Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have posted this recipe before, here's the original post.

This is one of my favorite cold weather soups. MMM. Cheesy goodness.



It's also a great way to use your homemade broth from this post, and the chicken too!

Ingredients:
2 T vegetable oil
1 onion - chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 heads broccoli, florets cut in big chunks, stems chopped
Shredded chicken meat from 1/2 chicken - or you can just use white meat only
3 3/4 cups milk
2/3 cup flour
1/2 t pepper
8 oz. velveeta cheese - cubed
extra shredded, cheddar cheese to top it - completely optional but who doesn't love more cheese?

Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and cook until tender then add garlic and saute about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, chicken and broccoli. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine milk and flour and whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to pot and cook 5 minutes - stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Stir in pepper and cheese. Continue stirring until cheese is melted, about another 5 minutes.

Pour into bowls and enjoy.

Whatever you don't eat you can freeze.

* If you like it really cheesy, just add more velveeta cubes or some shredded cheese.*


Did I mention how easy, fast and delicious it is???

Have a great weekend!

Top Posts in 2011

I have enjoyed other people's posts about their top 5 posts from the previous year so I decided to do that here. I just based it on most page views for posts made in 2011, though, some of the most viewed pages were from 2010 posts.

Anyway, here are the top 5...

5. I Think I Did It



Maybe it's the coffee ice cubes or the fact that a ton of people are looking for a perfect iced coffee recipe, but either way, this post made it to the top five. I feel kind of bad because I am going to share something this week that will make this post obsolete. Seriously, folks, stay tuned.

4. P is for... (part 2)



I would like to think it's my clever "Princess and the Pea" cake that got all the page views but it probably has more to do with the super cute dollhouse, pillow and quilt that were given to my P.

3. P is for... (part 1)




This makes me happy to be in the top five because I'm usually not a crafty gal. I busted out all my secret skills on this party and it seems that people liked it, thank you pinterest.

2. Homemade Pizza Balls

Say hello to my favorite snack recipe for 2011. Those babies were so good. I have made them several times since and have no plans to stop. The Nathan's ball is my fave.

1. Maybe a Tad Biased



Maybe it's the too-cute-for-words pictures my sister took of my P or the subtle announcement at the end that made this the top 2011 post but in all honesty, I'm quite certain it's the fact that my sister linked up to the news. Most page views in one day goes to this post as well. Thanks, sister.

Hope you enjoyed at least one of those!

Christmas Vacation

Howdy folks! I hope you all had a great Christmas! Here's a little recap of some of our Christmas vacation in photos.



I'm going to be taking a break from blogging for a little while but I'll be back.

Until then, have a great week!!

Puppy Chow - A Christmas Snack Tradition

In yesterday's post I told you about our Advent calendar tradition. Well, one of the food-related doors we opened had a card for puppy chow. Have you had puppy chow? I'm sure just about everyone has. Have you made it? If not, the purpose of this post is to show you how easy it is. I'm pretty sure the recipe is quite standard but I've given it below in the event you don't feel like googling it.

Here's what you need:
9 cups - Crispix cereal
1 cup - chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate, not semi sweet)
1/2 cup - peanut butter
1 1/2 cups - powdered sugar

Don't you just love my festive measuring cups!? I do. Mom got them for me for holiday baking - thanks Mom!

Anyway, get a big pot - one that has high walls so you don't make a huge mess when you stir the cereal around - and melt the chocolate chips. Then add the peanut butter and stir until combined. Next, pour in the cereal and gently fold/stir until all the cereal is coated.

Get a big plastic bag, like a gallon bag or I just use a clean plastic shopping sack, and pour the powdered sugar in it. Then dump all the cereal in the bag, twist the top and give it a good several shakes, spins and rolls. Open it up and grab a couple warm little treats and eat them up. They are great with a glass of milk.

That's it! Once it's cooled, store in an airtight container our separate into little baggies and give as gifts.

Advent Week 1 in Review

We started an new  Christmas tradition last year with Sweet P and decided to continue it this year. We have an Advent calendar house-like-thing that has little door to open each night.



So we decided to fill each door with a variety of activities to do, Bible verses to read, movies to watch, songs to sing and dance to and food to eat to open each night.

Here's the first seven days:















I'm curious, what traditions do you have or Christmas treats you always make?

$6 Well Spent

I'm not a big sweets-for-breakfast kind of gal. I prefer sausage gravy over homemade biscuits. However, I do enjoy a homemade pancake or waffle from time to time.

We make pancakes every now and then but have never been able to make waffles because we don't have a waffle iron...until now!



Let me first say that I know you can get waffle irons just about anywhere but I'm a little particular about my waffles. I don't like the Belgium waffles. I like the old, thin waffles with the little squares. It's what I was raised on and you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find an iron that makes these now! I've been on the hunt for about a year.

This past weekend we hit up the flea market only to find there was no flea market that day. We decided to stop in a little flea-market-type-store on the way home and found this beauty for $6!! I was a little skeptical about it actually working properly but figured what's the big loss if it doesn't?



