No muss, no fuss cooking

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Prep time: 30 minutes        Cook time: 8 hours low, 3-4hrs high        Servings: 8 servings


A quick and easy chicken tortilla soup. Put everything in the slow cooker ( or sauté the first 5 ingredients if you have time) , and just turn it on. Come back later, to delicious soup!
1 large onion chopped
8 cloves garlic minced
1 TBSP salt
½ black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1.5lbs of shredded cooked chicken
8 cups chicken broth
1 lime (about 2Tbsp)
2 (10oz) cans gluten free red enchilada sauce  OR you may substitute pureed tomatoes plus 1tsp chili powder per can
1 (10 oz package frozen corn)
Cilantro
Tortilla chips


Top hot bowls of soups with finely chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.





 

We love you Baachan!

Eating her fries.

You are already missed...

Couponing goodness!

Don and I had a quick couponing date tonight.  Does it count as "quality time"? We don't get out as often as we'd like...but the following cost $2.19 at Albertsons!!  You know, I feel pretty blessed to know about couponing. Retail cost, including sale prices would be $33 , and about $45 at  regular prices (don't even talk about forgetting your Albertson's club card--ugh).   I saved 93% off the sale prices and the the coolest thing about this is a dear friends' family has been underemployed for a while now and even on my tight budget I can share with them. I am grateful.


11 packages of Tuna
2 packages of Mission Tortillas
2 Chocolate Almond Zone bars
2 Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
1 Ronzoni Veggie Pasta
2 Pringles
1 Reach Floss

Kale Salad

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale (dinosaur, red or green leaf—whatever your preference) stripped off the stems and chopped very fine.

1 bunch chard (rainbow is pretty), stripped off stems and chopped fine

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup finely chopped green cabbage

1 cup finely chopped red cabbage

½ cup chopped or shredded carrots

1 red bell pepper, chopped into our favorite shape-I like small strips

3 finely minced green onions (certainly optional)

A handful of additional greens:  I like thin sliced pak choi, thinly sliced fennel, chinese cabbage, arugula, cilantro, or watercress.  The arugula, cilantro and watercress are all strong flavors so I would pick just one  of these “additional greens”  to add.

This is my basic “mix” that I double and keep in a Ziploc for salad all week.  What is wonderful about this is because it is just dark greens, I can also add a handful to soups or stir-fry  it with garlic and olive oil for a side dish. 

When serving as a salad, I may add fresh tomatoes, kalamata olives, or mushrooms if I have them.

Basic Dressing

2 tablespoons lemon juice (approx.)

½ cup olive oil

1 clove garlic finely minced

1 tablespoon shoyu or to taste (I use more)

Dash salt

Blend well!  Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan or nutritional yeast .

I also have an Asian (sesame oil) style dressing I’ll use sometimes too...

Oh so Frenchy, French Chocolate Granola (aka High-antioxidants-are-good-for-your-health-granola)

This is an absolutely delicious, not too sweet (really) chocolately goodness breakfast indulgence! The picture does not do it justice.

3 cups rolled oats

½ cup raw almonds, chopped

½ cup shredded coconut

1Tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of salt

6 Tbsp mild honey or 5 Tbsp agave

Sometimes I add a teeny bit of vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

½ cup or more, finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (I buy bulk chips at Costco and prefer the  “Ambrosia” brand for its darker, less sweet flavor)  DO NOT ADD to dry ingredients.  This is added to the baked and cooled mixture.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, sugar and salt.  Stir well to blend.

In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, whisking occasionally – until blended and loose. 

Pour over dry ingredients and stir to combine well.

Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.  (I bake and stir every 10minutes which helps it to bake evenly)  Cool completely. 

When cool, transfer to a bowl, or ziplocs or storage jar and add chocolate, and mix well.

Store in an airtight container.  Serve with plain milk or yogurt of choice. 

Note:  This makes about  4+ cups, which goes alarmingly fast in my house, so I always quadruple the recipe, put some in the frig and freeze the remainder in ziplocs.

2 foodie posts in 1 day--Bonus!

This is my new favorite convenience food!! Kiyomi says, its delicious.(I'm so excited, I'm beside myself) It is packed with salty porky smoky Southern green goodness! I had this same flavor greens at the Nashville airport in a little local shop. You can get it at Albertson's (at least mine in Lake Forest Park) and its the huge 27oz can. It costs 3.25/can, BUT if you visit their website at www.gloryfoods.com you can print yourself a 90cent off coupon. You can use as many coupons as you buy product (you don't have to give your email, or anything to get the coupon). Sweeeeeeet!

They have Turnip, Collard, Mustard greens and their website shows even more varieties!

Chowning's Tavern Brunswick Stew

I love my crockpot.  I love it so much I'd marry it if I could.  It saves me time, money, and mental "what's for dinner anguish".  Pretty much everything I'm looking for in an appliance.  Enough gushing about my crock.  Tonight:  Chowning's Tavern Brunswick Stew!  Chownings is a Tavern from colonial Williamsburg that my family ate at when we were in Virginia in June.  We had a guy entertaining us at the table with his hurdy gurdy, which was kind of surreal. The whole experience was well done, not cheezy at all.  The crafts and craftpeople were amaaazing!  Anyway, back to the food. I had the "real" Virginia Ham sandwich, which I was way too rich, salty, and smoked for my tastes, but it was grown and cured right there in the little town and very authentic,so I forced myself to eat most of it.  Audrey had the stew and loved it!  I figured it must be delicious because she ate the whole bowl including the evil okra.  I'm making a homemade cornbread to go with it.  This is one of the few days I've had at home where I haven't been cleaning for moths this summer.  Ok, I am avoiding the basement outside of our apartment, but it has been a lovely, calm, fall domestic day--and I LOVE IT!!  Audrey and I got math and economics done today and she chased chickens around while I cooked.  Sigh, it was sooo good.  I have been too busy, too stressed out, too distracted for my own good.  Nothing like a slow cooked day!
Anyway, the recipe is authentic except I omitted the squirrel because I didn't feel like running around the yard.  Yeah, right.  Serves 8-10. Can't wait to try it!

1 chicken (about 3 lbs) I used a whole totally frozen, plopped it into the crock last night at 2am with a quart of warm water and put it on low for 10hrs (this was according to directions from crock pot).

1 - 16oz can of dice tomatoes
2 - cups OMgosh...Um, the picture I took does not have the pretty little yellow kernels of corn in it, because I forgot it!!  So I just now ran, dumped it in the crock and came back-whew!  Anyway, just imagine there is corn in this--I know you can do it!)
2 medium peeled and 1/2inch diced potatoes
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 cup frozen lima beans, eeew. They might not be so nasty in soup, but I am not a lima fan.  I used edamame.
1 cup frozen (I used fresh) sliced okra (yayayaayayay!)
1/2 tablespoon, fresh ground pepper
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar