Chicken Asparagus Soup

It has rained pretty steady for the last few days...this type of weather makes me want soup.  It just tastes so much better when it is raining outside, and being stuck inside makes for some recipe blogging time..so here am I!

I "heart" asparagus.  We have been eating it a lot in our house lately, to the utter dismay of my children...but I like it so we are eating it!  And right now they are in season here and they are thin and crisp and delicious.  And to top it all off they are super cheap!  So I will be posting a couple of my favorite recipes that use Asparagus, starting off with this wonderful soup.

I LOVE this soup!

This soup is full of flavor and yet really showcases the asparagus because all other veggies in it are blended up into the broth.  And just so you know, this soup is even tastier the next day.  I found the original recipe in the April & May 2008 Taste of Home Magazine.  I have added some ( ) in the recipe...that is my own commentary...you can edit them out if you want.  Enjoy!

Chicken Asparagus Soup
2 lbs thin fresh asparagus
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
12 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cans chicken broth (14 1/2 oz each)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1 bay leaf
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups half n half cream (or milk..or heaving whipping cream)
Shaved (or shredded) Parmesan, optional

Cut tips from asparagus spears and set aside (I keep 2-3 inches from the top).  Place stalks in a large skillet; cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.  Strain, reserving 4 cups cooking liquid (I usually only end up with only 3-3 1/2 cups but it is fine).  Discard stalks.
In a Dutch oven (I use a big soup pot), saute the potatoes, onions, celery, carrot, parsley and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender.  Stir in the broth, salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, bay leaf and reserved cooking liquid.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes (I only simmer for 5-10 min. usually because we are in a hurry to eat).  Discard bay leaf. Cool slightly!!!(This is important if your blender is like mine...really hot liquid will pop the top when you blend=burns and messy kitchen...not that I've ever been impatient enough to try it...)
In a blender, cover and puree soup in batches until smooth.  Return to pan.  Add the chicken, cream (I used Heavy Whipping Cream last night and it was marvelous), remaining pepper and reserved asparagus tips.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired (and yes you will desire it, it is amazing!)  Yield about 2 quarts.

 

Honey Chicken

One of the many perks of marrying my husband was that, in so doing, I married into my husband's family. And one of the perks of being a member of my husband's family is that Mr. Handsome, my husband, comes from a long line of great cooks.

My husband is on a business trip this week.  So last Sunday afternoon it registered that he would be leaving the next morning which resulted in two things.  First, I began pouting.  Second, I pulled it together and decided to make my husband a "send off" dinner, something I knew he would enjoy...to make up for the pouting.  I made my honey some Honey Chicken.

Mr. Handsome grew up eating Honey Chicken and it is a family favorite.  According to legend, his mother got the recipe from his sweet grandmother so--thank you to the lovely Grandma Benson.

I have changed a few things from the original...mostly in how it is prepared and that is mainly because I'm lazy.

Presenting:

HONEY BAKED CHICKEN

adapted by Moe...any guesses what I changed ;)

3-4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup prepared mustard

1 tsp salt

1-2 tsp curry***

Melt 7 Tbsp butter; stir in honey, mustard, salt and curry powder. ***My husband loves a strong curry flavor so he likes 2 tsp, if you want a more mellow flavor go with 1 tsp.  Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces.  Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in large frying pan and cook chicken on medium high heat (this allows the pieces to sear and they are less dry that way, and you get that nice browning on the outside).  I break the pieces up as they cook so they are nice and small.  Once they are cooked through add the sauce and stir on medium heat to thicken a bit.  Serve over rice.  Easy!

P.S.  the original recipe (if you would like to try it) used 1/4 cup margarine instead of butter and 1 chicken cut into serving pieces instead of chicken breasts.  The chicken was baked in the sauce for 1 hour at 375 (turned once midway through).

 

Chicken Teriyaki--hear me roar!