After we cleaned that sucker up we were pleased to find out it works just fine.



I only makes two waffles at a time and takes about 9 minutes per 2 waffles but at least it cooks evenly!







Sweet P approved of our waffles too!

Natural Snack

Here's a quick, all natural little snack we've been munching on around our house that I thought you might enjoy.  They're no-bake, all natural energy balls/bites.

I first saw them on Krista's blog where she talked about how delicious they were. I pinned her pin to my pinterest board and finally made them myself, you can find the original recipe at Food Doodles.

I stayed close to the recipe but a few slight changes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup finely shredded coconut
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup chopped, dried mixed fruit (cranberry, blueberry, strawberry)
about a teaspoon sea salt

***UPDATED: I have been roughly chopping up some milk chocolate chips and love that addition. It's not so natural but it's really good!***

You mix the peanut butter and honey together, then mix in the rest of your ingredients.



Refrigerate for at least 30 min. and roll into little bite-sized balls - I got 30 out of them. I stuck them on some wax paper in a tupperware dish in the fridge and they lasted about 5 days.



I'll be making a new batch tomorrow and trying the frozen version, Heidi, mentioned.

Oktoberfest Feasting

As I've mentioned, Oktoberfest was this past weekend here in T-town. The plan was to save money by going during the free-admission time and not eating anything while we were there because we had a German feast to come home to. Such was the plan anyway. We made it inside the gates with seconds, and I mean seconds, to spare. We didn't plan on the traffic and had to run for the gates. Sweet P and I made it through, then Eric and then the ticket-takers started moving out saying time was up and everyone needed a ticket. My mom held her phone up with the time showing there was still one minute to go as she pushed on through. They ended up letting her through - along with a drove of others!

It was a fun start to the event. We walked from tent to tent, hearing various sounds of music and cheering and smelling all kinds of tempting treats.



We hadn't been there 20 minutes before the beer (the husband's beverage), potato pancake and Ludgar's Bavarian cream cheese cake had been purchased.



With full bellies it was time to work a little of those calories off with a little chicken dancing. Sweet P once again wooed the crowds and had everyone around her clapping and smiling.



It was a good time. I think I need one of those German hats for me and Sweet P next year.

The rest of the weekend was filled with family, a lot of football watching and more German feasting. Last week I mentioned a few recipes I wanted to try and I made all but one. I also added one I didn't mention so here's the reviews...

First up, the Wiener Schnitzel and German potato salad.



I tried this chicken schnitzel recipe but used tenderized-boneless pork chops for the meat. The husband said it was the best schnitzel he's ever eaten and that it reminded him of the one he would order as a kid at Ursula's (Tulsa restaurant no longer in business). I thought it turned out pretty good.

Then there's the German potato salad recipe that I mentioned last week. Again, the husband loved it and said it was the best potato salad I've ever made. Personally, I prefer a cold, smashed potato salad but it went well with the dinner.

Next up is the recipe for apple strudel I also mentioned last week.



After I converted everything in her recipe, I decided to use puff pastry instead of phyllo dough. I like puff pastry, it's easy and I'll use the leftovers. Plus, I didn't feel like taking the time to do the whole buttering the 4-5 layers or phyllo. I'm lazy.



The puff pastry ended up working out really well and the strudel was amazing. Really folks, delicious. I used honeycrisp apples inside and topped the strudel with some icing to really take it over the edge in the healthy department.

And, last up, I tried this recipe for homemade pretzels.



They were a huge hit. I read a lot of the comments on the recipe and ended up going with 4 cups of flour and using my kitchenaid with the hook attachment to knead the dough. That thing made this recipe SO easy. The pretzels smelled amazing and were perfect right out of the oven.

The recipe calls for sugar but the husband didn't care for the sweetness of the dough. I didn't mind but will probably use less next time I make them. They were also really good covered sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and coated with melted butter. Such a great treat.

After all the German food cooking and eating I have determined that the German folk aren't too concerned with calories and I'm happy Oktoberfest only rolls around once a year.

More Park Pictures and Polenta

Here are a few more pictures from our visit to the Conservation park in Claremore.

The deer were really that close. It was awesome.



Sweet P giving her daddy pebbles along the walk.



Not sure what she's pointing to here, but we looked.



And daddy teaching his girl the art of hunting and stalking deer.



Now on to a totally different subject, I made polenta (basically cornmeal) for the very first time. I had it at one of the Biga wine dinners a while back and decided to try to make my own. Now that I know how easy it is, I will trying many more recipes.

I found this recipe and altered it a little. I didn't have fresh parsley or parmesan cheese so I used some dried parsley and topped ours with a little feta and fresh green onion.



It turned out pretty good but you have to eat it right away or the polenta gets a little hard.

Seared Ahi Tuna Wraps

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything food related - and the fair food yesterday doesn't count. And not that I haven't been cooking, it's just been the same ol' same ol'. So this week I went out on a limb and tried making some ahi tuna wraps.

