Southwestern Chicken Slow Cooker Soup

Perfect Pairing:  Toppings!

I am so over winter.  SO over it.  I know, I know, everyone feels the same way if they live in the Midwest or on the East coast.  It has just been brutal this year!   I think it will be May before the foot of solid ice in my yard has a chance to thaw.  I live in constant fear of pipes bursting.  I feel like I am on an obstacle course while driving in Chicago to avoid the thousands of cavernous potholes.

Enough whining.  I really do like to look on the bright side of things!  In winter that means looking forward to warm vacations, cozy nights by the fireplace, binge watching seasons of a new favorite show (Downton Abbey) on Netflix, and warming comfort food.  This Southwestern Slow Cooker Soup totally fits in the last category!

My cousin told me about this recipe and I am so glad she did, it is delicious.  It is also one of the easiest meals I have made in a long time.  You just fill the slow cooker with the ingredients and walk away.  You can even put the chicken in frozen!  I used spicy Ro Tel tomatoes and chipotle chili powder which made my version really spicy.  If you are sensitive to spice you might want to use the mild Ro Tel and cut back on the chili powder.  This makes a big batch so you could cut it in half easily.

This soup just screams for toppings!   I recommend shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack), green onions, cilantro, Fritos (why do they have to be so good?), and sour cream.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Blue Cheese Puffs

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Marian's Raspberry Jello Salad

Perfect Pairing: Clear glass bowl

I have never been a big fan of jello salads.  It was kind of like, what’s the point?  Also, they always remind me of Aunt Bethany on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  I make an exception for this particular jello salad.  It is special. 

After my grandma passed away my grandpa met, fell in love, and married a wonderful woman, Marian.  We were all so very happy for the both of them.  Marian brought this salad to a family holiday when I was a kid and I LOVED it.  I loved it so much that I asked her for the recipe.  This was probably the first time I ever asked for a recipe and I felt very grown up.  Below is a picture of my original transcription.  My mom still uses this when she makes the salad.

This looks nothing like my handwriting today.  I must have been experimenting.  Also, I was old enough to know how to spell marshmallows, raspberries and package.  No excuse for that.  Nowadays if I want a recipe I just take a picture of it on my phone.  There is something to be said about these handwritten, stained, misspelled versions. 

The base of the salad is raspberry jello, frozen raspberries, and applesauce.  The topping sounds odd at first, sour cream and marshmallows, but it is awesome.  The marshmallows kind of melt in the sour cream and it makes a heavenly topping.  The salad is quite pretty so I suggest showing it off in a clear glass bowl!

 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Baked Potato Bar

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Onion Jam

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Kale, Butternut Squash, and Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Spicy Chipotle Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover adobo sauce recipes

These were so good.  It was the kind of breakfast that you wanted to eat again for lunch.  The combination of sweet butternut squash, crispy bacon, earthy kale, and spicy sauce was crazy delish. 

These are super filling, and a definite change from your standard breakfast burrito.  It would be easy to double the recipe and serve to a large group for breakfast or brunch.  I would let everyone build their own…. but I would have to put in my two cents in on exactly how I thought they should be made.

Start with your warm tortilla, a good amount of the chipotle sauce, and a scoop of squash roasted with cumin, coriander, and a dash of cayenne.

Top that with some kale that was sautéed in the bacon pan and simple scrambled eggs. Then finish it off with crumbled crispy bacon and fresh green onions.

I’m telling you, these are darn good breakfast food.

The chipotle sauce is made with adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo.  That stuff is spicy so you don’t need much.  You will have a lot leftover.  Good news is that it freezes well, and it is a great ingredient to have on hand.  Here are some ideas on how to use the leftover sauce.

Spicy Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

Chicken Chilaquiles

Fajita Stuffed Potatoes

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Prosciutto and Pineapple Grilled Pizza

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Tomato Bisque

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Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

Perfect Pairing: Almond biscotti

Recently I was invited to participate in a cooking club.  I didn’t have to think twice, that sort of thing is totally up my alley.  It is organized by a friendly neighbor I met at a block party.  We spent all of ten minutes together at the party, but I am so glad she thought to include me on this fun activity! 

For each meeting of the cooking club the members are assigned a course and a theme.  The first ever cooking club gathering had an Italian theme, and I was assigned dessert.  I immediately started researching because my knowledge of Italian desserts taps out at tiramisu, and I didn’t want to bring that.  Too obvious, right? 

It just made sense to search through Giada’s library of desserts.  I trust her and love her style of cooking.  I came across this Limoncello Cheesecake recipe and knew it would be perfect. 

Instead of the traditional graham cracker crust this one is made with biscotti.  Brilliant!!  I used Nonni’s original biscotti and it worked really well.  I loved the almond flavor in the crust.  The cheesecake is flavored with lemon zest and limoncello.  I am now in the market for cocktail recipes using limoncello since I have a bottle hanging out in the cabinet.  Another Italian nod is using ricotta in the base. 

