Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup!

 

 

 

This is such a great soup that you can put on in the morning before you go to work or even the night before and come home to a nice warm bowl of wonderfulness. I look for easy recipes, I can put on and forget during the holidays which can get pretty hectic.  When my son was at home and into so many sports and activities and I was working long hours, I became really good at coming up with recipes you could make ahead and have ready when you got home late in the evening.   This is also so easy you won't believe it!  Here is what you will need:

 

1 medium onion, diced

2 lbs. chicken tenders or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 envelop taco seasoning mix

1 (12 oz.) bag frozen corn niblets

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz.) can of Ranch style beans, undrained (can use chili beans or light red kidney beans)

1 (15 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz.) can of tomato sauce

2 cups salsa (whatever your favorite and heat preference)

1 (15 oz.) can chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

 

Garnishes

tortilla chips

shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

sour cream

green onions

jalapeno rings

sliced olives

 

Place the diced onion in the bottom of a large slow cooker (5-6 quarts).  Lay the chicken on top of the onion.  I like to use chicken tenders for this, but chicken breast will work also.  The chicken can actually be frozen and it will cook fine or you can use unfrozen.  

 

Sprinkle the chicken with the taco seasoning mix.  Add the bag of frozen corn, the beans, then the tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa and chicken broth.  Sprinkle all of the spices over all.  Cover and set on low for 8 hours.   After 8 hours, remove the chicken and either shred it or cut in bite size pieces.  Return to the slow cooker and stir it all well.  If you use the chicken tenders, they will pretty much fall apart with out much help. 

 

You can place chips in each bowl, ladle the soup over and garnish or serve the chips on the side!  

 

 

 



Read More

Egg Nog Pound Cake!

 

 

I have had several requests for a good recipe for this "Egg Nog Pound Cake"!  Even if you are not a huge lover of egg nog, you will still enjoy this cake, because it doesn't taste exactly like the drink that is so common during the holidays.  

 

We have always been more of the boiled custard drinkers in my family during holidays, instead of egg nog, but egg nog really is good to bake with for cakes and cookies.   Feel free to use your own homemade nog in this recipe or buy a good brand at the grocery.  They usually stock it during the holidays in the refrigerator section.  I used one made by Southern Comfort in vanilla spice flavor and I must say it was one of the best store bought egg nogs I have ever tasted. 

 

 Here is what you will need for this cake:

 

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola)

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1  1/2 cups cold egg nog

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. of good Kentucky bourbon (optional, if you do not use it, add an extra teaspoon of vanilla)

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, divided

 

Egg Nog Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbs. egg nog

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

 

***You can substitute 1 tablespoon of bourbon for 2 tablespoons of the egg nog in the glaze, if you like the flavor it gives and you are not serving children. 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and oil for about 2 minutes.  Gradually add in sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time and beat after each one just until the yellow disappears.

 

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with egg nog and ending with the flour.  Mix on low speed just enough to blend all ingredients.  Stir in flavorings and bourbon (if using) and 1 cup of the pecans). 

 

Generously grease a Bundt pan or a 10-inch tube pan. Several of you have mentioned my use of Temptations bakeware lately and I must admit I am hooked. I used my Temptations Bundt pan for this and I love it!  I still spray it with the nonstick spray though even though they say with Temptations you don't have to.  With a cake like this, you do need to.  The nonstick baking spray with flour, like Baker's Joy, works great for this. 

 

 Pour the batter in the pan and be sure to spread evenly.  Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes.   After 45 minutes, you may need to loosely lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent from browning too much.   Test with a pick inserted in the center and when it comes out clean, the cake is done.  This is a dense cake and may appear to be done, but still need baking a bit more in the center, so it's best to test with the pick.

 

Remove from oven and allow to cool on the counter in the pan for at least an hour before turning out onto a cake plate.  It's best to take a sharp knife and run just around the edges to loosen first.

 

Cool completely before adding the glaze.

 

To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and egg nog in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. 

 

Drizzle over the cake and sprinkle the other cup of chopped pecans over the top.

 

 

 

 





 

Read More

Holiday Fruit Salad!

 

 

I call this "Holiday Fruit Salad" because it's the fruit salad my mother has made for years for most holiday meals or one of the various salads we will have at a holiday meal.  This recipe probably originated back in the 1970's or maybe even the sixties.  I know that I grew up with it, but I am not sure when it actually got started.  I remember my late mother-in-law making it also back in the day.  It's really such a simple little fruit salad to prepare, but I think it's one of the favorites to this day. 