My husband bought some tuna steaks at the store a bit ago when they were having a huge seafood sale - and, no, he doesn't usually do the shopping. It was late, we needed milk for the morning and he came back 45 minutes later with 3 bags of groceries. That's why he doesn't do the shopping.

Anyway, I finally decided to use them and came up with this recipe that we both liked, Ginger-Soy Glazed Ahi Tuna Wraps. I steamed some brown rice and sugar snap peas to go with it, but here's what you'll need for the wraps:

4 ahi tuna steaks
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons minced ginger (I used my microplaner)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons coconut milk (optional, I had some left over from my rice)
1 cup of finely shredded cabbage
1 knob green onion (or 3-4 green onions)
1 avocado - sliced very thin
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon prepared wasabi
4 large tortillas or wraps

First, in a small saucepan, whisk broth, soy sauce, sugar, wine, ginger, garlic and coconut milk together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Once the sauce is cool, place the tuna steaks in a gallon ziploc bag or dish and pour all but a few tablespoons of the sauce over to marinate. Marinate the steaks for at least 30 minutes.

While the tuna is marinating, make the wasabi mayo. It's really easy. Just mix the mayo and wasabi together. That's it. Use more or less wasabi to your liking. I also went ahead and sliced the avocados so they'd be ready.

Here's a little tip you probably know of, but it not, here you go. Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. Then make cuts, without going through the skin, lengthwise to make your slices. Do that to the other half and squirt lemon juice on each and then put them back together. This will keep it from browning. Plus, when you're ready for the avocado slices, just run a large spoon between the avocado and skin and voila! Sliced avocado ready to go.

Then just sear your tuna. I used my panini press and it worked great. I probably broke some kind of tuna rule here on how I cooked mine, but hey, I'm pregnant so I had to cook these things a little longer than you should. After you remove it from the grill, cut it into thin slices. Now assemble your wraps.



I warmed my wraps on the press before cooking the tuna but it's not too important.  Put a handful of cabbage down the center of your wrap, top it with a little sliced onion, then the tuna, add the avocado slices, season with a little salt and pepper and top it all off with wasabi mayo. Fold each side over and cut it in half and enjoy!



Happy Wednesday!

My Favorite Mushroom Risotto

As I typed that I caught myself saying riz-auto in my head like I'm Chef Ramsey. Have you ever heard him say it? It's just like that.

Anyway, one of my favorite not so healthy indulgences is risotto. I've never had it at a restaurant so I have no comparison as to what it "should" taste like. But, I've made it countless times at home and love it.

Here's the recipe I use as a base - not surprisingly from Martha. I get the sliced baby portobellos from the store to help with the prep work because risotto is a dish of love and labor. It's not one that you can start and walk away from. I've never timed it, but I think it takes about 30 - 40 minutes of constant stirring.



Not a side I make if the husband has to work late.

It's also a great recipe to use any frozen, homemade chicken broth because it calls for like 5-6 cups of chicken broth.

Since the risotto needed serious attention, I baked some salmon and steamed some asparagus to have with it (it also balanced out the meal to be a little healthier). Although, I could eat of bowl of just mushroom risotto by itself.

Yes, it's that good.



And that's what we had the other night.

Here's my adapted version of her recipe:

• 5-6 cups homemade chicken broth
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, diced small
• 1/2 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine
• 2 handfuls grated Parmesan (probably about 1/2 cup)
• 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, marjoram, and chives

I'm really wanting to try this recipe next:

Source: thewellfednewlyweds.blogspot.com via Lesley on Pinterest

It's supposed to be a quick version that you can bake!

Random Thursday

I've been away for a couple of days so here's a little random catch up post.

I've been baking. I have an unhealthy addition to pinning all kinds of sweets recipes on pinterest and it gets even more unhealthy when I decide to try them!

So, this recipe has been on my tasty board and I finally decided to try it. I had to add a lemon glaze though.



It was pretty good. Not sure if it's a keeper yet, but pretty good.



We had an Indian night a few months ago when some friends introduced us to Indian food. It was so good that I decided we had to have it again. This is a cheapo, cheater version. I'm sure you could find a recipe for tikki masala and make your own, but, I had a $10 gift card to a local Indian restaurant so I got some to-go.

I made another one of those "fauxtesserie" chickens. While that was cooking, I assembled some veggie kabobs with zucchini, yellow squash, onion, mushroom and yellow peppers. I poured a little olive oil over the sliced veggies and sprinkled a little curry powder over them and tossed it all around to coat. Then I put the veggies on skewers and broiled them for about 30 minutes, turning a couple times while they were cooking.



I steamed some brown rice in my handy-dandy steamer, diced up the chicken, topped it with the veggies and then poured hot tikki masala all over it. Mmm. It satisfied my heat-craving and kept the kitchen cool.



The whole dinner cost a total of $8.22 which comes to $1.37 per person! That's cheap!

I've also been enjoying this summer with my girl. She's been enjoying the cat.



Our very, patient cat.



And here's me and my girl in the shark cage at the aquarium for Embrace the Camera.

Happy Thursday.