Sunday Suppers: World's Best French Toast

(note:  this would have been posted ON Sunday, but blogger wasn't letting me upload pictures yesterday.  For the record, though, it was ready to go on Sunday) : )

This recipe is based off the most delicious french toast I've ever eaten from Dixie Quick's Cafe in Omaha.  It is SO yummy, and so easy.  We almost always have all the ingredients to make it, so it is a great last minute meal or and easy weekend lunch.  We always scour the "day old" bread selection at our local grocery store and buy loaves of french bread to keep in our freezer.  If we feel like french toast, it's as easy as defrosting a loaf!

French Toast

based on the dish from Dixie Quick's Cafe in Omaha, NE

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread (day old is best)

3 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1-2 Tbsp. orange juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla

butter for the pan

*(note:  I put measurements here, but to be honest, I never measure any of this, so those are just best guesses...feel free to add more or less of any ingredient until you find the best combo for you).

Directions:

1.  In a shallow dish (e.g., a pie pan or round cake pan), combine the eggs, milk, OJ, and vanilla with a whisk.

2.  Slice the bread into slices about 3/4" thick.

3.  Preheat a skillet over medium heat (about 325 degrees).  Coat the pan with butter.

4.  Dip the slices of bread quickly into the milk mixture.  Coat each side with the mixture, but don't soak the bread.  Just about 3 seconds per side is plenty.  Only prepare as many slices as you can fit in your pan at a time.

5.  Place slices in your pan.  Cook about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.

6.  Remove slices from pan.  To keep warm and prevent from getting soggy while you cook the rest, place slices on a cooling rack set inside a rimmed baking pan.  Place pan in an oven set to "warm."

Serving suggestion:  serve with butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream, or fresh fruit (or all of the above!)

Enjoy!

Sunday Suppers: Ratatouille and Apple Snickers Salad

We went to the farmer's market last weekend and they had a bunch of Japanese eggplants, which is something I've never tried.  Having just finished reading A Handmade Home by Molly Wizenberg, I instantly thought of trying ratatouille.  So, ratatouille it was.  The process was a little time consuming, but apparently the reasoning behind cooking the vegetables separately is that the flavors are enhance, so maybe it was worth it?  Since it is the only way I've ever made it, I can't vouch for that, but it seems like a good theory...

We also had Apple Snickers Salad, a family get together favorite.  It is pretty much a dessert that's ok to eat with your meal because it is called a salad.  And, it's delicious.

So, first up...the Ratatouille.  

Ratatouille

adapted from the recipe in A Handmade Home by Molly Wizenberg

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants (or 1 large).  I used Japanese eggplants, but you can use any kind you have.

2 medium zucchinis, sliced into half moons about 1/3" thick

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

olive oil

Directions:

1.  Slice eggplant into rounds about 1/2" thick.  Brush each side of the rounds with a layer of olive oil and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and cool, then slice into small pieces.  Set aside.

2.  In a large skillet, heat 1/8-1/4 c. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add zucchini half moons and saute until tender and golden, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside, but leave any remaining olive oil in the pan (add a bit more if needed).

3.  Next, toss the onion into the pan and saute until translucent (about 5-6 minutes).  Then add the garlic and bell peppers into the pan.  Saute until the peppers soft (about 6 minutes).  

4.  Add the tomatoes, salt, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.  Return the eggplant and zucchini to the pan and cook until everything is tender (about 15-20 minutes).

5.  Remove from heat and take out the bay leaf and add the basil.  Taste and add additional salt if needed.

We served our ratatouille over rotini noodles and topped it with parmesan cheese.  This isn't necessarily the traditional way, but it was good!  You might also try serving it with crusty bread, or as a side dish.

Apple Snickers Salad

from my Aunt Kathy

Ingredients

2 apples (I like to use a granny smith and a fuji...use whatever, though), chopped

2 Snickers bars, cut in half length wise, then chopped

approx. 1 cup whipped cream*

Mix all together in a bowl and serve.  Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container, but be warned that apples will get mushy if not eaten within about 12 hours...it's still good, but a bit different texture...

*I like to make my own whipped cream--but you can use store bought if you'd like.

Enjoy!

Sunday Suppers: Farmer's Market

Yep, that's right.  Sunday Suppers ON a Sunday.  Try not to faint with shock : )

In lieu of a recipe, I am sharing some photos from the Farmer's Market we visited while up in Omaha.  This market is held in the Old Market downtown and is fabulous.  I am hopeful that our market down here will someday get this big, but for now we will settle for our 10-15 vendors.  It is better than the 0 vendors from last year.  Think positive!

