Chili's Chicken Enchilas Soup

I love to make soup . . . . just ask my family.  They get kind of sick of it, I think.  I just love it when it gets cold because that just signals some need in me to make soup, rolls, cookies, you know what I mean . . .  . . . . . . .comfort food.  I must need alot of comfort, I just noticed I make alot of comfort food.   Anyway, a few years ago I tasted the Chicken Enchilada Soup at Chili's and loved it.  So like I often do, I went in search of the recipe.  As I searched the internet there were several different versions.  The one below is the one that I liked best.  I got it from the recipe zaar online.  Its called Copycat Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup.  Now I am including the recipe for the Pico de Gallo that you need to put in it to serve, but I ususally just buy Pico at Smith's grocery store, it's about $3.00, which is probably about the same or a little less then it would be to buy the ingredients and  I think it's really good.  Some people don't like pico(my son and husband) so they don't put it in theirs, they claim to think its still great, for me and the girls however, the pico is a must, it makes a huge difference in the taste of the soup.  I usually use crumbled corn tortilla chips on top as well, but sometimes if I am serving this for a special occasion, I will go down to Cafe Rio that is just a few minutes from my house, they will sell you a plastic container full of these(about 2 cups) for 95 cents.  I know we only have a limited amount of cold days left this year so I thought I would throw this in before it gets too warm for soup.  I have lots of yummy soup recipes, so next fall I'll get to the rest of them.

Copycat Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 lb chicken breast cooked and cut up
1/2 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina(you will find this either with the mexican food or the flour and baking goods)
3 cups water
1 10 oz can mild red enchilada sauce
16 oz Velveta Cheese/I use the bargain brand
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

1.  Add the oil to a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.  Remove and set aside.
2.  Add onions and garlic to pot and saute' over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.
3.  Add Chicken broth.
4.  Combine masa harina with the 3 cups of water in a bowl and wish until well blended, add to the pot and stir well.
5.  Add enchilada sauce, cheese, and spices to the pot and bring mixture to a boil.
6.  Cut the chicken into small bite size peices and add to the pot.
7.  Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
8.  Serve soup in bowls, garnish with shredded cheese, tortilla chips and pico de gallo.


Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes, diced small
1/2 cup diced Spanish onion
2 tsp finely minced frest cilantro
2 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and deribbed
1 pinch salt

Mix together and refridgerate for at least 2 hours.  Can be made ahead.

Wanted . . . . . . .Cookie Recipes!

I have been promising some of my friends and coworkers some of my cookie recipes, but I wanted to wait until I got my blog up and going so I could just save a step and type them up once.  So here are a couple really yummy cookie recipes.  The first one I usually make during the holidays when I have to take cookies to anything, they are so good.  The cookie base is my Grandmother Kimballs recipe for Peanut Blossoms. These cookies freeze really well if I have to make them ahead of time and unlike some of the cookie recipes that only taste really good the first day or two, these taste great for at least a week.  Don't be frightened off by the peanut butter if you really aren't a fan.  I don't like peanut butter at all just to eat on a sandwich or plain, but I love these cookies, so give them a chance.  Just a side note, this is kind of a small recipe, its perfect just for a fun snack for my family, but if you need alot of them to take somewhere just double the recipe.

Candy Bar Cookies

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shortning(thats right, no butter)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 TBS water
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 bag minature candy bars, I use milky way or rolos, but have used snickers before too.
1 bag Hersey Hugs

Mix first seven ingredients together until smooth.  Then add the dry ingredients, mix well.  Shape into balls, press a candy bar into center and cover completely, remaking into a ball.  Place on cookie sheet covered with partchment.  Bake at 320 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.  Well all cookies are baked, melt hugs in bowl in microwave, it usually doesn't take long.  Pour into plastic bag, slip the corner so that its just a big enough opening to pipe onto the cookies, drizzle.  I like alot on mine, but really just do what you like, like I say, make it yours!!!!!

