Pioneer Woman’s Chipotle Chicken Chili

You guys. Wow wow wow. I have never made a red chili with chicken before. It’s always white chili with chicken or red chili with ground beef. But honestly. I cannot stop thinking about this chili! Please add it to your winter meal menu. It’s healthy, it’s spicy, the chicken is so flavorful and the chipotles in adobo sauce? Unreal. Can’t believe I’ve never used them before. I’ve started using them in lots of recipes to spice things up.
Here is the original recipe link- Pioneer Woman Chipotle Chicken Recipe (with my notes italicized):

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion, Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into A Large Dice
• 1 bottle (12 Ounce Bottle) Good Beer  I used chicken broth
• 1 can (14 Ounce Can) Diced Tomatoes
• 3 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Minced (use Less If Desired-Use all 3! These add so much flavor)
• 1 can (14 Ounce Can) Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can (14 Ounce Can) Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can (14-ounce Can) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed We don’t love kidney beans and I didn’t have any black beans so I substituted 2 cans of chili beans. They are smaller and have lots of spicy chili flavoring.
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/4 cup Masa Harina
• 1 Lime, Juiced
• Sour Cream, For Serving
• Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese, For Serving
• Cilantro, For Serving
• Lime Wedges For Serving
• I served with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, lettuce, and cilantro. Just use any toppings you’d like!

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat then add the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until onions soften. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned. Add 3/4 of the beer, reserving the rest, then cook for a couple of minutes to reduce.
Add the tomatoes, chipotles, beans, chili powder, cumin and salt. Stir to combine, then cover the pot and cook for 1 hour. I simmered in the crock-pot.
Combine the masa harina with the rest of the broth and stir to make a paste. Add this into the chili, along with the lime juice. Stir and cook for 10 more minutes or until thick. Chipotle Chicken Chili    

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Easy Fettuccine Alfredo with Real Cream and Fresh Parmesan

This recipe is definitely not diet friendly (!) but it is the only homemade alfredo I’ve made that actually tastes like restaurant style alfredo. And it is easy! So many recipes I’ve seen call for cream cheese, or mozzarella or jack cheese… while those make a yummy white sauce, the hard Italian cheeses are a must for real alfredo!! Also, for some reason it just tastes better on fettuccine than another cut of pasta. So grab these ingredients and a box of fettuccine too!

• 1 box fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 c. fresh grated or shredded parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind) plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Salt/pepper to taste

While pasta is cooking, a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted add 2 c. of cream and whisk constantly until cream is warm. Keep stirring so it doesn’t curdle and add in parmesan cheese. Continue whisking until cheese is melted into sauce (it takes a while for it to melt… I definitely had to tell myself to be patient because it was looking so creamy and gooey and good).
Once cheese is melted, add 1 tablespoon of flour to remaining cup of cream and whisk vigorously to remove all clumps. Turn heat under saucepan up to medium high and whisk in flour/cream mixture. Continue whisking over stovetop until fully incorporated and thickened. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Oh the cream is so good. It is so rich and that fresh parmesan gives is that true alfredo goodness.
Drain pasta but don’t rinse. Return to pot and cover with sauce. Serve immediately and top with more cheese and cracked pepper. And try to keep yourself from scarfing down this creamy rich goodness!

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Avocado BLT Spinach Salad

There’s something about bacon and avocado together that I love. The other week a friend brought us some fresh cherry tomatoes from her garden and I thought they’d be the perfect complement in this salad. Here are the ingredients, which I just eyeball:

• Spinach
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped
• Tomatoes off the vine, chopped
• Red onions, diced or sliced in thin strips
• Diced avocadoes Cooked bacon (I usually make a couple slices for each person eating—click here to see how I cook my bacon in the oven. It’s so much easier, cleaner, and healthier than on the stovetop!)
• Splash of olive oil and vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

I actually don’t put a dressing on this salad, just a splash of olive oil & vinegar with a little salt & pepper. The avocadoes get so creamy when the salad is mixed up that you don’t need the dressing. But if you do prefer dressing Caesar tastes great!