Every item on this display is made from or contains honey.  We got a honey lime marinade that made us some tasty fajitas!

The bees.

Sugar roasted almonds.  My mom and I devoured an entire bag before getting back to the car...

Beautiful flowers:

The photo doesn't do these rolls justice--they were the size of my head.  

Fresh veggies.  Again, you can't tell in the picture, but the zucchinis were almost as long as my arm.

If you have a local market, be sure to pay them a visit this week!

Tutorial Tuesday: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Hello.

Have you seen the movie "The Emperor's New Groove"?  Yes, it is a cartoon about a prince turned into a talking llama, but it really is funny.  I have been relating to one of the lines from the movie lately--as the emperor is going about his super elaborate, ridiculous day (which involves singing and dancing, of course), he trips over a peasant and exclaims, "You threw off my groove!" I am definitley feeling thrown off my "groove" from the travel, wedding, Lucas leaving for a business trip in Boston, etc.  But, I am trying really hard to keep a semblance of a routine for Lincoln's sake.  He had a rough couple nights staying up until all hours at the rehearsal dinner and wedding.  We are slowly moving back towards a reasonable night's sleep, and hopefully that will help reset our "groove."

Anyway.  I missed Sunday Suppers this weeks, so here is the promised Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie recipe : )  It is delicious.  And, it is my new favorite pie.  Lucas and I actually went to Village Inn the night before he left for his trip for a mini-date and split a piece of their strawberry-rhubarb pie (supposedly award winning).  Verdict:  the homemade pie puts the Village Inn pie to SHAME.  Lucas described the filling as "straight out of a can."  So, friends, don't resort to canned filling!  Make yourself the real deal.  It isn't hard (really), and your mouth will thank you.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

adapted from The Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Double Pie Crust (make one or use the kind in a box)

1.5 lbs rhubarb, cut into small pieces

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 Tbsp. milk

about 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:

1.  Place bottom pie crust in pie plate.

2.  Combine strawberries in rhubarb in a bowl.  Mix together sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

3.  Sprinkle pie crust with a bit of the sugar mixture (enough to coat).  Pour the rest of the mixture over the strawberries and rhubarb and stir to coat.

4.  Pour fruit into pie crust.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.

5.  Place top crust onto pie, seal and crimp edges.  Cut steam holes in top crust.  Brust crust with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

6.  Place pie plate onto baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes.  Remove pie and cover edges of pie with foil or aluminum ring.  Return to over for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbling.  

Enjoy!

Tutorial Tuesday: Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Hello.

Welcome to the sweets edition of Tutorial Tuesday. I had planned on doing the Cherry Limeade Cupcakes AND strawberry rhubarb pie from my pictures on Monday, but the post got a little crazy long, so I am saving the pie for Sunday Suppers. But, here is a little update on our progress with these 2 treats at our house: 

• Saturday:  1 whole pie, 24 cupcakes
  
• Sunday:  2/3 pie, 13 cupcakes (we brought some to some friends--no, we did not eat 11 cupcakes overnight!)
  
• Monday:  1 slice pie, 4 cupcakes (again, took some more cupcakes to friends.  The pie on the other hand....)
  

Now that we are down to the last of the goodies, it is time to share the recipes with you all! Feel free to bake either (or both) next time we are coming over. Lucas will be your BFF if you have these cupcakes waiting for him. Or, a giant sugar cookie iced with the cupcake icing. Either way, you'll score major points in his book.

First up:  Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.

Katie at GoodLife {Eats}™ posted these delicious masterpieces on Saturday.  Once I saw them, I immediately amended our grocery list to include all necessary ingredients to make a batch.  Never-mind the pie that was already in the plans.  We would have both!  It's a holiday! Cupcakes, pie, AND ice cream?  Yes, please!