My husband loves it.  Sometimes, I think he just mindlessly eats what I put in front of him, but since I have been writing for this site, he is thinking a bit more about food and what's good and what people might like more than others.  After I made this particular fruit salad for this post, he said he thinks it's still his favorite fruit salad after all of the varieties we make in our family. 

 

When you look at the list of ingredients, it might seem too simple and uncomplicated, but I think that might be what makes it so popular.  The instant pudding is the key.  The original version called for vanilla pudding.  You also sprinkled the bananas with about a 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to keep them fresh looking longer if you used the vanilla pudding.  I just use instant lemon pudding and I think it gives it a little more zip and flavor.  Feel free to use either one.  They both work!  

 

Here is what you will need:

 

1 (20 oz.) can of pineapple tidbits or chunks in juice (do not drain)

1 (3.4 oz.) instant lemon pudding mix (can use vanilla)

2 (15 oz.) cans of good fruit cocktail, drained

3-4 bananas, sliced

1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and sliced in half

 

Combine the pineapple tidbits and the pudding mix until the pudding has dissolved.  Add in the fruit cocktail and the sliced bananas.  Some of you will ask, what I mean by 'good fruit cocktail'.  Not all fruit cocktail is created equally.  The slightly better brands have better stuff in them.  I like Del Monte.   Some canned goods you can scrimp on, some it's best not to.

 

 Place in a pretty salad bowl.  Sprinkle the cherry halves over the top.   Chill for about an hour before serving! 

 

This is also good served for a holiday brunch or luncheon! 

 

 





Read More

Black Walnut Cherry Cake!

 

 

This "Black Walnut Cherry Cake" is a creation of my mother's and I think it's just a perfect Christmas cake with it's red and white colors.  So many of you have asked about a walnut cake and because I am extremely allergic to black walnuts, I have not gotten around to making a cake with them.  I do love the unique flavor of black walnuts, they just don't love me.  Black Walnuts were used much more frequently in baking years ago than they are now. 

 

They grow abundantly in our area of the country, although not as abundantly as they once did.  Folks would go out and gather them after they fell from the tree.  The process of getting them out of the shell is a labor intensive or just annoying one.  First, you have to remove the green hull around the harder shell.  Some people would lay them out on the driveway and run over them with the car to do this. Wear gloves when handling, because they stain your hands and anything else they touch.   Once that outer hull comes off, you lay the nut itself out to dry.    After they dry out for several days, you have to crack the hard shell with a hammer or mallet.  Then you can pick the meat out of the shell with a pick, which is not an easy task either.  No wonder they are scarce and cost a fortune if you buy them.  They do give whatever you use them in, a really unique and good flavor.  Here is what you will need for this delicious Black Walnut Cherry Cake:

 

1/2 cup shortening (can use vegetable or canola oil)

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2  1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

1 cup black walnuts, chopped

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 oz.) blocks of cream cheese (softened)

1 stick of butter, softened (1/2 cup)

2 lbs. confectioners sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup cherry pie filling

 

***This is a double recipe of cream cheese frosting, which you will need if you are going to pipe around the top and bottom.  I you are skipping that step, you can make just half this much. 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Place the shortening, butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream together with an electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. 

 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternating between the two and mixing just until it is well blended.  Add in the vanilla.  Fold in the cherries and black walnuts.

 

Divide evenly between two 9" cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick baking spray or buttered and floured.   Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.   Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.

 

Turn out and cool completely before frosting. 

 

To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Slowly beat in the confectioners sugar. 

 

Frost the cake as usual for a layered cake.  If you are piping around the top and bottom, place about 2 cups of frosting in a decorator's bag with a tip and pipe as shown in the picture.   This frosting will pipe easier if you chill the amount you are piping first.  If it seems too soft to pipe, just add a bit more confectioners sugar.  Be sure to also use full fat cream cheese and butter.

 

After you have piped around the top, spread the 1 cup cherry pie filling in center and then gently spread to the edges.   The piping will hold it on top until you cut the cake.  If you do not pipe around the top, put the cherry pie filling in the center of the cake and it let it just run over the sides naturally.  Both ways are very pretty.   Refrigerate after decorating, if you are not serving immediately. 

 

 

Read More

Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Fudge...Just 2 Ingredients!

 

 

 

Sometimes I love an easy recipe instead of one with 30 ingredients in it.  Now, there are those recipes that need all of those ingredients and if you leave anything out, it will just not be the same.   When I post one of those recipes with quite a few spices and ingredients, I always know someone is going to comment and complain that my recipes have too many ingredients.  All I can say is, if it's listed as an ingredient, it needs to be in there and it won't taste the same or the results won't be the same if you leave it out. However, if you make good peanut butter fudge with just two ingredients and it works, I am all for that also.   So this recipe, is for those who want to "keep it simple"!