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No Pasta Cauliflower Mac N Cheese

I’ve seen lots of recipes lately for cauliflower mac n cheese. I was skeptical—how could a mac n cheese without pasta be good?? Well I loved this. I have to say though you can’t expect it to taste just like pasta, but it is still delicious. The mustard in the cheese sauce really made it for me.
Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 4 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tbsp. mustard (any kind)
• 1 and 1/2 c. cheese (1/2 c. reserved for top)
• Splash of cream
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Chop the heads off the cauliflower and steam until soft. Once soft drain and return to saucepan. Add cream cheese, cheese and cream and stir until incorporated. Add mustard, garlic powder, and salt pepper to taste. Be careful, it is delicious!
Add mixture to a baking dish, cover with remaining 1/2 c. cheese and top with pepper and then broil until bubbly. Even my husband who loathes cauliflower loved this! (I mean obviously you can barely taste the cauliflower with all the cheese ;)

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Parmesan Meatball Subs

My husband is not a big fan of sandwiches for dinner… unless they are hot. When you’re eating cold sandwiches for lunch at least 3 days a week the last thing you want to have for dinner is a cold sandwich! (Well him anyway, I could eat a cold veggie or turkey sandwich probably for every meal ;)
Meatball subs are such an easy and yummy meal. I was already buying ground beef for another meal when I was doing my weekly shopping, and then I saw day old bakery hoagie rolls on sale so I quickly swapped out another meal for the week and replaced it with this. Bonus was I already had italian bread crumbs and fresh mozzarella at home too! I love planning meals out that work with the same ingredients so I don’t have to buy as much.
There are a couple ways you can make meatballs—some people pan sear them, then bake them or just bake them—I like to bake them and then throw them in the crock pot with tomato sauce to let them simmer. Then I can get dinner ready in the afternoon and it’s still hot by dinnertime. Also helps the flavors meld together. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:

• 1 package soft hoagie rolls or nice bread
• Fresh parmesan cheese (mozzarella works great too if you don’t have parm)
• Tomato sauce (I used jarred sauce this time but you can make your own too if you have some old over ripe tomatoes! Here is the link for homemade tomato sauce.)
• 1/2 lb. – 1 lb. ground beef
• 1-2 c. Italian bread crumbs (or you can use plain bread crumbs and season them with italian seasoning)
• 1 egg
• Garlic powder
• Salt/Pepper
• Cooking spray

First get out a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl turn out meat, crack egg, and dump in bread crumbs. Depending on how much meat you have you may have to add more bread crumbs. The more bread crumbs the easier the meatballs are to roll, but they are juicier with fewer bread crumbs.
Take off your rings and mash together with your hands.Then add 1 tsp of garlic powder and a couple shakes of salt and pepper. Mash together until the meat mixture doesn’t stick to your hands. Roll out into 1 inch size balls and cook at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Break open a meatball to see if they’re done. The number of meatballs will depend on how big you make them, but this made me about 15.
Dump a jar of tomato sauce into the crock pot and set it to low. Spoon cooked meatballs into the crock pot and let simmer until dinnertime (if you need them ready faster just put them on the stovetop in a saucepan with red sauce). Spoon over soft hoagie rolls and top with grated cheese. Serve immediately! My husband likes to eat 2 or 3 sandwiches because they are that good… so make enough! This is also a great meal for parties or get togethers because you can keep the meatballs warm in the crock pot.

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Sizzling Chicken Fajitas

One thing I love to order at Mexican restaurants are their sizzling fajitas. I don’t know why having the food made fresh to order just makes it feel healthier. I love that you can assemble them how you’d like too! We make these at home all the time and everyone can make them how they like. Here’s how I make them:
Ingredients:

• 4-5 chicken breasts (thawed if frozen)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 bell peppers, any color, diced in strips
• one onion, diced
• homemade taco seasoning (chili powder, garlic powder, cumin – a little cayenne if you want it really spicy ;)
• diced tomatoes
• salsa
• homemade guacamole (1-2 avocadoes, mashed with chili powder and salt/pepper to taste)
• shredded cheese
• corn or flour tortillas

To get the meat and peppers sizzling at the table, you need to prep the other ingredients first. I like to set the table and then place bowls of finished ingredients on the table as I’m done—grate the cheese, chop tomatoes, pour salsa into a bowl, get out the tortillas, and make the guac. Place it all on the table. Then chop the peppers and onion. Then you’re ready to make the chicken.
When making fajitas I like to use frozen chicken and thaw it for an hour or two before I cook. Then when I slice the chicken, it will be a tiny bit frozen and slices really nicely. You can get great thin strips for the fajitas.
Thaw the chicken, slice it up, throw it in a warmed skilled with the olive oil. Cover and cook, occasionally stirring and rotating the chicken so it cooks on both sides. Once it’s cooked, add the chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin (and cayenne!).Add the diced bell peppers and onions, cooking again until veggies are done.
Bring the sizzling food in a bowl to your table, and be ready to eat your fajitas right away! They are best when the meat and peppers are hot so it slightly melts the cheese.