Please pretend the cupcake wrapper doesn't have bears wearing party hats and dancing on it. While cute, it really doesn't do much to enhance the photo. In fact, why don't I just direct you to Katie's picture of her cupcakes.  Ah, so pretty!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

by Katie at GoodLife {Eats}™

adapted from Annie's Eats

cupcakes adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/4 c. cake flour
2. 1 Tbsp baking powder
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1 1/4 c. whole milk or buttermilk
5. 4 large egg whites
6. 1 1/2 c. sugar
7. zest of 3 limes
8. 1 stick (8 Tbsp. or 4 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temp.
9. 1/2 tsp. pure lemon extract

Directions:

1.  Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake tins with liners.  Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

2.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3.  Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

4.  Put the sugar and lime zest in the mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.  Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

5.  Beat in the extract, then add 1/3 of the flour mixture still beating on medium speed.

6.  Beat in 1/2 of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in 1/2 of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.  Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

7.  Finally, give the batter a good 2 minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.  Divide the batter between 18-24 cupcakes.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch. 

Transfer the cupcakes to cooling racks for about 5 minutes.  Frost and decorate after fully cooled.

Cherry Icing

Ingredients

1. 3 3/4 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar, sifted
2. 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3. 4 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
4. (optional) red food coloring

Directions

1.  Combine sugar, butter, and cherry juice in bowl of mixer.  Mix on low until sugar is incorporated, then switch to medium-high until icing is smooth.

2.  Add more cherry juice as needed to achieve desired consistency.

3.  Add red food coloring if desired.

Frost cooled cupcakes.  Garnish with maraschino cherries and lime wedges, if desired. 

Note:  For reference, I did not add any food coloring to my icing and it still came out pretty pink : )  

Enjoy!  And check back Sunday for the pie recipe!

Sunday Suppers: 4th of July; i heart faces-My Story in Photos: The Patriotic Edition

This week, i ♥ faces is celebrating Independence Day by taking a week off and instead we are invited to share our patriotic stories. Coincidentally, I was planning to share our pictures from the 4th for my Sunday Suppers post this week, so I decided to just combine the 2 into one giant post. My pictures aren't fantastic, but we did have a lot of fun! I'll lead off with the food, of course!

Lucas outdid himself at the grill this year with these bacon wrapped steaks and grilled corn on the cob. They were amazing! We also had giant sweet potatoes with whipped honey butter, but they somehow managed to elude my camera...

Lincoln also dined on sweet potato (sans honey butter).

I'm a firm believer that the 4th of July and pie go hand in hand, so of course there was pie. This year, I went with strawberry-rhubarb. YUM. This beats last year's peach-raspberry, hands down. There were also Cherry Limeade cupcakes, but you'll have to come back for Tutorial Tuesday tomorrow to read about those!

Once again, here is Lincoln in the mei-tai with food in his hair (flour from the baking experience). I'm posting this to point out that this time it wasn't me getting food in the baby's hair! That would be Lucas this time. We share the fun.

After dinner, Lincoln went down for a nap so that he'd be able to stay up to watch the fireworks with us. We found a great place to view the fireworks that go off near the Boardwalk by our house that wasn't crowded at all! And, it was far enough away that Lincoln wasn't scared by the BOOMS!

Lucas will be displeased that I am posting this picture of him. He is making quite an interesting face here. But, I wanted to show you Lincoln's expression--a little concern, mixed with fear, mixed with wide-eyed awe at the huge lights in the sky. So funny! 

 

Lincoln taking a break from watching the sky to look back at the camera.

Fireworks!

Father-son firework bonding time.

And, to make up for posting that picture of Lucas above, here is a shot of my awesome husband spending the last day of his 3 day weekend fixing the water line to our house. We woke up yesterday morning to the sound of our doorbell ringing at 6:30 and were greeted by a neighbor telling us that water was bubbling up on the side of our house and had flooded the yard and was now forming a river flowing down our cul-de-sac. Awesome. So, Lucas had to dig a hole in the "mud" (a more apt word here would be modeling clay), find the crack in the pipe, cut the pipe, and splice in new PVC pipe to fix the leak, all in the 90 plus degree Texas heat. Fun times!  Yay for Lucas! We were so glad he was able to fix it so we didn't have to call a plumber on a weekend (a HOLIDAY weekend, no less!). So, thank you, wonderful husband! You can now add plumber to your excellent home repair credentials : )

The problem revealed:

All better!  Just have to reconnect the line to the house.

The pile of clay.  Gross.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and repair-free Independence Day!  Check out more patriotic stories over at i ♥ faces! 

