(Also one of our family’s favorites…)

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, finely chopped  (or, onion powder/flakes…which is what we use)
  
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast (you can also use canned chicken for speed and ease!)
  
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 12 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
• Velveeta cheese as desired, melted on top
  

Directions

• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, celery and peppers in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the chicken, soups, tomatoes and chili powder.
• Line the bottom of a 3-qt. baking dish with half of the tortilla strips; top with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Melt velveeta cheese and a little milk in microwave and pour on top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 8 servings.

Note:  While it technically serves 8 people… you might want to double the recipe.  It’s THAT good!

Welcome back!

I made these…and seriously…they rock.

LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tbsp lemon zest (or more)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease with a light coat of non-stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined. In small batches, add in the sifted dry ingredients, mixing just to combine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or foil and place in refrigerator. Chill for at least an hour.

4. Place powdered sugar in a shallow dish or on a large plate. Roll chilled dough into one-inch balls. Roll each ball through the powdered sugar to coat, and then place on prepared cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven, or until bottoms have started to brown ever so slightly and cookie takes on a matte (not glossy) appearance. Be careful not to over bake. Recipe yields about two dozen cookies.

YUM!

Have you ever found yourself elbow-deep in a recipe just to realize you don’t have one of the key ingredients?

Check out the following websites of substitutions:

- Cook’s Thesaurus

- Joy Of Baking.com

- Cooking for Engineers

This is for my friend Erin, who googles when in doubt what to fix for supper. This is our 2 week meal plan (which included this past week, and in no particular order):

1. Huck’s Chill (I keep spelling it different)

2. Chicken A La King

3. Buffalo Chicken Wraps

4. Chicken Enchiladas

5. Chicken Crescent Rolls

6. Chicken Pot Pie

7. Pan-grilled chicken w/ mushrooms and brown rice

8. Spaghetti

9. Fettuccine Alfredo (with spicy noodles)

10. Bertolli Pasta Dinner (in a bag)

11. Freschetta Pizza

12. Stouffer’s Frozen Lasagna

13. Chicken Tetrazzini

14. Spinach Lasagna

And, those should last way more than a week since we’ve added fresh salads in the mix – and I’ve already frozen a few dinners worth of leftovers. I may add more links to this later with recipes, but if you want a recipe – just let me know in comments!

And yes…this menu has a LOT of chicken.  We know.

We’re starting off our week with chili, and I have 2 favorites: Huckdoll’s chili and … crap.  I don’t have a good name for the other one…  it’s Steven’s mom’s recipe.  He calls it “damn good chili,” maybe we’ll just go with that.  (We’ll be having DGC tomorrow night.  Tuesday night will be chili dogs using leftovers of the DGC.)

Damn (or Darn) Good Chili

4 cans Busch’s chili beans
2 lbs ground beef
Approximately 34.5 oz of tomato juice (or to taste)
8 oz of sliced jalapenos (in a jar)
salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Brown the hamburger meat, then throw everything in a pot and heat it up.  Ta-Da.

Huckdoll’s Chili 

1 small onion, diced and a few sprinkles of flaked red chili pepper, sauteed in a bit of olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan

Add 2 cans Mexican or chili style stewed tomatoes
Add 2 small cans of whole kernel corn
Add 1 can of black beans

Stir all ingredients and let simmer for however long.

Top with sour cream (no- or low- fat is good, too) and shredded cheddar

Personally… Onions and I don’t get along too well, so I skip that first step and it still turns out yummy.  Except Steven doesn’t like it because it’s “girly” and has no meat…which is exactly why I like it…no beef.