Chicken Taco Soup

Chicken Taco Soup

I made this soup for dinner the other night and my husband practically begged me to make it again…soon…more than once.   I make a soup that is similar – Santa Fe Soup {aka Taco Soup} – that has ground beef in it.  This recipe uses  a rotisserie chicken, making it healthy AND super quick to make.


chicken taco soup 2

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Wholesome Fast Food: Chocolate Crepes with Peanut Butter and Honey

crepes

Need something new to spice up your breakfast routine?   I’ve got something that packs a protein punch, will be loved by your sweet tooth {or sweet toothed children}, and is fast enough {and portable enough} for you to snag on your way out the door to the office or taking the kids to school.

Don’t let the word “crepe” make you shiver with fear.  They aren’t as hard as they sound.  I’ve got a tired and true recipe.  And, since this recipe has lots of eggs, Greek yogurt, and peanut butter – you’ll be fuller…longer!  You’re going to love it!

 

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My kids love these…here is a picture of Eliana on her second helping. ;)   If you like them a bit chocolatier, you can add more cocoa powder.

Divine is a 100% Fairtrade company, 45% owned by the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana.

I received product for review and other compensation in exchange for this post.  Of course, my family lives off of yogurt and Stonyfield happens to be one of the brands I love and trust…so this is an easy and honest review of a lovely product.

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Grilled Cheese Gone Gourmet with Turkey and Asparagus

turkey asparagus grilled cheese

I have found my new favorite sandwich.  It was born of my desire to add more fresh veggies to my diet {and my kid’s diets}.   I’ve been trying to get creative and add more veg to my lunches and breakfasts – two meals when vegetables don’t always grace our plates.

This sandwich elevates sandwiches to a whole new level.  Doesn’t it look gourmet?  And if you can make a grilled cheese sandwich, you can make this!  First off I used leftover sauteed asparagus from the night before.  We often have asparagus {almost one a week} so there are always a couple of spears left for something.  I’ve been thinking of cooking extra so I can enjoy it with fried eggs for breakfast and on sandwiches for lunch like this one.

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Strawberry Breakfast Buns

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I LOVE cinnamon rolls.  Truth be told…I love bread.  yeast bread.  homemade.  right out of the oven.  Okay seriously, I may have to go bake some after writing this post.  I’m making myself hungry!

That’s how this recipe was “born.”  From my love of bread – and cinnamon rolls.  Only, I decided to switch it up and add another favorite filling of mine – strawberries.  Plus, my kiddos can’t get enough of them – they absolutely love berries. and bread.  and jelly.

If you are familiar with how to make cinnamon rolls this is the same method.

strawberry rolls

:: Strawberry Breakfast Buns

Dough:
3/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp salted butter
1/4 cup water
1 egg

Filling:
1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 or 3 oz cream cheese

To make the filling, place strawberries, sugar, and water into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Mix cornstarch and a bit of water in a bowl.  Stir until there are no lumps then pour it into the pan with the strawberries.  Boil for a minute or two, until the strawberries have thickened.  Just before turning the strawberries off, add the vanilla.  Then, remove the strawberries from the heat and allow to cool.

To make the dough, put milk, butter, and water in a glass measuring cup and heat for 30 seconds {or more}.  The goal is to get the milk, butter, and water up to 100 – 110 degrees to activate the yeast {too cold or too hot are equally as ineffective}.   Place yeast, sugar, and warmed milk, butter, and water into mixing bowl.  Allow it to sit a few minutes.  Add in the flour, sugar, and egg and beat together in your electric mixture fitted with a dough hook {or by hand with a spatula}.

Allow the electric mixture to knead the dough for a minute so that the dough is smooth and elastic.  {Or, if you are mixing by hand, turn the dough out and knead by hand for approximately 8 minutes}.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it.  Allow it to rise for an hour in a warm place.  {I put mine in the oven.  First, I turn the oven on for just a minute to get it warm – but not hot – in there.  Then, I turn the oven off and put the dough in there with the door shut.  It keeps it snug and warm ;) }.

Prepare a glass baking dish with cooking spray (I like to use coconut oil spray but you can use what you like).