Sunday Suppers: Mango Pork Pitas

We are having a fend-for-yourself dinner night today, so no cooking for me!  That also means no fantastic dinner to share with you all.  Instead, let me introduce you to my lunch from Tuesday.  On Monday, Lucas grilled us up some delicious pork chops and we had enough leftover for lunch the next day.  I had originally just warmed up a single pork chop, but it just looked so boring sitting there alone on the plate.  So, I found some whole wheat pita pockets in the fridge, sliced up the pork chop and tossed it in the pita with some green leaf lettuce.  I was about to dig in when I remembered the mango chutney sitting in the cabinet.  I decided it was worth a go, so in went a tablespoon or so.  Result:  delicious.  Mango chutney is one of my new favorite sandwich accessories.  I don't do mayo, so it makes a handy substitute.  

There isn't really a need for a recipe here, but in keeping with the continuity of the other Sunday Supper posts, I feel obligated to add one.  So...

Mango Pork Pitas

Ingredients:

Sliced pork (great use for leftovers!).  Chicken would also be tasty.

lettuce

mango chutney (this can be found with the Indian spices in the grocery store)

pita pockets

Directions:

Reheat pork.  Place into pita with remaining ingredients.  

Enjoy!

Sunday Suppers: Cavatini

We have just returned from a weekend visit to Lucas' family, so being tired after the long car ride, this will be a straight and to the point post.  The recipe?  Cavatini.  I suppose this could also be called pizza spaghetti, or baked spaghetti, or something similar, but we like Cavatini.  It sounds fancier.

This dish has been a household favorite for quite some time, but it went under some renovations about a year ago that upped the yumminess factor tenfold.  The original dish used ground beef--our Cavatini 2.0 uses sausage.  Flavor?  Where were you hiding all these years?

Cavatini

Ingredients

1 12 oz. package spaghetti noodles (we prefer whole wheat)

1 jar spaghetti sauce (sorry, don't have the size available to look at- just your average size jar...)

1 lb. ground sausage (you can use Italian or homestyle, both work)

30 pepperonis

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (feel free to use more or less to your liking).

Directions

1.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Boil spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

3.  Brown sausage and crumble.  Drain.

4.  Combine spaghetti noodles, sauce, sausage, and 1/2 of the cheese in the baking dish.  Stir to combine.

5.  Arrange pepperonis on top as in picture.

6.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and spread remaining cheese on top.  Return to oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Sunday Suppers: Red Pepper Sauce

Last night, we had roast chicken, and as I mentioned before, there are lots of leftovers.  So today, I thought I'd share one of the ways we use the leftover roast chicken.  This particular time, we served up the chicken sliced on top of whole wheat pasta, topped with roasted red pepper sauce.  Lucky for me, I had made a big batch of the red pepper sauce a month ago and had some ready in the freezer that just had to be heated up.  So this meal took all of 10 minutes to put together.

I first attempted roasted red pepper sauce about 2 years ago.  It has undergone some modifications since then, I think for the better.  It is actually a pretty simple sauce, but tastes really fancy.  

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

2 large red bell peppers

1 garlic clove

1 small can tomato sauce

1/4 c. whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/8-1/4 c. grated romano cheese (or parmesan)

Directions:

1.  Cut peppers in half, remove stems and seeds.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place pepper halves cut side down on the sheet.  Place in an oven at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the outside skin in bubbly and black.  Remove from oven and place the peppers in a heavy ziplock bag or brown paper lunch sack to steam.  When cool enough to touch, remove peppers and peel of the skin (should easily peel off after the steaming).  

2.  Place peppers and garlic clove in a food processor and process until blended.  Stream in tomato sauce and whipping cream.

3.  Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan.  Whisk in red pepper mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste and heat through.  Just before serving, stir in cheese until melted.

Serving suggestion:  Serve with chicken (we like breaded best, but it is also good with roasted or grilled chicken) on top of your favorite pasta.

Sunday Suppers: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour

A confession:  I did not make these cookies this week, nor anytime recently for that matter.  I did, however, forget to take pictures of any meal we ate this week and I just can't blog about food without some mouthwatering pictures to accompany it.  So, I am "borrowing" this post from my old food blog, Kelly's Kitchen.  I did add a few new pictures from back at Christmas, to show off my cool new kitchen gadget that my mom gave me.  So, this week, bake yourself some delicious cookies.  Eat 2. Or 3.  Justify each and every cookie you eat by convincing yourself they are healthy because they contain whole wheat flour (I do).  Next week, I promise to not be so lazy and will actually provide a new recipe.  And some more blog posts--kind of took it easy on the blogging this week...