Do you ever get in a culinary rut?  You realize suddenly that you are stuck making the same things day after day and you just get bored.  That has been my lot as of late.  Culinary boredom...(insert snore here)...but actually, otherwise life has been kind of CrAzY.  Lots of change and meeting new faces and trying new adventures.  Especially for my five year old who recently had a late start to Kindergarten.  Now our lives revolve around bus schedules and after-school play dates and it has been a crazy fun month.

Spending so much time each week waiting around for the school bus has made for some new mom friends for me :)  I have two wonderful ladies who pick up their kids with me each day and I enjoy our daily visits.  Recently, they were both sharing Japanese cuisine that they love and suddenly I NEEDED to eat some Teriaki Chicken...which is unusual for me.  I have never attempted anything Asian.  It was a "light bulb" moment for me and I have since been using my wonderful family as guinea pigs as I have worked out the perfect Teriaki Chicken recipe.

I personally think that I NAILED IT, but you may judge differently.  Either way it cured my boredom and suddenly I feel like a Kitchen Wonder :)  Now I just have to resist the temptation to make this every day.  And the family all loves it too...I am homemaker, hear me roar! Here's to new recipes and new friends!

The RECIPE I used to start my experiment was from the FOOD Network (aren't they great).  However, I ended up changing quite bit so I have posted my revised version below.

CHICKEN TERIYAKI

1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1/4 cup soy sauce
4-5 Tbsp brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
3 tsp grated fresh ginger root
Splash sesame oil
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bit-sized pieces
1 tsp peanut oil
1/2 chicken broth*

Combine the mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger root and sesame oil in air tight dish that you can steep the chicken in.  Add the prepared chicken pieces and leave for 15 minutes.
Heat the peanut oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces from the marinade to the pan.  Saute them until they look cooked on the outside.
Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and bring to a bubble, then turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes.  (I cut the chicken pieces even smaller as I stir and check to see if they are cooked through, the smaller the pieces the tastier)
Remove the cooked pieces with the slotted spoon and turn the heat up in the pan to let the liquid boil down to a thick dark syrup. *This is where I added the 1/2 cup chicken broth.
Return the chicken pieces back to the pan, stir well so that all the chicken pieces are coated in the sticky savory syrup.  Serve over a pile of rice with steamed veggies!

AND for the rice, I tried my best to imitate the Ham Fried Rice from a local Chinese restaurant we loved growing up.

Perpare rice however you like it...I  used
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water

Saute
1 cup cubed ham (cut small)
2-3 bunches chopped green onion

Scramble 2 eggs and toss it all together.  It's pretty tasty.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade chicken noodle soup was my favorite meal as a child. I have so many memories of my Mother and Aunt Sharon making this yummy soup. It feeds the belly and the soul. I even asked for it to be the meal at my luncheon when I got married. I believe the key ingredient to this masterpiece is the homemade noodles. Big thick homemade noodles are a necessity for this soup. Making your own noodles can be a little nerve-wracking at first but they really are simple and are worth the extra time. So here is the recipe.

{Chicken Noodle Soup}
6-8 cups water
2 chicken breasts

*3-4 carrots, cut in slim 1/4 inch pieces

*2-3 celery ribs, cut in slim 1/4 inch pieces

*1 large onion, diced

3 Tbsp Chicken Stock (I buy my stock in bulk from Winco or you can get a good priced jar from Sam's Club. I have also used bullion cubes.)

*Veggies depend on your preferences. I love to use lots of veggies in my soup but I have gotten by with only 2 small carrots.

I boil the above ingredients until the chicken is completely cooked. I take out the chicken and then I let it cool on a cutting board. When it is cooled, I dice it up into tiny pieces (you can shred or chunk up the chicken, but I like it diced up) and then I put it back into the soup.

{Noodles}

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
3-4 TBS water or milk

Make a well in a bowl with your dry ingredients. Crack your eggs into your well and then mix together with fork until you start forming dough. When you have a stiff dough slowly add your milk (or water), a tablespoon at a time, until your dough is a ball of workable dough (not too sticky). Split dough in half and then lightly sprinkle flour on a surface and roll out your dough as thin as you can. Cut noddle desired thickness with pizza cutter  and repeat with other half.  Add noodles into your BOILING soup.  Boil for 5-10 minutes and then serve with some yummy homemade rolls. 

