Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....time for some white bean chicken chili

I don't know about you, but this winter is kicking my butt!!! White bean chicken chili is the perfect meal for a lazy Sunday or a snow day! It will warm you right up!! Hope you enjoy!

4 15oz cans great northern beans: 3 cans drained, 1 can(not drained) set aside for later in the recipe

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 7oz cans green chilis

1c onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1tbsp ground cumin

1tsp italian seasoning

1/2tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2tsp cayenne pepper(this can be left out if you don't like a little heat)

Garnish:

salsa verde

sour cream

cheese

tortilla chips

Warm oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook until softened, 5 minutes.

In a crockpot combine the following ingredients:

chicken, make sure this is covered by the broth

chicken broth

3 cans of beans ----leave the 4th can to the side for later)

onion/garlic mixture

green chilis

cumin

italian seasoning

salt

pepper

cayenne

Cook on low for 5 hours. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Puree the last can of beans in a blender or food processor till smooth. Add pureed beans and shredded chicken back into crockpot. Stir. Cook on low for another hour.

We eat this with tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa verde in our house. It also makes great leftovers!!! Feel free to add more cayenne if you like it even spicier!

Hallmark....when you care enough to send the very best! :-)

One thing I really miss in this day and age is receiving and sending snail mail to friends. What's better than getting a card or an invitation in the mail? Everything is done via text and email! I know that I've lost the "personal" touch and I'm sure a lot of you feel the same. One of my goals(I refuse to call them resolutions) this year, is to send more personalized messages to people. I have friends spread out all over and it's so easy to check on them via Facebook instead of taking the time to send a personal message.

Today I discovered a great feature that Hallmark is offering online. You can go on their website and personalize a greeting card and then have the card addressed and mailed for you! There's also an option to have the card personalized and then sent directly to you, so you can write in it and mail it yourself! It's so quick and easy and it's a great way to let someone know you're thinking of them. Check it out!

www.hallmark.com

By Popular Demand.....Tater Tot Casserole!

This is a fave in our family! It's so popular that Sidnee asked for it for her birthday dinner instead of El Campesino! Pretty impressive if you know how much she enjoys cheese dip from El Camps! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of mushroom
4 cups of extra sharp finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 c sour cream
2lbs ground beef
1 bag tater tots
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook ground beef on stove. Drain. Set aside.
Combine cream of celery, cream of mushroom, milk, sour cream, and cheese in a bowl.
Mix well.
Add ground beef.
Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
Pour mixture into 9 x 13 pan.
Line tater tots up in rows on top of the mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.



**I like hot sauce on mine. Bryant adds sour cream on top of his. You can also use 2% cheese, 98% fat-free soup and lite sour cream and it turns out very good with less calories.**

~~Last tip-- Take the bag of tater tots out of the freezer the morning you're going to make the casserole and let them thaw in the frig. The tater tots will get crispier because they won't be as frozen when you put them in the oven. ~~

Breakfast Casserole

I'm a HUGE fan of casseroles! Especially breakfast casseroles! Especially when you make them ahead of time and they taste even yummier the next day! I've tried 1,234 breakfast casseroles in search of my favorite one and I finally found one that we love! I saw my friend, Emily Dehoff Henderson, post this recipe and I had to try it! It was an instant hit in our house! I like quick and easy on Christmas morning and this fits that profile. I'll put it all together the night before and then throw it in the oven when we get up! Enjoy!

*I prefer to use a roll of Bob Evans breakfast sausage instead of the bacon but the bacon is just as delish!!!*

Ingredients
1 pound sliced bacon, diced (or 1 roll of breakfast sausage)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
6 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
1-1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Directions
In a large skillet, cook bacon(or sausage) and onion until bacon(or sausage) is crisp; drain. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in bacon(or sausage) mixture. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 12 servings.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Where does the time go? I can't believe we haven't posted anything in almost two months! Time flies when you're having fun! I tried a new recipe for cookies today. And with the holidays coming up, who can't use a recipe for a new cookie?! They came out really good and my five year old daughter loved helping me in the kitchen. Anything that's easy for kids to do gets 4 thumbs up!

Ingredients

1 8oz brick of cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick butter at room temperature

1 egg

1tsp vanilla extract

1 box(18oz) moist chocolate cake mix

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Beat in the egg. Then the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon size balls and then roll them into powdered sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12 minutes.

The cookies will remain soft and gooey.

Cool completely and sprinkle with more powdered sugar.

Serve with a nice, tall glass of milk!

o o O OH Oreos!

While trying a new burger joint in town last week (Schnabs... blog review to follow) Jess and I noted deep fried oreos and twinkies on their menu. When we went back to order then after finishing our dinners the line was too long and we said forget it. Begin craving. So, when we decided to have a night full of fried goodness last night, an attempt at deep fried oreos had to be made. The result: fluffy, warm, deep fried oreo goodness. Perfect ending to the night when you've already got your oil hot from the deep fried mac n cheese!

Deep Fried Oreos

- oreos

- pancake mix

- water

- schmatherings of your choice

Pour some pancake mix into a bowel, about a 1/2 cup will do. Add water little by little and stir until the pancake mix is thicker rather than thinner (about the consistency of yogurt). Dip oreos into batter with a fork and transfer them to oil. Fry at 325-350 degrees until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite schmatherings... we used whipped cream and chocolate sauce, but thought they'd be REALLY good with vanilla ice cream. They def. need some form of whipped cream or ice cream to balance out the richness. Repeat above process with any of your favorite desert treats: twinkies, candy bars, etc! And you thought desert couldn't be any unhealthier than it already was ;-)

The Quest

One of Jess and I's favorite places to eat is The Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately, we don't have on in Canton... so every time we go anywhere near Cleveland we make sure to stop. Our FAVORITE appetizer on their menu is deep fried mac and cheese. Non-believers beware, this stuff is amazing. I've been on a quest to master the art of homemade deep fried mac and cheese ever since the first time we had it at The Cheesecake Factory to satisfy my cravings in between trips to Cleveland. The journey wasn't an easy one... but we might have found a winner during our frying expeditions last night. I'm not afraid to admit that an attempt at this recipe with a homemade mac and cheese recipe failed miserably, but feel free to try it with any mac and cheese leftovers... the key is to freeze them. Quite honestly, I probably will use homemade mac and cheese next time because the Stouffer's lacked seasoning where it provided ease of use.

Deep Fried Mac and Cheese

- 1 frozen large size Stouffer's Mac n Cheese

- Panko bread crumbs

- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp milk

- Vodka spaghetti sauce

- Oil for frying or a deep fryer

Allow frozen mac and cheese (whether Stouffer's or homemade) to thaw on counter just long enough to be able to cut it into cubes. I tried making them into balls like The Cheesecake Factory's and it just doesn't work. The cubes I cut were about 2"x2". Dip each cube into egg wash (whisk egg and milk together) and then coat in Panko bread crumbs. Pat crumbs into macaroni so they thoroughly stick. Place on a baking sheet lined in waxed paper and place back into freezer until ready to fry. Fry mac and cheese at 325-350 degrees (start at 350 because once you put 3-4 mac and cheese squares in the oil the temperature will drop) for approximately 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Vodka spaghetti sauce for dippage!