 

I love peanut butter fudge and there are several recipes for it on the site already.  This is just a little different spin on it and it's so easy, the kids can make this with little supervision.   Here is what you will need: 

 

1lb. of white almond bark candy coating (could substitute white chocolate chips)

1 (18 oz.) jar of good peanut butter (I use Jiff) 

 

Break the almond bark up in a glass bowl.  Microwave for about 3-4 minutes, stirring after each minute or until melted.  Stir the jar of peanut butter in until it's all smooth and combined.  You might want to microwave it together for about another minute.  

 

If you use the white chocolate chips, it will make a softer fudge and you might need just tad less peanut butter....about 16 ounces  

 

You can use crunchy or smooth peanut butter, whichever you prefer. 

 

Line an 8"x8" baking dish with plastic wrap or foil.  Leave enough for it to overlap the edges.  I like to use the nonstick foil.  Pour the peanut butter mixture in the pan and smooth out evenly.   Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  Overnight is even better.

 

Lift the fudge out using the overlapping foil for handles. 

 

 Place on a cutting board  and cut in small squares. It's very rich, so I cut it pretty small.  Store in an airtight container. 

 



Read More

Pineapple Au Gratin!

 

 

If you are new to Southern cooking and recipes, I will warn you that we love to use pineapple in our recipes, especially our holiday recipes.  If you are a Southerner, you already knew this!  The pineapple and the use of it, was once a sign of wealth and position, because of how expensive and hard they were to come by.  In colonial times, they were served only on special occasion for company and during the holidays.  The pineapple came to be known as a symbol of hospitality and was incorporated into decorations and even architecture.  

 

The pineapple's natural sweetness does lend itself to so many southern recipes.  We use it mainly in desserts and salads, but also to sweeten and marinate meats.  This recipe takes pineapple and turns it into a side dish.  As I have told you, we will make anything into a casserole in the South and this proves it!   If you have never had this, it might sound odd, but it's the perfect accompaniment to main courses like ham or turkey, especially during the holidays. 

 

Here is what you will need for this:

 

1  (20 oz.) can of pineapple tidbits (drained)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1  1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 Tbs. butter, melted

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

 

Pour the drained pineapple in a 1  1/2 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  Mix the sugar and flour and sprinkle evenly over pineapple  Sprinkle the cheddar cheese overall.

Mix the crushed Ritz crackers with the butter and sprinkle over the top.  Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.

 

If you are hosting a crowd, double this recipe, because it will go fast!

 

Read More

Sweet Potato Casserole!

 

Sweet potatoes are something that people usually really like or they can't stand.  However, I will say that this casserole has made a few sweet potato haters reconsider and they now love this one sweet potato dish.  This is a casserole that is a fall favorite for us and usually always a part of the holiday dinner, especially in my husband's family.  My husband's sisters and most of our nieces and nephews on that side of the family love this casserole.  My sister-in-law makes this for every family gathering, because the kids like it so well.  A good thing about sweet potatoes is that they are really good for us and full of vitamins and antioxidants, so maybe the butter and sugar in this is justified by that...lol. 

 

 Let's be honest, in the south, we will make a casserole out of just about anything!  There is even a potato salad casserole.  If you want an education in the southern casserole, go to a potluck at a Baptist church.   I was raised in the Southern Baptist church so I have a lot of experience with this. There will be every casserole known to man at a good church potluck or at one of my mother's family reunions which is about the size of a Southern Baptist congregation and the food is always better.

 

This dish is  really good with baked ham or turkey, but also goes well with pork chops or baked chicken dishes.   It can be prepared a day ahead also and baked just before your dinner, which is always a plus for me.  You can use fresh sweet potatoes you have cooked until tender or a large can of yams...either one gives good results.   Here is what you will need:

  

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4 Tbs. butter, melted

4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed or 1 large can of yams, drained and mashed

3 Tbs. flour

pinch of salt

1/2  cup half and half

1/2 tsp nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice (I prefer the pumpkin pie spice)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Topping

1 cup corn flakes, slightly crushed

6 Tbs. butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup nuts, chopped (pecans or walnuts work well)

 

Mix all of the casserole ingredients and place in a 2 quart casserole dish  sprayed with nonstick baking spray.   Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

 

Mix the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and after the initial 30 minutes of baking sprinkle over the top of the casserole.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes.

 

 

 

I love this so much I can eat it by itself as a dessert!



Read More