White Chicken Chili & David Nail

I got into an argument with my husband about soup/chili/chowder and whether they are all soup or outside of the soup category. I figured soup is soup which includes chili, which you also eat out of a bowl. He said no, chili and soup are two totally different things. Then chowder got threw into the mix and he also argued that chowder is not soup, but just chowder. I have a hard time comprehending that chowder and chili are not soup, but maybe all my life I have considered soups that weren't in fact soups. 

If you understand any of this, let me know what you think and where you stand. 

Someone's got to end the debate and neither of us are going to give in unless some outside party claims one of us as wrong. 

Haha, anyway, this chili is incredible and I've been making it for quite awhile now. I love the taste and the warm homey feel of it. It's also pretty easy to throw together! 

And since it was suppose to rain yesterday but didn't… Let it Rain by David Nail is getting recognized in hope it will call the rain to this three year serious drought in California.

White Chicken Chili
Recipe from: Guru to the Outdoors

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts, diced into bite size pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbl olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
30 oz of chicken broth
1 (5 oz) can of chopped green chilies
1 1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 (8oz) Neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 (15 oz) cans of Cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbl fresh lime juice

Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
Tortilla Chips

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the chicken to your pot and diced onion. Sauté the chicken for about six minutes, then, mix in your garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in your chicken broth, green chillies, and spices: cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 
Add the Neufchatel cheese and stir until it has mostly melted, the cheese will look chunky, but the heat will eventually mix it in. Toss in your corn and beans. Simmer your soup for another 15 minutes. Stir in your lime juice and serve into individual bowls. Top with the Monterrey Jack cheese and tortilla chips, Enjoy!

Chicken Udon Noodle Soup & Kings Of Leon

Comeback Story by Kings of Leon…. LOVE this song.

If you're looking for something that's not too heavy, but still flavorful--make this soup! It was exactly what we were hoping for the other night. We didn't want to turn on the oven or eat anything overly hearty. We just wanted this brothy, gingery, chickeny soup.

Yep, those are words.

That I chose to describe my meal.

Don't hold it against me, I just really liked what I ate. 

Chicken Udon Noodle Soup
Adapted from: MyRecipes

Ingredients:
2 Tbl canola oil, divided
4 cups chicken broth
6 (1/4 inch) slices of peeled ginger & 2 tsp of fresh minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 packages of udon noodles (refrigerated, recipe-ready)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups cubed chicken breasts
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl honey
salt to taste

Directions:
Add canola oil to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the white wine, next, and cook down for 4 minutes. Then, add your chicken broth and ginger. Bring pot to a boil, and then reduce to a medium-low heat, cook for ten minutes and then let rest for ten minutes off heat to infuse the flavors into the broth. Next, pour the broth through a strainer, into a bowl to reserve your liquid. 
Bring your saucepan back to the stove and heat your pan back up. Cook your chicken in 1 Tbl of oil. Once your chicken is cooked all the way through, add your reserved liquid and toss in your udon noodles, soy sauce, honey, and salt. Heat your liquid back up to temperature, cooking for about ten more minutes. Now that your soup is nice and hot, divide it into bowls alongside a soup spoon and chopsticks. Enjoy!

Asian Inspired Chicken & Kenny Chesney

If you listen to a country station lately--any country station--you will have heard Kenny Chesney's American Kids. I just about know every word to the song because I sing it to our baby every day. She has a smile that spreads from ear to ear once you start singing to her, and I believe this song makes that smile even wider. Follow it up with Whiskey in My Water by Tyler Farr and you've got one happy baby… or just a good start to a playlist. 

