Foodie Friday: White Chicken Chili

Rachael Ray is my kitchen homegirl. Yes, she can be a bit over the top. Yes, her voice annoys some people. However, I love her recipes and her cooking methods. Her recipes always taste good. They aren't overly complicated. The ingredients are usually easy to find. Recently she had an episode that highlighted the top ten downloaded recipes from her show in 2009. I am making it my goal to make all of those recipes sometime this year. With this recipe I have 1 down and 10 to go!

Mandy Forester's White Chicken Chili (with slight Bowl of Cherrys modifications)


Ingredients:
-4 cups water
-4 t chicken bullion
-3 cans white beans (undrained)
-5 cups cooked chicken
-16 oz salsa
-8 oz pepper-jack cheese (grated)
-2 t ground cumin
-2 cloves garlic (minced)
-black pepper to taste
-1/2 c finely crushed corn chips
-sour cream, avocado slices, and sliced green onions for garnish


Directions:
Place all ingredients, except corn chips and garnishes, in slow cooker. Cook on high until the cheese is melted. 10 minutes before serving, add crushed corn chips and simmer to thicken. Garnish and serve.

Homemade Christmas Gift #5

We exchange names on M's side of the family for Christmas. This year I just happened to get my sister-in-law and best friend, Jenny. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to get for her until she casually mentioned on a shopping trip that she would like some new baking pans. I bought her the baking pans and some other baking goods to go along with them. I also decided that Jenny needed a new apron for all of her cooking and baking. The pattern that I bought was for a retro full apron. I found the perfect fabric to make it out of at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It was a little more complicated than I anticipated, but I was able to finish it the day before we left. I am sure that Jenny will use her apron while she creates many wonderful meals and treats!

Homemade Christmas Gift #4

Potholders. I knew that I wanted to make potholders. I needed potholders to go with the cookie mix that I was giving to the members of our playgroup. I needed to make these potholders. I had several patterns. The only problem was that they involved binding. I can do binding. (I mean I do quilt and all, but it just seemed like so much work.) And then I found a tutorial for these easy, peasy and cute potholders. I would love to share the tutorial with you, but it has disappeared. I will do my best to explain how to make these on my own.

1. Cut five 8 inch squares of fabric. (I used two different fabrics. You could use one fabric, or even five.) Cut one 8 inch square

of Insul-bright.

2. Press four of the squares diagonally in half with wrong sides together, creating four triangles.

3. Place the Insul-Bright square on the bottom. Place 8 inch square right side up on the Insul-Bright.

4. Start placing the triangles on top of the fabric square. Place each triangle in a corner with raw edges on the raw edges of the square. Overlap each triangle as you go. Pin thoroughly to avoid slipping.

5. Stitch with a quarter inch seam allowance around the square.

6. Trim the corners and turn triangles over to the back of the Insul-Bright.

I gave myself permission to go Sandra Lee and do a semi-homemade gift. I made the potholders and then bought packages of cookie mix from the grocery store. This saved me some much needed time as I was still working on these the morning I brought them to playgroup.

Ooey Gooey Cheese Balls

I bought a huge block of Mozzarella at Sams Club. It is so nummy and good. It has me thinking up all kinds of recipes so that I can enjoy it. (M even shredded some for the top of our frozen pizza last night. Mmm, mmm, mmm.) I decided to do a spin on the pizza bites I made a while back. I started with my basic dough recipe. Once the dough was ready, I divided it into 12 sections. I rolled each section into a ball around a chunk of Mozzarella. I put each ball into a cup of a muffin tin that I sprayed with cooking spray. (I wish that I would have brushed the tops of the balls with melted butter and sprinkled them with some garlic powder, but I didn't.) The balls baked for 15 minutes at 425. (Just check for when they start to brown on top. To finish the meal off, I opened a can of soup and warmed it on the stove top. (That is the beauty of cooking. You don't have to be Betty Crocker all of the time. Some of the time is just fine.) These would also be good just served with pizza sauce for dipping.

Double Trouble

Did you know that I think of you, my blog readers, often throughout my days? As I go about my daily life, I find myself mentally writing up blog entries about it's different events. Obviously I don't always take the time to "put pen to paper." (Hence the lack of posts the past few days.) Between the nasty weather and Peachy's nasty cold we haven't been venturing out much as of late. You would think that would leave all of the time in the world for blogging, but I have actually been very productive in other areas.

I am working at cleaning the entire house. I know, quite the exciting project, right? The odd thing is that go about our daily lives it isn't staying clean. (Odd, no?) This is where a maid would sure come in handy. We are also working on the office/spare room. We sold the futon that I bought for my first apartment and are replacing it with one of those nice, raised air beds. (I am talking this thing up so that friends and family will still want to come and stay with us.) We also got rid of the bulky computer desk and will eventually be getting rid of the desktop computer that was in there. The hope is to build bookshelves in there and unpack our books. We may even get some items up on the walls down there. (Yes, we have lived in this house for 1.5 years. Yes we should already be moved in, but we would hate to rush into things.) The other major project is organizing my craft area down there. Christmas hit that place like a tornado. I am hoping that the organization will allow for more productivity in the craft/sewing department. (This is a bit challenging these days since Little Peachy has found out how to move with a purpose. She has been quite the helper on the organization front.)

Also, I have been filling some of my time with another baby. (Don't worry, I am just borrowing one.) I have agreed to watch a friend's three month old when they need the help since my friend is going back to work. So far The Little Monkey has come over twice. She hasn't been all that happy to see Peachy and I either time. On her first visit She only slept and cried. And every time that she cried, Peachy would look at her and start crying, too. Last time, The Little Monkey managed a few happy moments with us and Peachy was much more, well, peachy with the whole situation. Monkey is coming by again today. I think we will aim for 50% happiness this time.

See, I even had enough happy time to take a picture.

So, I leave you to go back to my productivity. (A friend told that me that she added blogging to her to-do list and so that makes blogging productive, too. Not a bad idea.) Just know that I am thinking of you!