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Rotisserie Chicken – Chicken Noodle Soup

I love rotisserie chickens because they are easy, inexpensive, and they taste so good! Last week I made this soup when I didn’t have much time to get dinner ready. It is quick and delicious.
Ingredients:

• 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
• 1 c. chopped or shredded carrots
• 1/2 – 2/3 of a rotisserie chicken, meat shredded or chopped
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/2 box short cut pasta (I used bow-ties), cooked
• Chicken broth or stock
• Seasonings: parsley, garlic, salt, pepper

In a saucepan over med-high heat, melt butter. Toss in diced onions and cook until almost soft (cover while cooking so they steam and don’t burn). Add carrots and cover again. Cook until carrots and onions are soft. Add chicken meat and sauté until chicken is warm. Turn heat down to medium and add cooked pasta. Then add enough chicken broth to cover all ingredients and then add more to make it as “brothy” as you’d like. Add 2-3 tbsp of parsley, chopped and 1-2 tsp. of garlic powder. Amount will vary on how much broth you use. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until all ingredients are warm. The butter makes it a little bit creamy which we love. 

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Thai Chicken Salad

I found the original recipe for this salad here and altered it slightly based on what I had at home, and based on the fact that we can’t have peanut products in our house because of my son’s allergy. Here is what I used for my adapted recipe.

• 2 cups sliced matchstick carrots
• 1 yellow bell pepper sliced thin
• 1 small bag baby spinach
• 1 cup sliced cucumber
• 2 chopped green onions
• 4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cut in small pieces (I cooked these in the crock pot with soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes)
• cilantro for topping of salad
• limes for juice & garnish For chicken coating:
  
• juice from 2 limes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp almond butter 
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

Instead of dressing the salad with the thick almond butter dressing, I removed the chicken from the Crock Pot, sliced it up, and mixed it with the dressing. Then I mixed up the veggies in the salad bowl and topped it with the chicken. The dressing is so delicious! I think I added a bit more red pepper flakes than I’d intended because the chicken was pretty spicy!! But we liked the spicy taste with the sweet honey. Taste as you’re making it to see how spicy/sweet you want it to be. And surprisingly the almond butter worked as a great substitute. I’ve made this kind of chicken before with peanut butter before we had kids and this tasted almost exactly the same.
Also, dress with lots of lime juice! It helped really add freshness to the salad.

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Chopped Veggie Slaw with Feta Cheese

I love finding salads that find a way to make tons of veggies delicious together. Especially raw veggies that you’d probably never eat alone (i.e. yellow squash—can’t imagine eating that raw as a snack!)… however chopped thin and mixed together with other veggies it is delicious!
I found this recipe from Proud Italian Cook and she makes it look amazing! Loving her photos of tons of veggies piled high! Check out the original recipe here.
Ingredients for salad (slightly different from the original recipe based on what I had on hand), all diced into matchstick strips:

• 1 yellow squash
• 1 zucchini
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 bag matchstick carrots
• 1/2 red onion
• fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. feta cheese

Ingredients for dressing (also slightly altered):

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/3. c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp. agave nectar (or sugar, or any sweetener)
• salt and pepper to taste  

Dress and chill slightly before serving.

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Chilled Asian Noodle Salad

Because I love pasta I of course love salads even more than have some starch in them! I found this recipe on Pinterest from Alchemy Baking, but didn’t have all the ingredients so I adapted it slightly. It turned out delicious!! The mixture of the salty soy sauce in the dressing, along with the tangy rice vinegar and limes, and the sweet agave nectar with the chilled veggies and ramen noodles was just a great combo. This salad is great as a side or as a main dish. I was craving BBQ chicken so I made that as a side, even though it didn’t really seem to go together but they actually tasted good together.
Ingredients for Salad:

• 1 packet ramen noodles cooked, tossed in olive oil, and chilled (just the noodles, trash the powder)
• 1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped or torn
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 package shredded carrots
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 head of red cabbage, shredded or sliced
• 1/3 bag baby spinach, chopped thin

Ingredients for Dressing:

• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1/8 c. soy sauce
• garlic salt
• 1/4 c. agave nectar (to taste)
• juice of 1 lime

I altered the ingredients to the salad (I think she had bean sprouts and nuts in it and used linguine) and in the dressing I didn’t use any sesame oil or ginger, added lime juice, and swapped agave nectar for brown sugar. Honestly the dressing is so good you can just chop up whatever veggies you have and mix them with this dressing.