Tip:  Whenever I need to melt chocolate to drizzle on anything, I always use hugs.  They have a combination of milk and white chocolate and they melt really well and when it hardens back up it isn't so hard that it breaks off when you try to eat it.  It is heavenly.

Mississippi Mud Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/cup plus 2 TBS flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts/optional

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 inch square pan with foil; spray or grease foil.  Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until smooth.  Beat in vanilla and egg until light.  Blend in baking soda, salt and flour, mixing until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Spread into prepared pan. Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until center feels firm.  Top will be lightly brown. Cool until chocolate is set.  Lift out of pan and cut into bars.

This is a really easy time saving recipe.  I make it alot if I don't have the time or energy to make batch after batch of cookies.  I usually do double the recipe, doubled it makes a 9 X 13 pan of bars.  Everyone always raves about them and wants the recipe.  They are very rich and chocolately. I don't usually add nuts, but I'm sure they are great with them for those that like nuts.

Fondant Cakes . . . . .alot of work

Last August my youngest daughter Shelby brought me a picture of a beautiful cake decorated with fondant that she wanted me to replicate for her birthday, only in different colors.  Well, I had never worked with fondant, but I have decorated cakes alot, and I had been watching cake boss, it didn't look that hard.  So off I went to find some of the supplies I needed for the cake.  After looking around a bit, I wasn't too sure exactly what kind of fondant to use, the fondant was pretty expensive to buy and I had heard it didn't taste all that good, so I decided to consult my good friend at work, Ruth.  Ruth has made lots of cakes, she's an expert.  Sure enough, although she hadn't done a whole cake with fondant, she had worked with it and had a recipe and some good tips.  To make a long story a bit shorter, Ruth ended up making some fondant to decorate part of a cake and she offered to give me what was left.  Yippy, one headache out the window.  By this time I was getting pretty confident, I had read some stuff online just to educate myself and see what I might be facing.  I decided to make the cake early and freeze it, that makes it a little easier to work with.  About 2 days before her birthday, I'm ready to start.  You can see by the pictures, it was beautiful, it only took me about 6 hours to complete . . . .holy hannah I was tired and let me tell you, I was not about to let anyone, I mean anyone birthday girl included, cut that cake, it was a masterpiece and if I had the means I would have made a bronze statue out of it.    Shelby loved it, thats what was important, she didn't want to cut it either, but after a few days, the cake started shrinking inside the fondant, and well it just didn't look the same, so we finally cut it.  It didn't taste as good as a cake made with good ole buttercream frosting, but for Shelb, it was a good memory.  For me . . . . .  It will be a long while before I make a fondant cake again, if ever.  It was like childbirth, it may take me a while to forget. 

Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

I've talked about how I have been looking for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, but I also searched and searched for a good Cinnamon Roll Recipe.  I think Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect comfort food, I love to make them when its cold and snowy outside, they just make you feel good.  Have I mentioned that my kids love it when I'm trying to find the perfect recipe?  Yes, they benefit greatly when I'm looking for good recipes, they get to eat all the results.  My co-workers love this as well, they benefit in the same way.  Well anyway to get back to the Cinnamon Rolls, I grew up in a really small town, Kanosh, Utah.  I loved growing up there.  So many great people, great friends and fun times.  Also lots of good cooks.  I have a recipe book that was published by the LDS Relief Society in the Kanosh Ward, I've had it for a long time, since before I got married, which was 1987.  I use this recipe book so much, this recipe came mainly from that book, it was submitted to that book by Dena Shumway, she passed away a few years ago from Cancer, but I wanted to give her credit for this recipe, she called them sweet rolls and her recipe had nuts and some other things in it,  the dough is wonderful, I have not found another one that I like as much as this one.  I have also used this dough to make dinner rolls, this recipe makes alot of dough, sometimes if I don't what to make it all into cinnamon rolls I use half of it to make a pan of dinner rolls.  If you don't want to make this much just half the recipe,  it calls for 3 eggs beaten, so I just beat 1 of the eggs and half it to get the right amount in the half recipe.  When I find a recipe, I always make some kind of revision, I don't know why, but it seems I always do, I just have certain ways I like to do things and few little things I've learned through the years that I apply to most recipes.  It's like American Idol, you have to make it yours, thats what I do,  I think most people who cook alot do this, so go ahead make your revisions and enjoy this recipe!!!!