Chicken is often the only type of meat in our home because it's lean and so versatile. I also don't eat red meat, I'll gladly cook it for the husband, but he prefers enjoying it every once in awhile. Such as an In-n-Out trip or steaks while throwing a BBQ. We've got pretty good at cooking it without drying it out or taking it off to early. I guess practice does make perfect because this chicken was soooo tender and juicy. Give it a whirl, it was a nice blend of spice and flavor. I ended up trying to soak up some sauce off my husband's plate with my rice because I cleaned my plate of it… ;)

Asian Inspired Chicken
Found at: MyRecipes.com
1 1/2 pound chicken tenders
1 Tbl cornstarch
4 tsp canola oil, divided
1 onion, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 Tbl Sriracha
1 Tbl sugar
1 lime, halved
2 Tbl fresh cilantro, chopped
Rice

Directions:
Cook your rice according to the package's directions.
Heat one tablespoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Toss the chicken in cornstarch and cook in pan for about 5 minutes, not cooked all the way through yet. Remove chicken and set aside. Heat the other tablespoon of oil in the pan and cook onions, garlic, and ginger for about a minute. Add the chicken back into the pan, cook for another minute, and then stir in the coconut milk, Sriracha, sugar, and squeeze juice from one half of the lime into the sauce. Once everything is heated pull off the stove.
In the rice, mix your fresh cilantro. Serve chicken and sauce over the cilantro rice. Enjoy!

Sarah's Shredded Chicken Burritos & Cold War Kids

This technique to do chicken is the BEST! My sister, Sarah, who was visiting recently (Sarah, COME BACK!) found this technique through David'sFreeRecipes for his chicken tacos. We made burritos but I've never had such juicy, flavorful chicken in homemade burritos before! You can use the chicken in a salad, taco, enchilada… you name it. It's now named in our family as Sarah's chicken. So everyone says, "Are we making Sarah's chicken tonight?" or, "Can we have Sarah's chicken tonight?" Let's just say, it's very popular. 

And guess what? It's so easy!

Listen to: Skip the Charades by Cold War Kids

Shredded Chicken Burritos:

Ingredients:

1.5 Lbs Chicken Breast Filets (1 package), rinsed and patted dry

3-4 Cups Water

1 tsp Salt

1/3 tsp Pepper

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

2 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Dried Oregano

1/4 tsp Cumin

Fixings:

Warmed Flour Burrito Tortillas

Shredded Lettuce

Sour Cream

Salsa

Guacamole

Refried Beans

Cilantro

In a cast iron pot or large saucepan on the stove, place the chicken on the bottom and fill the pot with enough water to just cover the chicken. This will take about 3-4 cups of water. Measure your spices and add them to your water and  chicken. Bring the pot to a boil for ten minutes and then lower to a simmer, then let cook for 30-35 minutes with the lid on, slightly skewed. The water should be cooked down until only a little is left. 
When poked, the chicken should fall apart, and you can now shred it up. If you feel there is too much liquid left, bring it back to a boil until there's a little less water. Once the chicken is ready, have a warmed flour tortilla ready with your fixings and roll it up & enjoy!!

Dutch Baby & Of Monsters and Men

 My sister and parents came to visit over the last two weeks, and let me tell you I miss them so much when they're not here! There's always good food, late nights, and lots of laughs. It's so hard to let them leave at the end of their trips. 

I don't usually make anything special when it's just me and the husband in the mornings, but with a group it's always fun to whip something up that's a little sweet. 

This is my mom's recipe of dutch babies and we added some caramelized apples to the top. 

What song's playing?: Mountain Sound by Of Monsters & Men

Dutch Babies:

Oven Temp: 425

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 Cup Flour

4 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

Preheat oven to 425 and place a cast iron pot inside to heat up with it (If you don't have a cast iron, use a 9x9 casserole dish or an oven safe dish of similar size, it's best to have taller sides though). Add the butter to the bottom of the pot and let it melt. While it melts, whisk together eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the milk to the eggs and then the flour. Do not over mix the flour but try to get the bigger clumps out. 

Add the eggy mixture to your cast iron and let cook for about 25 minutes.

