Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I was craving this dip and since the Chilis nearby closed I decided to make some at home. I couldn't find a recipe I liked 100% so I adapted Paula Deen's recipe from the Food Network. It was so yummy and made a lot so next time I will probably cut it in half!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
2 (13 3/4-ounce) cans artichoke hearts
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used 8oz of cream cheese instead - mayo is yucky!)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used 8oz.)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (I used mozerella cheese)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Heat the spinach in a microwave oven on high for 5 minutes and squeeze dry. Drain the artichoke hearts and coarsely chop in a food processor.
Combine all the ingredients except the jack cheese in a large bowl. Stir well. Scrape into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the jack cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to a chafing dish and keep warm over a low flame. Serve with bagel chips.

The Best Baked Potato Soup Ever

I was definitely craving some comfort food. It's been pretty cold outside and this soup did not disappoint! I had some red potatoes I needed to use and also some bacon and heavy whipping cream. At first I was just going to make baked potatoes but instead googled baked potato soup and found this recipe at recipezaar.com. It was simple to make.

The Best Baked Potato Soup Ever
SERVES 4 -6
Ingredients
2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped) (I used 4 red potatoes; the largest 4 in the bag)
(added) 5 slices of turkey bacon
3 tablespoons butter (I only used about one tbsp and substituted bacon grease for the other 2 tbsp)
1 cup diced white onion
(added) 1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup instant mashed potatoes (I used two 4oz packets that were "loaded baked potato" flavor)
1 teaspoon salt (omitted - with the bacon, etc. it seemed salty enough to me)
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
(ADDED) 40z of sour cream
(ADDED) 1/2 cup of milk
GARNISH
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
1 chopped green onion (green part only)
Directions
1 Wash potatoes thoroughly and microwave until tender.
2 If you would like you can always bake in a 400 degree oven for one hour or until done.
3 As the potatoes are cooling, melt your butter in a large saucepan and saute your onions until light brown. (At this point I fried the bacon then cooked the onion and 1 tbsp of minced garlic in the bacon grease and 1 tbsp butter)
4 Add in your flour to make a roux.
5 Add in your chicken broth, water, cornstarch, instant mashed potatoes and spices and bring to a boil.
6 Reduce your heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7 Take your cooled potatoes and peel off the skin and chop up into desired pieces.
8 Add in your chopped up potatoes, bacon, milk, sour cream and the heavy whipping cream to your soup and bring it back to a boil.
9 Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until it is thick.
10 Garnish with cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and green onions.
11 ENJOY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This was very yummy! It reminds me of a Mexican Chili but with chicken and more flavors infused. Next time I may substitute ground turkey and see how that tastes. Friends ate almost all of it. It was a hit!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
From Good Thymes and Good Food

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 cup white hominy (I don't like hominy so I used chickpeas)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (omitted as I did not want to purchase a huge package of it)
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (I roasted them at 425 for about 22 minutes.)
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I had cheddar/jack and just used that.)c
hopped green onions
chopped red onion
lime juice
sour cream

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425.
Drizzle chicken with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and a little chili powder.
2. Roast chicken for 22-25 minutes. When cooked, shred with two forks.
3. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat.
4. Saute onion, carrot and celery in oil until soft.
5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
6. Stir in chili powder, oregano and cumin. Coat vegetables.
7. Add tomatoes, broth, and water.
8. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken.
10. Simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top/garnish with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, chopped green onion, red onion, lime juice and/or sour cream.

Crock pot beef stroganoff

EASY BEEF STROGANOFF

1 1/2 lb. round steak (I used stew meat)
2 tbsp. flour
Salt & pepper to taste
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of mushrooms
1 packet onion soup mix
1 sm. onion
sour cream (optional)
egg noodles

Tenderize and cut meat into serving pieces. Salt, pepper and dredge meat in flour. Place onions in bottom of crock pot, then add meat. Combine mixture of mushroom soup, canned mushrooms and onion soup mix and spread over meat. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.
Before serving I mixed about 1/4 cup of sour cream throughout the stroganoff for added flavor.
Serve over egg noodles.