Kanosh Cinnamon Rolls

2 1/2 cups scalded, cooled milk
8 TBS shortening(no butter this time)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 TBS salt
10 TBS sugar
3 TBS yeast
1/2 cup warm water
8 to 9 cups flour

Scald milk, add shortening to warm milk, let cool until just warm.  Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixer, or mixing bowl.  Add 2 TBS of the sugar and let sit until yeast starts to foam, then add milk mixture, eggs, sugar and salt.  Mix well, then add flour 1 cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.  Take dough out of bowl and knead until smooth.  Let rise covered for 1 hour, then punch down and let rise 1 more hour.  Roll dough out into a rectangle a little less than 1/2 inch thick.  Spread dough with 1/3 cup of really soft butter, then sprinkle with 2 1/2 TBS cinnamon and 1 cup brown sugar that have been mixed together thoroughly.  Roll dough up, starting on the long side, seal the seam and cut into 1 inch section rolls using a length of dental floss.  Place rolls on greased cake roll pan(lunch room cookie sheet)and let rise for 1 hour or until at least double in size.  Bake @ 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool and frost.

Here are two frosting recipes, to be honest, I like alot of frosting on my rolls so I would double these recipes unless you are halfing the cinnamon roll recipe.  They are both wonderful on the rolls.  The cream cheese recipe is really rich, it is so good, but sometimes I don't feel like that one so I use the butter cream recipe.  They are both delicious !!!!!

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 TBS butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Mix these ingredients together, if its too stiff slowly add a little bit of milk until you get the consistancy you like.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 cups powder sugar
up to 2 TBS milk

Mix ingredients together and beat until fluffy.  Just add milk and powder sugar to get the consistancy you desire.

One final note, you will notice if you follow this blog and use my recipes, that I also insist on using real vanilla, it makes a huge difference and I won't use imitation in my recipes.  Enjoy!!!!

One Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe . . . . . . . .

I decided this would be the first recipe I would put on my blog.  This recipe is really good, these cookies are really soft and chewy, I use lots of chocolate chips because I like alot of chocolate in every bite, so if you don't you can adjust this.  This recipe has both oats and coconut which is what gives them the chewy texture.  Some people really dislike coconut, I like it, but don't think you really taste it in these cookies, no one in my family likes it, but they never complain about it in this recipe because I don't think you can tell its there.  One other note, I find in cookies and most baked desserts, you really do have to use real butter.  I also use parchment when I bake cookies, it really keeps the cookies from getting too brown on the bottom before they are done on the top.  I don't bake my cookies with nuts unless I am making them for my dad, he loves raisins and nuts.  I have also made these cookies with craisins, they are terrific, but the kids don't like craisins.  I use milk chocolate chips, thats what I like, but you could use semi-sweet or even white, or a mixture of different kinds.  You could really just add anything you want, everyone likes different things.  Also everyone likes their cookies cooked different, I don't like mine too done, so just cook them the way you like them.  I like to use little gift bags and bag them up to give to friends and neighbors for birthdays or just because, it's so simple but they look great!!!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups brown sugar/packed
2 cups granulated sugar
1 lb real butter
4 eggs
3 cups oats
5 1/2 cups flour
2 cups coconut
2 tsp soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla/real
2 bags milk chocolate chips
2 cups chopped nuts/optional

Cream together sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients, mix well.  Mix in chocolate chips and nuts.  Bake @ 310 for about 14-15 minutes.