For the Caramelized Apples:

An Apple or two, cut into slices

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Drizzle of Honey

Powdered Sugar

In a saucepan over medium low heat, start cooking the apples at about ten minutes before your dutch baby is done. Melt the butter, then add your apples. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over them, then drizzle a little honey over the top. Cook down until the apples are soft and brown. Serve on top of the individual dutch baby slices. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each. Enjoy :)

Sweet Honey and Soy Crock Pot Chicken, Spinach Salad, & Bleachers

Laundry has become my nemesis. You add one little 12 pound child to a regular couple's laundry and it somehow doubles. Maybe even triples. Add camping into the mix and you're ready to throw in the towel, but if you do that you might end up with a dirty towel and then would have to add that to the ever growing mass of soiled linens. It's a nightmare.

So, after camping for a few days and unintentionally bringing home buckets of sand (laundry and sweeping: YAY!), it was nice to have an easy meal to throw together. Not only easy, but absolutely delicious. This sauce, mmm…. this sauce! So yummy. This is definitely a frequent repeater. 

Rocking out to: I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers

For my husband and I, we don't need a huge amount, but if you're cooking for four: double this recipe. I paired it with a spinach salad but it'd be really great on some rice as well.

Sweet Honey and Soy Crock Pot Chicken
Recipe from: Creations by Kara
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
black pepper & salt
1 Tbl olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 cup honey
2 garlic cloves
1/8 red pepper flakes

Directions:
In the bottom of the slow cooker, whisk the soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes together.
Heat a sauce pan on medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, brown the chicken breasts on both sides. This will take about 3-4 minutes. By browning the sides, it will help the sauce thicken naturally during the cooking process in the slow cooker. Once done, add the chicken to the crock pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
Shred the chicken and mix into the sauce well. Serve and enjoy!

Apple and Macadamia Nut Spinach Salad
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
4 cups spinach
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
An apple, cubed
1/8 cup feta cheese
2 Tbls Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette (This is my personal favorite) or any vinaigrette you have on hand

Directions:
Toss all the ingredients together and eat up.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches and Michael Buble

We just arrived back home from a nice weekend of family and food in San Diego. My brother in law graduated from boot camp and he now holds the title of US marine. So in celebration of that and because it's Memorial Day weekend, I've made some ice cream cookie sandwiches!

It's been hot here in California, as the Santa Anna wins have run through here, and by run, I mean sprint. 95+ degrees here and gusty winds is just too uncomfortable when you're used to the mild  coast. However, I'm thankful to live and be safe while there are military men halfway across the world, enduring much worse. While we should be thanking and honoring our fallen and current heroes every day, I'm glad there are federal holidays that remind us how important the men and women are that sacrifice their lives for our safety and freedom. I'm proud to be a Navy wife and my favorite sound is my husband coming home at the end of the day. 

A song I had a hard time listening to while my husband was gone was Let Me Go Home by Michael Buble, but I love it and I can always listen to it while he's home. I think it hits home for anybody dealing with distance from a loved one.

So for today's recipe, I chose a cookie I make often for when I send care packages during a deployment. They stay soft and delicious in an airtight container even if it takes a week or so to get to the bases overseas. Since it's nearly summer, I've added some vanilla ice cream in the middle and sandwiched them up! Indulge, you guys, these are delicious…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Recipe From: Sweet Pea's Kitchen
Oven Temp: 350 F

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Butter, room temperature
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg, room temperature
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Cups AP Flour
2 tsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
Ice Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a stand up mixer, combine butter and sugars until well mixed. Add in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients a cup at a time until thoroughly combined, but do not over mix. Add the chocolate chips in with a spatula. 
Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten the ball with your palm and place cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes and allow to cool on a wire wrack. Once all the cookies are cooled, place in freezer. At the same time, allow the ice cream to thaw on the counter. Once the ice cream is thawed enough to where you can easily assemble it on a cookie, take out cookies, spoon ice cream into the middle, and top it with another same-sized cookie. Place the cookies back in the freezer atop some wax paper. Let the ice cream refreeze before you eat your sandwich, I recommend overnight.