Once you combine all the salad ingredients, mix with the dressing. I didn’t end up needing all the dressing (would have been too saucy) so add it slowly. Chill before serving!           

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Cheesy Shredded Chicken Taquitos with Pineapple Peach Salsa

We love Mexican in our house and probably have it a couple nights a week. We’re always trying to think of new ways to make our Mexican dishes. Yesterday I put some chicken and Mexican seasonings in the crock-pot before we left for church and afterwards decided to make taquitos for dinner rather than our usual shredded Crock Pot chicken tacos. These were easy, fast, and deliciously crispy. Here’s how I made them:
Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. chicken breast meat (fresh or frozen)
• chili powder, garlic salt, cumin to taste (or a can of enchilada sauce)
• water
• corn tortillas
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 1/2 c. grated cheese (I used colby jack but cheddar, jack, jalapeno, or any other cheese will work)
• olive oil (or any kind of oil for frying)
• Pineapple peach salsa (Or mango salsa, or any kind of sweet salsa—I found mine at Walmart and was so surprised to see a cool flavor there I decided to buy it)
• Shredded lettuce

In Crock-Pot combine 3 cups of water, a generous amount of chili powder and garlic salt, and 1 tablespoon of cumin. Stir to incorporate. Place chicken breasts in Crock Pot and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.
Once chicken is cooked, remove breasts into a large bowl and shred with 2 forks. Chicken should fall apart. Once all the chicken is shredded add 1/2 c. of the stock from the Crock Pot into the shredded chicken and mix to keep it from getting dry. 
Add 1/2 can of refried beans to chicken. Then add grated cheese to the top. Microwave for 1-2 minutes to melt cheese and warm the beans. Then stir well to incorporate the beans, chicken, and cheese. This is your taquito filling. Set aside.
Get out 10-12 corn tortialls. Pour 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of a skillet and heat for 3 minutes. While oil is heating, fill corn tortillas one by one, placing filling on the side of the corn tortilla and rolling it over itself. Corn tortillas break very easily and if you put the filling in the middle they will break when you roll them. Use less filling than you think you need! Taquitos should be thin. 
Place a toothpick in each rolled taquito and stack on a plate. Using tongs, transfer uncooked taquitos one-by-one into the oil. Cook until golden brown on first side and then rotate to cook the next side. Remove from oil once cooked and place on a plate with a paper towel underneath to soak up the oil. Fry up all the taquitos until done.
Serve with the pineapple peach salsa or any other sweet salsa you have and shredded lettuce. The sweet salsa really breaks up the creamy taquito filling! Such an easy but yummy dinner.

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Simple Apple Walnut Salad

Every fall I get the itch to start cooking (and baking of course) with apple and pumpkin… which doesn’t make much since seeing as it’s still about 90 degrees out. I’m just willing fall to come faster!
This is one of our favorite salads—so simple and we always have the ingredients on hand. Enjoy!
Ingredients (makes 2 large plate salads or 4 side salads):

• Spinach (1/2 bag)
• Romaine lettuce, chopped (1/2 head)
• 1/2 c. feta cheese (gorgonzola works great too)
• 2 apples thinly sliced
• 1 c. candied walnuts (tutorial here)
• Poppy seed dressing, to taste

Mix lettuces first, then add apples, chilled walnuts, and feta. Dress when ready to eat. This salad is great leftover too so only dress what you’re going to eat at that meal! We love this as a main salad or as a side.

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Mexican Cheese Sweet Pork Nachos

Last week after making a huge crock pot of shredded pork, I had a lot left over I wanted to use up. Pork is an interesting meat because it really takes on the flavors added to it and soaks them up. The pork we used for our Shredded Pork Tacos was slightly sweet but more spicy. After a day in the fridge the pork became really sweet. It just soaked up that brown sugar.
My husband loves nachos so I figured sweet pork paired with some creamy Mexican cheese and fresh tomatoes would be a good combo and an EASY dinner. Also we had a bag of “Hint of Lime” Tostitos chips so it was a no brainer. Those chips are too insanely good to describe. Because the meat was already made, all I needed to do was throw the ingredients onto a baking pan and cook for 15 minutes. I made a small side salad to go with it and we had an easy but yummy dinner. 
Ingredients:

• Shredded sweet pork (recipe here)
• Cojita or Mexican farmers queso white cheese (I used the farmers queso—it is so creamy!)
• Tortilla chips, 1 bag (Hint of Lime chips if you have them)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (approx. 2 cups)
• Diced tomatoes (1-2 tomatoes)

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour chips out and evenly layer on baking sheet. {You can put a layer of cheese in between the chip layers if you’d like, but we like to have some plain chips on the bottom of the nacho stack because the top chips get so loaded.}
Sprinkle a layer of cheese over chips, then pork, then tomatoes, Mexican cheese, and more cheddar on top. Bake at 415 F for 15 minutes.
 
