Comments

I would love to know if you have tried any of my recommended dishes! If so, please make a comment and let me know! I would love to know if you liked the recipe and if you made any changes to the recipe! Thanks for reading!

White Chicken Chili with Pine Nuts

I know, I know, I'm posting another soup. Being that it is winter and we were just blessed with our biggest snow of the season so far, I just couldn't resist! I love eating a warm bowl of soup on a cold snowy day. This recipe is very easy and very tasty! For those of you who are making baby food, throw in an extra chicken breast. Blend the chicken breast with some of the onions and add some curry powder. Matias loves it! The toasted pine nuts add a nice touch to this dish, so don't leave them out! I hope this dish warms you up on a cold wintry day!

 

White Chicken Chili With Pine Nuts

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion, chopped

1 teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cans cream of chicken soup

3 cans great Northern beans, drained

2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 can chopped tomatoes and green chilies, drained

Toasted pine nuts (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Shredded Cheese (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Place chicken and onions in a large pot with water to cover. Add salt and pepper. Boil until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove chicken, leaving onions in pot. Allow chicken to cool and cut into ½ inch pieces. Drain broth, reserving onions, into a separate container and reserve both (broth and onions). Return chicken to pot with onions; add soup, beans, and next 6 ingredients, stir to blend. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Add reserved chicken broth until you reach the desired consistency. Reduce heat to low at least 30 minutes or in a crock-pot for several hours.  Top with toasted pine nuts, sour cream, cheese and salsa! Enjoy!

Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi

Sorry I am posting my recipe of the week so late this week! I didn't make this recipe until last night and I would never post a recipe that I had not tested first. So here it is! Peter and I are not big fans of pasta or Italian food. However, Peter had a Gnocchi soup a few weeks ago at The Olive Garden. It was his first time eating Potato Gnocchi and he really liked it. So when we were shopping at Sam's Club last week we bought a 3 pound package of Potato Gnocchi, hence, the following recipe! For those of you who do not know what gnocchi is, I will give you a very basic explanation. 

Gnocchi: In Italy, dumplings are collectively known as gnocchi and are made in several different styles. The most common way to prepare gnocchi is to combine potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed) with flour to form soft bite-size lumps of dough. Each gnocchi is ridged along one side. This gives the sauce a surface to cling to when eating. Most gnocchi recipes require cooking similar to pasta, but quicker. There are several varieties of pre-made gnocchi in supermarkets. Gnocchi goes well with just about any sauce and can be served in place of a pasta dish.

I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we did! It is a great alternative to pasta!

Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi

Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi 

1 pound refrigerated Gnocchi

5 cups fresh spinach

1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

4 Tbsp. Shallots, chopped, divided

8 ounces Fontina Cheese, cubed

1/2-cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook as package directs. Drain and set aside. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add 2 Tablespoons of shallots and sauté for a few minutes. Then add mushrooms and sauté until almost tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Set aside. Start the sauce. Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter (Be sure to use unsalted butter. Otherwise it will turn out too salty.) in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Stir in cream and heat to almost boiling. Gradually mix in Fontina and Parmesan cheeses being careful not to boil. Stir until smooth. Place gnocchi, spinach and mushrooms into a large serving dish. Spoon the sauce over them. Enjoy!

Tequila Lime Fajitas

This is one of our absolute favorite dishes! I would love to claim this as my own creation; however, I have to admit that my dear friend, Michela McKenna, gave this recipe to me. Thank you, Michela, for allowing me to share this dish with everyone, including Paige Potter. (Only a few of you will get that joke.) This recipe requires quite a bit of slicing and dicing, but the rest of the preparations take no time at all! I just love all of the fresh, healthy ingredients in this dish! Hope your family enjoys it as much as we do! Below are the recipes for the Fajitas and Salsa, but the Margarita recipe will always remain a secret!

Tequila-Lime Fajitas with Guacamole Salsa and a Margarita!

Tequila-Lime Fajitas

4 chicken breasts (sliced) or chicken tenders

1 Red Pepper (sliced)

1 Yellow Pepper (sliced)

1 Green Pepper (sliced)

1 Onion (sliced)

Marinade

¼ cup fresh lime juice

¼ cup of Tequila

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Tbsp. Grill Mates Chicken Seasoning (I use Garlic & Onion or Montreal seasoning)

10 Large Flour Tortillas

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Close and turn a few times. Let marinate for at least 1 hour or all day. Grill or cook on the stovetop in a shallow skillet over medium heat until Chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with sour cream and cheese.

Guacamole Salsa

2 Lg. Tomatoes (seeded and finely diced)

1cup corn kernels (frozen and thawed)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Jalapeño chilies (seeded and finely chopped)

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 can of Rotel tomatoes (original or mild)

3 Ripe (but still somewhat firm) Avocados, chopped

Salt  & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except avocado in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. About 30 minutes before serving, add avocados to tomato mixture. Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Velvety Squash Soup

 I discovered this soup about 3 months ago and it has become a favorite around here! Matias loves butternut and acorn squash. I was tasting his pureed version and it was pretty good! So I decided to find a recipe that I could make for us and this is what I found. For those of you with little ones who eat baby food, you can puree some of the squash after it is done roasting for your little one. It is very convenient! I also make grilled cheese to go along with the soup. It is a great soup and sandwich dinner. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

Velvety Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese.

 

Velvety Squash Soup

1 (3 lb) butternut squash

1 (2 lb) acorn squash

cooking spray

2 cups coarsely chopped onion

2 teaspoons canola oil

5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup apple cider ( I used Apple Juice)

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon curry powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

2/3 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place squash, cut sides down, on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Combine onion and oil, tossing to coat. Spread onion mixture onto pan around squash. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes or until squash and onion are tender. Cool slightly. Scoop out squash pulp from skins; discard skins. Place onion and squash pulp in a dutch oven. Stir in broth and the next 5 ingredients (through red pepper); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Place half of squash mixture in food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan; stir in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.