Hopefully that all makes sense and it works out when you make it :) This is the best way to eat chicken noodle soup- with home made noodles!! The ultimate comfort food!

Chicken Pita Pits!!

I had a pita wrap at the Mangy Moose in Jackson that was a lot like this. They are really yummy and really easy to assemble. This is a great dinner that you can make on a hot day that you wont have to heat your house up to make :)

1 Large chicken breast

Seasoning for chicken breast

1-2 medium tomatoes

1 container of sprouts

1 cucumber

Mayo

Italian dressing

1 package of pocket pita's (You can usually find them by the deli)

So I season up my chicken breast and then I grill it. You can also cook it on your stove top or use your George Foreman grill. I cut the chicken into thin strips

I cut up my tomato and cucumber into thin slices

Putting your pita's together is completely up to you. I usually put a tiny bit of mayo in my pita, put in 2-3 slices of chicken, put as much veggies in I can, and then pour the Italian dressing over the fillings.

It is so SIMPLE!!! I love that I can eat 3-4 of these and not feel horrible about myself.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I love making this for dinner and it really is so easy(if you don't mind touching raw chicken). It is one those meals that you can make for a special occasion and it won't take you all day long.

So I never follow a recipe for this but there is a special process for the finished project.

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts

2 slices of deli ham

2 thick slices of swiss cheese 1/4 of an inch

Seasoning for the crust of chicken. I use Weber Chicago Seasoning Grinder from Sams Club. I use this seasoning for EVERYTHING!!! I love it and I think I got it at Sams for only 4 bucks!!!

So first I clean my chicken by taking off the extra fat or bloody veins(you know what i am talking about right??)

Then I get a a sharp fillet knife or paring knife and I cut a small hole in the side of the chicken and I carefully make a pocket inside of the chicken. It really is easier then it sounds. Just take your time and try really hard not to make any other holes in the chicken.

Then I roll the swiss cheese slice (from 1 inch wide and 3 inches long) in my sliced deli ham.

Then I stuff the cheese and ham inside of the pocket in the chicken. Take your time and try not to rip the hole bigger.

Then I take a tooth pick and seal the hole in the chicken together.(I kind of sew it together. Just like you are pinning it together)

I like to put on an extra (thin) slice of swiss cheese on top :) The more cheese the merrier right!!

I take my seasoning grinder and cover the outside of my chicken.

I place it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 until it turns golden brown on the outside of the chicken. We also like to grill this!

I like to serve this with steamed vegetables of some sort. I like to steam red potatoes together with carrots and then as soon as they are done, I put butter and a little honey on them and then sprinkle them with Salt and Pepper. They are so good and I can usually get my toddler to eat some :) I also mix up 50/50 Dijon mustard and Mayo to dip the chicken in.

Italian Enchilada Crepes

So here is a recipe that I made up when I was in the 8th grade. I had learned how to make crepes from my young women leader Sonja and she had taught me how to make some savory crepes. Well they were delicious and so when I got home I started to play around with crepes. I came up with this and I even used it on my Speech class as my demonstration speech. So here it is...

Crepes

4 eggs

2 cups flour(sifted)

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter(soft or melted)

1 tsp salt

3 tbs sugar

This recipe make probably 10 medium sized crepes :)

You spread your crepe out onto your greased, non-stick pan and then lift and do some wrist action to get the batter to spread out thinly.

You cook your crepes up and set to the side.

The rest of your ingredients!

1 large chicken breast

1 can Alfredo sauce(anything but ragu)

1/2 pound Swiss cheese- half sliced, half shredded

12 thin slices of deli ham

I brown up some diced seasoned chicken (when I say seasoned chicken I mean- salt, pepper, garlic, pepper flakes, whatever spices you like etc......) I cook my chicken in a half butter, half EVOO mixture. Something that I learned from Rachel Ray is that the best thing that you can do to get your chicken browned, is to just leave it alone. Put it into a hot pan and let it sit there for like 5-10 minutes without messing with it. It will give it amazing color and taste. After my chicken is cooked, I add the can of Alfredo. Then I start putting the crepes together

I lay out a crepe and put in 3 slices of ham

Then I put in 2 slice of swiss cheese

Then I add my Alfredo/chicken, then I roll it up like a enchilada.

After I get them all rolled up, I put my remaining sauce on top of the crepes and then cover with my shredded swiss cheese. Cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes :)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza!!

I made this for the super bowl this year. It was a hit and I crave it just thinking about it! I just kind of made it up so hopefully I make sense with my instruction's.

Pizza Crust- Sonja Schatt

Makes 1 cookie sheet worth

1cup warm water

1 pkg yeast

2 tbs oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cups flour(or more if needed)

Let rise once, punch down. Spread out on greased cookie sheet and bake @450 for 10-14 minutes.

So I make my pizza crust and bake it for 10 minutes. Then I put on my toppings!

1 can of your favorite Alfredo sauce. I like any kind other then Ragu's brand. Use the whole can!!!! The sauce gets sucked into the crust.

1 large seasoned chicken breast cooked or grilled and then cut into slices.

1-2 medium vine ripened tomato (can use roma)

1 bunch green onions diced

1/2 cup diced cooked and crumbled bacon

1 cup of your favorite cheese. I used a mixture of parmesan, provolone, asiago, and romano.

1 cup small fresh mozerella balls :) This is my favorite part. I buy mine at wal-mart in their cheese section. You can get them for about $3.50. Not bad for such yummy little devils.

1 good shake of garlic salt, basil, and any other yummy season you can think of.

I put all my layers on in that order and then I cooked it until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is brown :) Enjoy!

Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry

So I found this recipe on a random blog and I had to try it out. I really liked it but I think I will try to add more honey or OJ next time(maybe ketchup?). I also added cashews which I loved and Andrew not so much. Good thing he can pick them out ;)

• 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 3 Tbsp. vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 cups cut-up veggies, such as broccoli, green and red pepper, onion, mushrooms, and carrots – whatever you have on hand, really

Cut chicken into bite-size strips and set aside. For the sauce, combine honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, and corn starch in a small bowl; set aside.

Pour oil into a large wok and heat over medium-high heat. Add vegetables to the wok; cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from the wok. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes while stirring, or until chicken is no longer pink. Push chicken from the center of the wok. Stir the sauce, add to the wok’s center, and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Return cooked veggies to the wok; combine veggies and chicken with the sauce, and stir until heated through. Serve over white rice or Asian noodles.

Southwest Chicken Salad

This is another one of those made of recipes that we really liked:) Sorry about the random measurments

1 Bag of your favorite green salad (we like Romain and iceberg)

2 Breaded chicken breast per person sliced up (I used frozen cuz it saves you so much time and they are so yummy)

1/2 cup chopped up bacon

2-3 chopped green onions

1/2 cup olives

1/2 cup cucumbers

1/2 cup tomatoes

1/2 cup black beans

1-2 boiled eggs if you like eggs on your salad

1/4 cup cheese

1/2 cup croutons

whatever else you like on your salad

Dressing

Hidden valley ranch and Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce mixed!

It is so simple and so yummy:)

Italian Potato Soup- Olive Garden

1 lb. ground Italian Sausage 5 cubes chicken bouillon

1 t. crushed red peppers 1 cup half & half

1 large onion, diced 1 ½ cups white beans, dry(or I use a can), 2-3 small potato's

3 cloves garlic, pressed 1 cup kale, chopped

10 cups water ¼ cup parmesan cheese

2 stalks celery, dice


Place beans in sauce pan, cover with water and soak overnight. (or use can of beans) Saute’ sausage and red pepper in a large pot. Drain fat and rinse sausage. Sauté onion, celery and garlic in 1 T olive oil until onions are soft. In a crockpot, mix chicken bouillon and water and then add sauted vegetables. Cook on low for 4 hours. Add *half & half, stir in sausage. Keep on warm until ready to serve. Just before serving, add kale and parmesan cheese. Garnish with grated Asiago cheese or Parmesan.