Transfer dough out onto your floured counter top and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle about 9×13.  Spread a horizontal stripe of cream cheese down the middle of the dough.  Then, spread the strawberry filling out on the dough.

Roll the dough into a log.  Then, slice the dough into about 12 rolls.  Place the rolls in the prepared dish.  Cover loosely and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Strawberry Banana Yogurt Pancakes

Yogurt Pancakes 2

This recipe was a total experiment.  And, experiments can go one of two ways – good or ugly.  I am happy to report that this itchen experiment turned out more than just good…it is now elevated to my new FAVORITE pancake recipe.  I am likely to use this recipe as my regular pancake recipe with plain yogurt or other flavors of yogurt.

For this recipe I used two cups of Stonyfield fat free strawberry banana yogurt and it made these pancakes so moist and melt in your mouth!  They have the best flavor and texture!

This would make a great Valentine’s breakfast for your sweeties.  Or, if you don’t have time for pancakes tomorrow morning, why not make them for dinner – or for Saturday morning as a treat!  When ever you make them, I’m sure they’ll be a hit!

yogurt pancakes

 

 

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Lemon Bluberry Pancakes for National Blueberry Pancake Day

blueberry

Today is National Blueberry Pancake day and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share one of my family’s favorite blueberry pancake recipes!  Of course, if lemon blueberry pancakes aren’t your style you could always just toss a few blueberries in your regular pancake batter. Don’t have a family pancake recipe?  You can have mine ;) Shhh!  I won’t tell… go ahead tell your family its all yours. ;)

And while your at it, enjoy these pancakes for lunch or dinner – not just breakfast!  No, that isn’t weird at all.  In fact, Driscoll’s berries did a survey and found out 82% of the survey respondents said they enjoy blueberry pancakes for lunch or dinner too!

Why blueberries? Incorporating blueberries into the iconic pancake boosts nutrition and adds flavor.  Blueberries are a superfood – loaded with antioxidants.

Why organic?  Blueberries are a soft fruit – so that means it is one of the foods I splurge on and purchase organic.  Soft skins are more subseptible to pesticides and of course, you can’t really peel a blueberry.  Driscoll’s offers an organic variety that are available in lots of store – not just health food markets. I stock up when blueberries are in season so I can enjoy these little gems year round. Just pop them in a freezer bag and viola!

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Chicken Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce

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I LOVE avocados.  I would eat them with every meal.  They are FULL of healthy fats and are a power house of vitamins.  I call them brain food.  They were one of the first foods I fed my children since they have a naturally soft texture.  Both of my kids love them too!  So, making a recipe loaded with avocados sounded like a no-brainer to me.

I found a recipe on pinterest called Avocado Cream and Chicken Suiza Enchiladas that sounded fantastic.  The only problem – they included 2 CUPS of whipping cream.  Avocados are also high in fat – although good fats.  But still, I just couldn’t bring myself to serve this to my family as it – especially since my hubby is really working hard to lose weight.  This sounded counter-productive!  I decided to do a little tweaking to the original recipe and drastically reduce the calories.  Here’s my take on Chicken Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce…it was a real crowd pleaser!

avocado cream

 

 

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Broiled Grapefruit – Part of a Sunshine Breakfast

grapefruit

Have you been in your local Walmart this month?  They are having a “Citrus Celebration” showcasing the variety of citrus fruits  they have. Right now you can find these items in your local store:

 Moro Orange
Plummelo
Minneaola Tangelo
Navel Orange
Cara Cara Navel Orange
Clementines
Grapefruit
Blood Orange
Persian Lime
I wasn’t able to find all of these in my local store but we did pick up Cara Cara Navel Oranges, Blood Oranges, Clementines, and Grapefruit.  My kids have blown through it, too.

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Judah was fascinated by the blood oranges.  It totally blew his mind that “oranges” can be red.  LOL.  The Cara Cara oranges are my favorite.  I’m heading back to see if I can grab another bag or two this week.  I have managed to make a couple of recipes with the fruit this week.  One of my favorites is broiled grapefruit.  It only takes a minute to make and it makes grapefruit SO much better – totally changes it.  If you’ve never tried it, you really should – it takes something simple and elevates it to company worthy. ;)

grapefruit 2

 

If you’re looking for other yummy dishes to make with all that glorious citrus fruit, check out my recipe for Orange Cinnamon Waffles with homemade whipped cream and Orange Glaze.  Mmmm…

Breakfast, brunch, or even dinner, I hope you enjoy these recipes!

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. This post is sponsored by Walmart.   Walmart has provided me with product and/or compensation in exchange for my time and efforts in creating this post. My participation is voluntary. As always, my opinion is my own.

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Cookwell Oils – Family Recipe Remade

cookwell

With the New Year many of us have made resolutions or agreements with ourselves to get healthy or to lose weight.  With so many people looking to make healthy food that still has flavor I thought it would be a great opportunity to work with Cookwell Oils and Chef Jake Fisher–Cookwell’s professional chef and inventor of menu favorites at popular restaurants like Applebee’s and Pizzeria Uno to remake some old recipes that belonged to my family.  The remade recipes are healthier versions of my family’s favorites – Beef Stroganoff, Pumpkin Bread, and Potato Latkes.

All these recipes originally called for a good amount of oil.  I have already made a lot of changes to the types {and amounts} of oils we eat.  I choose healthy oils as much as possible – like coconut oil for frying and in the place of recipes that call for solid shortening, and olive oil for roasting and sauteing.  I use butter for finishing sauces and for bread – good homemade bread has to have a bit of butter. ;)

So, I chose these recipes because they were some of my family recipes that still remained that I hadn’t figured out how to change – especially the Beef Stroganoff and Pumpkin Bread because they called for large amounts of vegetable oil.

Cookwell’s Oils come in a variety of options {available at Walmart} like grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, sunflower and olive oil blend, and flavored olive oils – like balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and garlic flavored extra virgin olive oil.

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They remade my recipes, sent me some fantastic recipe cards and a box of great kitchen gifts!  We gave the beef stroganoff recipe a test drive.  I think the concept of Cookwell’s oils are fantastic – and their mission is great – to help home cooks cook healthy meals.  And, they’ve made it easy to do that – all of the oils are labeled with what they are best used for {bake, baste, dip, or fry} and with their temperature and flavor grades.

Beef Stroganoff_1f

Beef Stroganoff_2b

I cooked the remade recipe for dinner this week – with two minor changes – I used a couple cups of water (to make more of a gravy) and I left out the dill.  While Chef Jake said it would bring freshness to the dish, my husband has a strong aversion to it. So, if you like dill, this would bring that element of fresh to the dish.  I LOVED that he swapped in Greek Yogurt in exchange for the sour cream that the recipe traditionally called for.  I had heard of swapping sour cream for Greek yogurt but had not really tried it.  I was a little skeptical that it would taste too tangy but it was great!  I couldn’t tell a difference AT ALL!

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The recipe was a hit.  Thanks Chef Jake Fisher for your help making over this family recipe! Here’s to a healthier year in 2013!

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. This post is sponsored by Walmart.   Walmart has provided me with product and/or compensation in exchange for my time and efforts in creating this post. My participation is voluntary. As always, my opinion is my own.

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Faux Fried Fish

Faux Fried Fish 2

Have you made a vow to make 2013 your healthiest year yet?  We’re doing our best around here to eat healthy and if you are looking for another healthy meal to spice up your weeknight routine, I’ve got a family favorite to share with you!

We LOVE fried fish – but fried foods aren’t “all the time” foods.  I mean, I still enjoy fried food every now and then…we just try to not to make them a routine choice.  So, out of our love for fried fish, this recipe was born.  My mom is the brainchild behind this recipe.  I must give her ALL the credit for this one.  BUT, I will gladly eat this recipe once a week and even my picky hubby requests it often!

Cod makes a great fish for this recipe because it is hearty and holds up to the breading.  But, you could easily use flounder, halibut, or other white fish in its place.

With only a couple ingredients, this meal is both figure friendly AND frugal.  Plus, with simple ingredients, you don’t have to hunt anything obscure at a specialty shop to enjoy this recipe… I got all the ingredients at my local Walmart.

Faux Fried Fish

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. This post is sponsored by Walmart.   Walmart has provided me with product and/or compensation in exchange for my time and efforts in creating this post. My participation is voluntary. As always, my opinion is my own.

 

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