Wordless Wednesday
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
What's the best part of helping Mom in the kitchen?
The sweet rewards, of course!
Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun:
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot
Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun:
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot
Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I love Mexican food and though I'm generally not a big soup eater, I do enjoy chicken tortilla soup, especially on chilly days. This recipe I found on RecipeZaar is a great version that is pretty simple to make. Since I'm not a fan of creamed corn, I substituted cream of chicken soup, which worked well.
Ingredients
* 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
* 32 ounces chicken broth
* 1 (12 ounce) can spicy v8 juice
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
* 1 (10 ounce) can rotel
* 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn or cream of chicken soup
* 1 (8 ounce) can sweet corn, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
* shredded mexican cheese
* sour cream
* avocado, diced
* crushed tortilla chips
* lime wedge
Directions:
For chicken: place raw chicken breasts in large soup pot and cover about 1/2 inch with water or chicken broth. If you use just water add a little salt, if you use chicken broth be sure to strain it and save it for soup broth. Bring chicken in water/broth to a boil, slightly reduce heat and boil about 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
While Chicken is cooking, de-stem cilantro and finely chop, save for end.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool for shredding.
Strain and save broth for stock (if used water dump it).
Rinse soup pan and put back on stove on medium heat, add chopped onion and sugar and cook onion in sugar until medium to dark brown, it will get dry and sticky.
Add 32 oz Chicken broth, V8, Chili Powder, Cumin, Rotel, Cream Style Corn, Corn Niblets, Shredded Chicken and cayenne to taste.
Bring to a slight boil reduce heat and cook about 5 minutes.
Add drained Pinto Beans and cook another 5 minutes.
Add Cilantro and stir.
Serve soup over broken tortilla chips and garnish with Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado and fresh squeeze of lime.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
* 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
* 32 ounces chicken broth
* 1 (12 ounce) can spicy v8 juice
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
* 1 (10 ounce) can rotel
* 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn or cream of chicken soup
* 1 (8 ounce) can sweet corn, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
* shredded mexican cheese
* sour cream
* avocado, diced
* crushed tortilla chips
* lime wedge
Directions:
For chicken: place raw chicken breasts in large soup pot and cover about 1/2 inch with water or chicken broth. If you use just water add a little salt, if you use chicken broth be sure to strain it and save it for soup broth. Bring chicken in water/broth to a boil, slightly reduce heat and boil about 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
While Chicken is cooking, de-stem cilantro and finely chop, save for end.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool for shredding.
Strain and save broth for stock (if used water dump it).
Rinse soup pan and put back on stove on medium heat, add chopped onion and sugar and cook onion in sugar until medium to dark brown, it will get dry and sticky.
Add 32 oz Chicken broth, V8, Chili Powder, Cumin, Rotel, Cream Style Corn, Corn Niblets, Shredded Chicken and cayenne to taste.
Bring to a slight boil reduce heat and cook about 5 minutes.
Add drained Pinto Beans and cook another 5 minutes.
Add Cilantro and stir.
Serve soup over broken tortilla chips and garnish with Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado and fresh squeeze of lime.
Enjoy!
Quotable Sunday - On Winter
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Greetings friends and welcome to this edition of Quotable Sunday. Today I have selected quotes on winter. It is not my favorite season. I generally dread the cold and gray months between Christmas and Easter.
Around here there is little snow, just cold, damp bleakness. Today, we are fortunate to have sun to take the edge off of the chill. Though the winter months sometimes leave me feeling empty, a few of these quotes reminded me that beauty is everywhere...if you have the right perspective.
Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. ~Pietro Aretino
The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood. ~John Burroughs
Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I'll toast our bright eyes,
my sweetheart fair.
~Minna Thomas Antrim
Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories. ~From the movie An Affair to Remember
Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." ~Robert Byrne
Every mile is two in winter. ~George Herbert
Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
~Bill Morgan, Jr.
There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. ~Ruth Stout
When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill
I was just thinking, if it is really religion with these nudist colonies, they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime. ~Will Rogers
Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn. ~Marche Blumenberg
Every winter,
When the great sun has turned his face away,
The earth goes down into a vale of grief,
And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,
Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay -
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.
~Charles Kingsley
For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.
Around here there is little snow, just cold, damp bleakness. Today, we are fortunate to have sun to take the edge off of the chill. Though the winter months sometimes leave me feeling empty, a few of these quotes reminded me that beauty is everywhere...if you have the right perspective.
Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. ~Pietro Aretino
The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood. ~John Burroughs
Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I'll toast our bright eyes,
my sweetheart fair.
~Minna Thomas Antrim
Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories. ~From the movie An Affair to Remember
Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." ~Robert Byrne
Every mile is two in winter. ~George Herbert
Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
~Bill Morgan, Jr.
There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. ~Ruth Stout
When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill
I was just thinking, if it is really religion with these nudist colonies, they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime. ~Will Rogers
Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn. ~Marche Blumenberg
Every winter,
When the great sun has turned his face away,
The earth goes down into a vale of grief,
And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,
Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay -
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.
~Charles Kingsley
For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.
A Thousand Words Thursday
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Three King's Day
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Three Kings Day, also known as The Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas. It is often viewed as the last day of the Christmas season (the end of the 12 days of Christmas). You can find out more about how this holiday is celebrated here. If you'd like to have your own celebration, you'll find lots of crafts and fun ideas here.
Here is a recipe for King's cake. Although there are several versions, this is one I found on about.com:
"Traditionally, Rosca is served on Three Kings Day. A small baby Jesus figurine is baked into the bread. The one who finds the figurine in his or her slice of Rosca becomes the host for a dinner party for Candelaria in February."
Most of the preparation for this dish is in making the dough. Enjoy it any time of the year. This recipe makes two rings, divide ingredients in half to make just one.
Prep Time: 3 hours, 00 minute
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
* 2 packets of dry yeast
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 4 cups flour
* 1 cup flour for kneading the dough.
* 2 sticks of butter (1/4 pound each, softened)
* 2 cups brown sugar
Preparation:
1. Place the yeast in a large bowl and stir in the warm milk. Mix until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Stir in the sugar and salt.
3. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and then add to the mix.
4. Mix in half of the flour. When it is well incorporated mix in the rest of the flour.
5. Melt one stick of butter and stir into the mixture.
6. Lightly flour a kneading surface and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Knead the dough until it is smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Place the dough into a bowl, cover with a cloth, and set in a warm place to rise to double or more of its original size (2 to 3 hours).
8. Once the dough has properly risen, remove it from the bowl and knead it again for about 2 minutes.
9. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
10. For each half, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Brush with 2 tablespoons of melted butter (from the second stick) and then dust with 3/4 cup of brown sugar.
11. Roll the dough up into a spiral.
12. Grease a coffee ring mold with butter and generously dust with brown sugar.
13. Cut the remaining butter into bits and evenly distribute in the mold.
14. Cut the dough into 1 to 1 1/4 inch pieces and place into the mold next to each other until filling it.
15. Place the mold within another container with hot water. Cover and let rise for another hour.
16. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake the bread for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serves: Makes two coffee rings.
"Traditionally, Rosca is served on Three Kings Day. A small baby Jesus figurine is baked into the bread. The one who finds the figurine in his or her slice of Rosca becomes the host for a dinner party for Candelaria in February."
Most of the preparation for this dish is in making the dough. Enjoy it any time of the year. This recipe makes two rings, divide ingredients in half to make just one.
Prep Time: 3 hours, 00 minute
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
* 2 packets of dry yeast
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 4 cups flour
* 1 cup flour for kneading the dough.
* 2 sticks of butter (1/4 pound each, softened)
* 2 cups brown sugar
Preparation:
1. Place the yeast in a large bowl and stir in the warm milk. Mix until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Stir in the sugar and salt.
3. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and then add to the mix.
4. Mix in half of the flour. When it is well incorporated mix in the rest of the flour.
5. Melt one stick of butter and stir into the mixture.
6. Lightly flour a kneading surface and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Knead the dough until it is smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Place the dough into a bowl, cover with a cloth, and set in a warm place to rise to double or more of its original size (2 to 3 hours).
8. Once the dough has properly risen, remove it from the bowl and knead it again for about 2 minutes.
9. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
10. For each half, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Brush with 2 tablespoons of melted butter (from the second stick) and then dust with 3/4 cup of brown sugar.
11. Roll the dough up into a spiral.
12. Grease a coffee ring mold with butter and generously dust with brown sugar.
13. Cut the remaining butter into bits and evenly distribute in the mold.
14. Cut the dough into 1 to 1 1/4 inch pieces and place into the mold next to each other until filling it.
15. Place the mold within another container with hot water. Cover and let rise for another hour.
16. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake the bread for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serves: Makes two coffee rings.
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