*For a lower fat recipe, omit half & half. Then remove 2 cup of beans with a slotted spoon and set aside. In a blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth. Once blended pour soup back into crockpot; stir in reserved beans and add sausage.

Chicken Alfredo

So I am usually really lazy when it comes to my Alfredo Sauce. I like to use the bottled stuff that you find at the stores(except for Ragu's, its gross). So that is where I get my sauce. (McKenzie has a good from scratch recipe... hint hint Kenzie)

When I make my chicken Alfredo I usually brown my (seasoned-S&P, garlic, red pepper flakes, etc...)chicken with some garlic in some butter and EVOO. Then I usually always add cooked bacon and then I cover with my Alfredo from a jar ;) I know I am a cheater but it taste so good. I use this same mixture for my Chicken Alfredo/Penne*, White sauce lasagna, Chicken Alfredo Pizza, and Chicken Alfredo crepes.

* With Penne (what my family calls this dish) I serve the Chicken Alfredo with Tomatoes and Peas, over Penne! Yumm

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1-2 Chicken Breast

1 cup Parmesan

2 cups Italian bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti noodles

I cut the chicken into pieces and pound it out until they are really thin. I mix crumbs with cheese and then I add a little salt and pepper. Then I coat the chicken with first flour then egg and then Bread crumb, cheese mixture. I cook in hot olive oil or vegetable oil until brown and cooked. I serve chicken on top of spaghetti and pour my favorite marinara sauce on top.

Caitlin's Chicken Enchilada's

Caitlin's Chicken Enchilada's

This is Andrew's favorite meal and my least favorite (ha ha) I really don't know why he likes them so much but he does. I have never been a Enchilada girl so maybe that is why. This probably wont be the best recipe. You may have to eyeball the ingredient's like usual.

2 chicken breast

1/2 onion diced up

1 can cream of chicken

1/2 container of sour cream

1 package taco mix

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp of red crushed pepper flakes

4-6 flour tortillas (large)

I cut the chicken (when semi frozen- it is easier to cut) into small cubes. I brown it up with the onions and red crushed pepper. When the chicken is cooked I add the cream of chicken, sour cream, taco mix, and cheese. When it is all mixed I roll of mixture into tortilla's and I usually leave a little extra to place on top. Cook for 20 minutes at 350 and serve :) I serve with salsa or pinco de gallo.

Chicken Roll-ups

Make a crescent roll recipe and prepare dough as normal. 
Filling:
One can cream of chicken soup
1/2 to 1 bunch of green onion chopped
Onion flakes (to taste)
I add a can of chicken breast already cooked but you could cook a breast or two and chop them up
cheddar cheese

But a couple tablespoons worth of filling on crescent triangle and roll up. Place on cookie and bake at 350 til cooked through.

Mix cream of chicken with a little water to desired consistency and pour over top of roll ups.  This is great comfort food and my kids eat these really well.  They are great as left overs and my hubby likes to eat them cold.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe was Award Winning at the Menan Chili cook off by none other than Cindy Lou Cunningham...for all you Menanites--is it any surprise Cindy would whip out such a perfect Chili?  I think not!  You're amazing Cindy!

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp. canola oil

2 cans (15.5 oz ea.) great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chicken broth

2 cans chopped green chilies***

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute the chikcen, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink.  Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream.

I ate a chili similar to this at a Relief Society Retreat and it was SO amazing! (Thanks Sarah!)  She had cheese, tortilla chips AND guacamole to put on top...something I NEVER would of thought of but I ABSOLUTELY loved it! So try it...especially if you like Avacodos...its life changing!

***I only added 1/2 can green chilies and it was STILL too hot for my husband and littlest boy.  If you don't like the heat you may consider leaving the chilies or cayenne out...just a warning.  I thought it was perfect with half the can but Evan couldn't eat it without adding A LOT of extra Sour Cream (Brandi you know how the Sonderegger men love their Sour Cream...ha!)