I pretty much followed Giada’s recipe, but I do have a few comments.  I made the dessert in an 11x7 inch baking dish rather than a 9x9.  I just thought that seemed really small.  The recipe calls for 8 oz of biscotti.  The Nonni’s comes in 5.52 oz packages, so I bought two.  After some fancy math I ended up using 13 cookies for the crust.  The recipe recommends draining the ricotta.  I did this by letting it hang out in a strainer for about 15 minutes.  It is really important to process the ricotta for a long time in the food processor to remove the grainy texture.  Final note, I used light cream cheese and it was perfect.  Every little bit helps, right?

Everyone at the dinner party loved this recipe.  I will definitely make these again, even if it is not an Italian theme.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Arugula and Parmesan Stuffed Potatoes

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Cucumber Sandwiches
 

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Sweet Sesame Green Beans

Perfect Pairing:  New Year’s Resolution Diet

I hope you all had a great holiday season!  Mine was wonderful. It was filled with loved ones, relaxing days, and cute kids.  Having kids around totally changes Christmas.  I love it.  

Some favorite moments from my Christmas.

The Easy Bake Oven was a big hit with everyone.  I even considered posting about a homemade cake kit I made with my niece!

We also had a good time playing with my niece’s American Girl dolls.  I even pulled mine out of storage so we could have a tea party!

Remember when playing in the cold and snow was fun?

As with most holidays at our house, there was a lot of really great food.  Now that it is back to reality it is time to focus on fitness and clean, healthy eating.  The last two years I kicked off the season with a couple of light recipes.  Last year it was Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup.

Two years ago it was Berries n’ Cream

This year I am sharing a quick Sweet Sesame Green Bean recipe.  

Green beans are brushed with a mixture of olive oil, sesame oil, and a little brown sugar and then roasted until al dente.  They are great right out of the oven or chilled as a snack.

I am excited about a new year!

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Fruit Slush

Perfect Pairing:  Shallow dish

I don’t think my family has had a Christmas breakfast without fruit slush.  It is a staple.   It is great because you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to serve breakfast or brunch.  The kids always go crazy over it, and why wouldn’t they?  It has crushed pineapple (sweet), maraschino cherries (sweet and really red), orange juice (kids love juice), and bananas (enter the only real fruit).  Don’t get me wrong, adults love it too.

When my brother was little he had a bit of an allergy to red food dye.  Nothing critical would happen, but he would get extremely hyper and the edges of his ears would get bright red.  My mom said she could always tell when he had Hawaiian Punch or even Cheetos at a friend’s house.  Maraschino cherries are like the holy grail of red food dye.  They practically hurt your eyes they are so bright.  I remember being at my aunt and uncle’s wedding and my brother kept sneaking up to the bar to get bowls of the neon fruit.  Bouncing off the walls. 

This recipe makes a big batch and uses an entire jar of cherries, including the juice, which makes it a pretty pink color.  I love pink.

I recommend using a shallow bowl or dish, like a 9x13 pan when you make this.  If you pour it into a big bowl the fruit will fall to the bottom and it takes longer to defrost and serve. 

Merry Christmas!  I hope your holiday is filled with loved ones and precious moments together.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup (perfect for those New Year resolutions)

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Sweet Potato Strudel with Brown Butter

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Sgroppino Cocktail and a Pinterest Update

Perfect Pairing:  Holiday party     

I really love entertaining in my home around the holidays.  I figure if I am going to decorate my place I want to have someone else there to enjoy it with me.

Last week I had some of my favorite girls over for a holiday get together.  I tried a few new appetizers (stay tuned), and kept some of my old favorites on the menu like everyone’s favorite ham and cheese sliders, roasted vegetable dip, and green herb dip. 

I wanted a unique cocktail to round out the menu.  Last year I made a St. Germain Champagne cocktail, which I loved, but wanted something new.  I knew exactly what to do after seeing Giada make this Sgroppino cocktail on the Food Network.  It is a combination of prosecco, a dash of chilled vodka, and a scoop of lemon sorbet.  Giada added fresh mint, but I did not use it in my version.  It was delicious and refreshing. It would be great at any holiday party.

I don’t know why I waited so long, but I finally joined the ranks of Pinterest users.  I suffer from board envy because mine look pretty bare so far.  I’m excited to fill them up with great recipes and ideas.  

I also created a Perfecting the Pairing Pinterest page.  There is a board for each recipe category and links to every recipe on the site.  I know I love having the visual, so hopefully you will find this helpful as well. 

Also, I changed a few things on my site to make it more pin-friendly.  Now there is a “Pin it” button next to each picture, and a link to Perfecting the Pairing’s boards on the right side.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  German Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Chili Spiced Soup with Stoplight Peppers and Avocado Relish

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