these recipes, you might say they “have a great personality”. And while “a great personality” might be code for something less than desirable in a blind date, it’s not at all a bad thing on your dinner plate.

Take today’s recipe: Jalapeno-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes. It’s not really a looker. One glance will not have you drooling on your keyboard. One taste might. This is one of those deceptively delicious dishes. It looks like tomato sauce on top of fish on top of sliced potatoes. It tastes like a mouthwatering, tomato-based sauce flavored with garlic, cilantro, and pickled jalapenos layered on top of moist, perfectly cooked fish on top of thin slices of tender potatoes. Sounds more drool-worthy that it looks, right?

Would you drool even more if I told you this is an easy, quick-cooking dinner? If so, grab a napkin my friends, because this recipe is indeed weeknight friendly. And relatively inexpensive. And just oh so good. Oh, and everything cooks in one dish, so there are barely any dishes to wash. Just thought I’d throw that one in there, you know, in case you weren’t already sold.

Mango Ginger Chicken with Almonds

I was really torn about which recipe I wanted to share with you today. I have quite a backlog of recipes waiting to be posted, and they are all vying for my attention. My first inclination was to tell you about some awesome ground beef enchiladas. Then I checked the list of my most recent posts and realized I have been leaning strongly towards Mexican-inspired flavors as of late. Oops, so much for variety. (But don’t worry, I won’t hold off on telling you about the enchiladas for too long.) Then it was on to the chicken debate. I have five good recipes to tell you about. But I wasn’t feeling decisive enough to pick one. A great spring pasta? I wasn’t thrilled with the pictures. Baked goods? Healthy or sinful? You can see the conundrum.

All things considered, I decided to select a recipe whose flavors share the summery feeling Nashville’s current 80-degree weather is bringing out in me. This Mango Ginger Chicken with Almonds fit the bill perfectly – a little bit fruity, a little bit spicy, and filling without being heavy. In other words, this quick chicken stir-fry is perfect warm weather dinner fare. While I can’t say the same for this amazing weather, I’m certain this recipe is here to stay… at least until next winter.