Serve with a side salad and you’ve got a great meal.

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Ciabatta Roll Avocado BLT

This meal is so easy and tasty, it’s always a favorite with my husband (and I love it because it takes hardly any time or prep). A friend brought us some tomatoes from her garden this week so I thought it’d be a perfect use for some good, ripe tomatoes.
Ingredients:

• Bacon
• Ciabatta rolls (or any kind of nice rolls)
• Tomatoes
• Avocado
• Romaine Lettuce
• Mayo

Start by cooking the bacon. The best way I’ve tried is in the oven. No splatters, no cooking it in grease. Just take a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet, spread out the bacon, and bake at 415 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
Next slice your rolls and lay them out on a different cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and set aside. Then slice the toppings.

Baked bacon just tastes better than pan-fried. It isn’t as greasy, it’s crispy, and keeps its shape better.
My husband usually can’t stand mayo, but for whatever reason he likes it on a BLT. Don’t forget the avocado! Best part in my book ;)

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Cilantro Lime Avocado Shredded Pork Tacos

We’ve cooked with sweet shredded pork a lot since moving away from Cafe Rio, our favorite stop for fresh mex with shredded meats. We love making replica pork salads from the restaurant (especially with the huge amount of copy cat recipes we’ve found online), but a lot of times we find the pork is too sweet. Along with rice and beans it can make their dishes very heavy.
We had some friends over for dinner this weekend and one is allergic to poultry so cooking with any turkey or chicken was out. I don’t even cook chicken that much but when I can’t use it I feel nervous to find a meal they’ll like without any poultry or chicken stock. I decided on pork tacos because we love tacos in any variety and I was on a mission to make a spicy shredded pork with only a hint of sweet. The other thing that makes these tacos is the lime juice shredded cabbage. Cabbage is always a little thick for me so I soaked it in lime juice. The lime is the perfect fresh burst of flavor against the thick sweet and spicy pork. And the creamy cilantro lime sauce just brings it all together. I love tacos!!
Shredded Pork

• 3 lb. (any size smaller or larger will work too) pork shoulder roast
• garlic salt
• cumin
• chili powder
• brown sugar
• 1 can red enchilada sauce

Place pork shoulder in crock pot and trim off any excess fat. Pour water over the pork so it rises 2 inches in the bottom of the crock pot. Cover pork in chili powder (just sprinkle a lot in there, can’t have too much because most of it runs down into the water), garlic salt, and cumin. Cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4-6). Once crock pot is done, pork should fall apart and shred easily.
Once cooked, remove pork from crock pot, dump out water and rinse/clean it out. Place pork back in and shred it up. Add red enchilada sauce and approximately 1 cup of brown sugar. Mix well. Then cover the pork with more chili powder, and a bit of garlic salt to taste. Make it as spicy as you like it. We like it spicy with a kick of sweet in the back!
Once you get it seasoned to your taste, place crock pot on “Warm” or “Low” setting and pork will be ready and warm when you are ready to eat.
Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce

1 bottle ranch dressing

3 cloves garlic

juice of 1 lime

1/2 – 1 bunch cilantro leaves

Place all ingredients in blender or food processer and blend until creamy. I like to make this the day before and chill it, so it’s one less step that day. Also it tastes great chilled.

Additional Ingredients

• Corn tortillas
• Red cabbage
• Romaine Lettuce
• Farmhouse Crumbled Queso or Cojita cheese
• Limes (5-6)
• Cilantro
• Avocadoes

Next up, take 1/2 head of red cabbage and dice it into thin shreds. Then dice half a head of romaine into thin shreds and mix with cabbage in a large bowl. Then squeeze the juice of 3-4 limes over shredded mixture and mix to coat with lime juice. Set aside.
Then grab your small corn tortillas and some cooking spray and a small skillet. On a medium-high heat, cook up the desired number of tortilllas you’ll need for the meal. They taste so much better when cooked up!
Assemble your tacos with avocados first, then pork, then lime cabbage, then cilantro lime cream sauce, then cheese, and top with cilantro and more lime juice as garnish. These really are such an easy and yummy Sunday dinner because the crock pot does most of the work.   

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