Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Chicken & Rice Enchilada Soup



Using a pressure cooker or instapot, pressure cook:
4 chicken breasts
1 qt chicken stock
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
A pinch of sea salt

When the chicken is done and cooled a little, shred it or cut it into bite sized chunks. Keep the broth!!

1 each: green, red and yellow bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 29oz can  crushed tomatoes
1 12 oz can V-8 juice (low sodium is best)
2 29oz can diced tomatoes
1½ c long-grain white rice
1 qt chicken stock (yes, another one)
½ tsp Chili powder
½ tsp Garlic powder
¼ tsp Seasoned salt
1 T vinegar
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
1 bunch fresh Cilantro, minced
Few dashes of Tabasco or Cholula to taste

In a large soup pot, add all the ingredients listed above, plus the chicken and broth from the pressure cooker.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover, stirring every so often. Simmer for about an hour so the flavors blend.

As it's simmering, cook your rice separately, according to pkg directions. I usually do two cups dry rice to make 4c cooked.

Serve with cooked rice, tortilla chips, shredded cheese and/or sour cream.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

(adapted from Paula's recipe on FoodNetwork.com)


2 c peanut butter
3 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Reserve 1/3 c of sugar and mix the remaining ingredients together. You can add chopped peanuts or use chunky peanut butter if you prefer the texture. I didn't. Using a miniature ice cream scoop I dipped in sugar, I formed 1½" cookie balls and then flattened with a fork, also dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Before they cool, sprinkle the tops with sugar, then let sit on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Perfection.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

I went looking for an old lunch room recipe the other day. These weren't exactly what I had in mind when I went looking for the recipe, but I remember these and they were excellent, too!

½ C. butter 
12oz peanut butter 
3 C. powdered sugar 
C. Rice Krispies 
1 pkg melted chocolate chips

Mix the first four ingredients together and form balls. Place the peanut butter balls on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with the melted chocolate.