*the following was originally published here.*

I have been wanting to experiment baking with whole wheat flour for awhile, so I finally picked some up the other day at the store and pulled out my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was also considering substituting agave nectar for the sugar, but after learning that agave nectar can change the texture of the cookie, opted to go only with the flour change for this batch (since the reason I love these cookies so much happens to be the texture in the first place). These are the perfect combination of chewiness and crunchiness. Delicious. The change to whole wheat flour also can affect the texture, so for my first batch, I used a little more than half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. The result was an even chewier cookie--yum! The recipe makes a lot of cookies (near 5 dozen--which no, we did not eat all by ourselves...), so consider halving it if you are just baking for 2 (which we were, but I tend to go overboard anyway).

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour
adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Guittard)
white chocolate chunks (not white chips...I just chop up a white chocolate bar)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).
2. Cream the butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in both sugars and continue mixing until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed 1 minute.
3. Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Add to creamed mixture in 3 batches, mixing on medium-low speed just until combined between batches.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks by hand (use as much or as little as you prefer).
5. Drop dough onto cookie sheet using 2 spoons or a 1 3/4" dasher.  My mom gave me a dasher for Christmas, and I LOVE it.  You get cookies that are all equal in size, meaning equal cooking and even spacing on the pan.  Perfect!  If you don't have a dasher, leave about 1.5-2" between cookies.

Action shot of dasher in use =]

Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. The middles may still look light or under cooked, but as they cool that will go away. Allow to cool on pan 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

Yum!!!

Tutorial Tuesday/Sunday Suppers--Roast Chicken

My Tutorial Tuesday post this week is doubling as my Sunday Suppers post since Sunday was Mother's Day and I didn't post.  We had this meal earlier in the week--it is fairly new to our rotation, but becoming a staple for several reasons.  1) It is cheap, especially if you catch the sales.  Our regular grocery store has whole fryer (also called broiler) chickens on sale every few weeks or so for less than a dollar a pound (I think this was a $.67 per pound sale...).  I've seen them for as low as $.49 a pound, so when that happens, stock up (well, get at least 2...our freezer is small and won't hold much more than 2...).  Note that these are the whole chickens from the meat department, not the rotisserie chickens from the deli...2) It is easy.  I just pop it in the oven with some spices and 2 hours later, dinner is ready.  3)  It makes a lot of chicken--enough that we can eat the roast chicken one night, have left over chicken for lunch the next day, then use the rest of the leftover chicken in a new dish for dinner the next night.

Below is our chicken ready for the carving (Lucas' job.  I'm no good with sharp objects.).

Roast Chicken

1 4-5 lb. whole fryer chicken

1 lemon, cut in half

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Rinse chicken under water and remove any giblets from the cavity.  Rinse cavity.

2.  Place chicken in a roaster pan, breast side up (I use a 9x13 pan because I don't have a roaster, and it works just fine...).

3.  Combine butter, zest, and garlic in a small bowl.  Brush onto all sides of chicken.

4.  Sprinkle rosemary, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste onto chicken.

5.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice all over chicken.  Place lemon halves inside chicken cavity.  Add bay leaf to cavity as well.

6.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees and juices run clear.

We served our chicken with sweet potato fries and sauteed zucchini and squash.

On night number 2, we used the leftover chicken to make a chicken curry served with rice and sweet potato fries (again.  we really like them....).

So, enjoy!  Be sure to check out more Tutorial Tuesday at Monkeys on the Bed!

Sunday Suppers: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love chicken tortilla soup.  Love it.  I always said I should learn how to make it, but only did so within the last couple months.  I wish I hadn't waited so long...this soup is really easy, cheap, and makes a lot!  It is a crock pot meal, so I just dump everything in at lunch and by dinner, it is ready to go.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (whatever temp. you like...we use medium)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 10 oz. bag frozen or canned corn

1 15 oz. can black beans (can use dry beans if you like--just soak first)

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 bay leaf

1 small can green chilies

1 32 oz. box chicken stock or broth

chicken--however much you like.  We usually add 1/2 lb. of chicken breasts. You can put them in frozen or thawed, doesn't matter.  Add them in whole.

Directions:

Add all ingredients to crock-pot and stir.  Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours.  When done, remove the chicken from the soup and shred.  Return the shredded chicken to the soup.  Also, remember to remove the bay leaf before serving. 

Serve with your choice of toppings:  tortilla chips, sour cream, green onions, cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.
You can also leave out the chicken and add extra beans if you'd like.  It would be just as good this way!

Enjoy!