Chicken Taco Soup (Crockpot Recipe)

Here's what's for dinner at the Bradshaw house tonight!  It's cold.  It's damp.  It's "supposed" to snow.  Sounds like soup is in order to me!

Picture courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Chicken Taco Soup
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained (forgot)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (I used a Corona)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained  (I used mild)
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning (Again, I went with mild for the sake of the children)
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

Place onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer and tomatoes in crockpot.  Add taco seasoning mix and stir to combine.  Add chicken breasts to crockpot, being sure to submerge them in the soup ingredients.  Bake on low for 5 hours.  After five hours, remove three chicken breasts onto a plate.  Shred with two forks, then place the shredded chicken back into slow cooker.  Continue cooking on low for an additional two hours.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips if desired.


Couldn't.Be.Easier.

Chicken Fajitas

 

Every now and then, my hubby gets a hankering to get in the kitchen with me.  Typically on a day off or a relaxing weekend, he'll start craving something and he wants to "cook" it.  He does really well in the kitchen, but it's definitely a team effort most of the time.  A few weeks ago, we decided to make some homemade chicken fajitas (one of our restaurant favs when we go out for Mexican).  So, I found this recipe on This Mommy Cooks and decided to give it a try.  It was amazing!  Definitely something we will make again, and to make it even better, both of my children LOVED the chicken.  We served our fajitas with some PW Guacamole and Pico de Gallo and beans and rice.  YUM!

Chicken Fajitas

Adapted from This Mommy Cooks

Ingredients:
Marinade:
¼ cup lime juice (about 3-4 limes or use bottled)
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons apple cider or red wine vinegar (I used red wine)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Liquid Smoke*
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder (I didn't have this, so went without)

*Note: Liquid Smoke may seem like an unnecessary, optional ingredient but it adds a good flavor and smokiness.

Fajitas:
2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 yellow onion, cut into thin strips
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red (or orange) pepper, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon lime juice (a quick squeeze of a cut lime)
dash of salt and pepper

Directions:
Begin by marinating chicken by combining all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Either place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over the top or add the chicken to the bowl that you mixed the marinade in. I used a bowl covered with foil.  Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator and let marinate for 2-5 hours. The longer you marinade, the better flavor you'll get.  (Mine actually marinated for about 24 hours....we had a quick change of plans and decided to cook the following night).

After marinating, take chicken out of the bag or bowl and discard the marinade.  Cook chicken over medium-high heat in a large skillet,  4-5 minutes per side.  It will cook fast since it is cut into strips. Remove from pan and tent with foil to keep warm.  You could also grill the chicken if you preferred.

Once chicken is removed from skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and add the onion and peppers. Stir fry until softened but still crisp tender. Add soy sauce, water, lime juice and salt and pepper.  Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Toss cooked chicken stips with the vegetables in the skillet. Serve immediately with flour tortillas and top with tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream.


***As you can see above, this dish is so beautiful!  We absolutely loved it, and had plenty for a leftover lunch the next day.  I plan on making this again very soon.  I hope you enjoy.

Easy Mexican Skillet Meal

Raise your hand if you thought I'd disappeared forever?

(Both hands raised)

Raise your hand if you like really simple meals?

(Both hands waved again!)

Raise your hand if you like Mexican food?

(Both hands raised and waving vigorously)

So, I tried this yummy recipe last night, and let me tell you: new.favorite.food.

A. It was delicious.
B. It was cooked, start to finish, in 25 minutes!
C. It's Mexican.

Jonathan loved it, and thought that the meat mixture was so yummy that I need to leave the noodles out and serve it with tortillas. I might just do that!

Easy Mexican Skillet

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 onion, finely chopped (optional)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used lowfat)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used lowfat)
1 cup salsa
1 package of egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

1. Brown ground beef with seasonings and onion in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream and salsa until cream cheese is completely melted.

2. Add cooked egg noodles to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve and enjoy!

Taco Soup

Many of you may have this in your cooking arsenal already, but just in case you don't, you MUST try this recipe! I promise you it will quickly become a favorite, not only because it is delicious, but even more so because it is the EASIEST supper. Ever. I'm not kidding.

My 2.5 year old absolutely LOVES taco soup and actually requests it. I am more than happy to oblige most times because we love it as well, and because it is extremely healthy and packed with protein. This soup has many variations that I have seen from various websites, etc., but this is my take on it. I hope you enjoy it sometime soon.

TACO SOUP

1 lb. of ground meat (or ground turkey for an even healthier and just as tasty version)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained (I use the mild for Nora's benefit)
1 14.5 ounce petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 package of taco seasoning mix (I use the low sodium version)
1 package of dry Ranch salad dressing mix (This is the secret ingredient and shouldn't be left out!)

Directions:

Simply brown your ground meat of choice with the onion until meat is no longer pink and onions are soft. Drain meat and return to soup pot. Add (DUMP) your cans of vegetables and tomatoes. Add the packets of taco seasoning mix and Ranch dressing. Stir and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

Serve with sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips. Feel free to top with other favorite toppings like green onion, jalapeno, etc.

A few other things worth mentioning:

***If you like your soup spicier, you can choose a spicier version of Rotel tomatoes and/or add some jalapeno to the soup pot.

***Even though this is a mild-ish soup, I usually add a dollop of sour cream to Nora's bowl to make it more creamy and a bit less fiery. Actually, I do this with many foods that I think may be too spicy for Nora....I just love sour cream!
***You can simmer this soup for as long as you like, but make sure it is at least 30 minutes. As with many soups, stews, etc., the longer they simmer, the more the flavors meld together. This soup is even tastier for leftovers.
***If you prefer your soups to be a bit more brothy, add a can of low-sodium beef broth. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I don't. It just depends if I have beef broth on hand and whether or not I am in the mood for a chunkier soup. Both ways are delicious, and the broth has a meaty flavor that doesn't water-down the great flavor of the original recipe!