Taco Soup

(Ok, NOT the best picture in the world, taken in the dungeon that is my office)

A friend of mine gave me this recipe some years ago, and until now, I would rarely give it out, because it really wasn't MY recipe. However, I have made enough changes to it since then, and it has grown in popularity so much that I am posting it here today in honor of his birthday which is this week! Somehow I don't think he'd mind. Plus, I entered my version in a local soup and chili cook off a couple years ago and took a ribbon, so here we go!

I decided to make this last night to bring in to my coworkers today (who are now anxiously stalking near my office with their tongues hanging out) because when I was making my weekly grocery list, I noticed that I had 6, count 'em, SIX cans of Ro-tel in my pantry. Considering I only have two recipes that call for Ro-tel in my entire repertoire, I can only assume that I either found them on sale at some point, or had Taco Soup on the brain a lot this winter when grocery shopping.

Everyone I know loves this soup, and with Old Man Winter refusing to loose his grip on us, even this far into April, I thought this might be a good way to shake off the chill today. It is an insanely easy recipe to make and also alteration-friendly if you are the kind of person who can't handle spice, or if you can't find the Chorizo in your local store. Shockingly, even in my small po-dunk town, I can get it (well, the Johnsonville variety, anyway, but even I have to admit theirs has a decent flavor!).

Taco Soup

1 package johnsonville Chorizo links, removed from casings (or 1 pound bulk chorizo) or 1 pound ground beef if you can't find chorizo

1-2 cans corn (I like the Green Giant white shoepeg corn, so I use 2 cans since they are shorties)

1 can red beans

1 can black beans

2 cans Ro-tel (whatever flavor you prefer, I use Orignal)

1 package Ranch Dressing mix

1 package Taco Seasoning (if you are using ground beef instead of chorizo, use 2 pkgs, unless you prefer your soup milder)

Brown the ground chorizo in a soup pot and drain off any fat that it renders.

Add taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix and stir to combine.

Add all cans of veggies and beans, and 2-3 cans of water until the soup is the consistency you desire.

Simmer for at least an hour, then serve! This is great with corn chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

Oriental Baked Chicken

This recipe is a twist on one for Asian chicken wings that I got from a relative a while back. When I was planning my dinners for this week, the split chicken breasts at the store called out to me, but I didn't have any inspiration for what to do with them. SO, this is what I did!

Oriental Baked Chicken

4-6 split chicken breasts (I took the extra step and cut the bone off, leaving the skin intact)

1 teaspoon onion salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon (or more, to taste) red pepper flake

1/2 teaspoon ginger

drizzle of sesame oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 can Coke

Mix together all ingredients except for the chicken in a saucepan and simmer for about an hour.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with foil and bake the chicken breasts at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until just cooked through.

Toss the chicken in a bowl with the sauce and let sit for 15 minutes, then put the chicken back on the sheet and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

**as an alternative, put the "marinated" chicken on the grill and baste with leftover sauce to caramelize. I would rather have done this, but our grill is shot and we haven't bought a new one yet this season. The chicken does not caramelize in the oven like it would on the grill.

I just served this with some cheesy hash browns for the hubs last night.

I'm a Foodie!

I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to the Foodie Blogroll! Please note that I have added the Blogroll to my page, where you can find lots of other foodie blogs! If you've got a food blog, jump on over and get signed up, too!

Happy Happy Easter!

Ok, even I have to admit that the background the photographer had set up was pretty cheesy, but it went well with the "ham" that my boy was emanating. Isn't he just a cutie?

Ty had a great weekend, with lots of Easter eggs to hunt, both at our house, and at Grandma's. He was a real trooper and save the "overstimulaton-holiday-exhaustion" meltdown until almost everyone had left yesterday afternoon.

It was a good weekend, but unfortunately very busy, so I didn't get hardly any sewing done at all. I was really hoping to have finished pictures of the baby quilt to post today, but it wasn't meant to be.

On a happy note - it is less than two weeks until Ty and I will be boarding a plane for the coast to see my sister, and we can't wait!!!

Its a Start!

I finally buckled down last night (ok, this morning, but I did THINK about it last night!) and started a tentative block on my sister's baby quilt. This is actually only half the block, so you really won't be able to distinguish the pinwheel pattern just yet. With any luck, this weekend I will manage to get the vast majority of it done so I can get it to the quilter very, very soon!

What do you think, sister?

(for those of you quilters out there, this is a paper pieced pattern called Petite Posies, done with a batik background and Kaffe Fassett 'Milliefiori' and 'Paperweight' prints.)

Yeah, yeah, I'm a blog-slacker...this I know.

Ok, so I haven't been posting a lot lately. Its not that I don't love you, people, truly I do. Its just that life seems to be getting in the way lately. So, I'm going to give you some blog farts (also known as random bits of what's going on in my life because I just have no time for a real post).

1. Earth Day is coming up and I am spearheading a movement to begin a "freecycle" program at my office, as well as organizing a Brown bag session promoting our local recycling center.
2. The hubs has been spending a lot more evenings hunting lately, so I have much less time at home to try out new recipes and blog. You would think that would give me more time, but without him there to distract the lovable little snuggle bunny that our son has become, my time is pretty well spoken for.
3. The FIL has officially been moved to a nursing home (aka "hospice") and we have been trying to see him as much as possible (for reasons that may not be obvious, but if you read the word "hospice" you should get the idea). I know, I really haven't talked about this before now, and that's out of respect for the hubs, as he is kinda private about things likr this.
4. Work. Yeah....work.
5. Getting ready for Easter. This year there is a lot to do! I will add pics of us dyeing Easter eggs, but we also had an Easter egg hunt at my office, Easter party, including treat bags to give away at Ty's school, Easter egg hunt at our house Sunday morning, and at the MIL's Sunday afternoon, which will involve me assembling a rather elaborate antipasto/relish tray.
6. I'M GOING TO SEE MY SISTER! My PREGNANT sister. (Yes, I just love saying that!) And that is occupying the vast majority of my thoughts right now. Planning the trip, itself, including everything I need to bring along to entertain or sustain the 4 year old. Also, I am trying (rather unsuccessfully, I might add) to get the baby quilt I am making done in time to take with us. Among other things, including just daydreaming about going to see my sister! I'm going to cook for her while I'm there, so I've been browsing my vast recipe archive as well.
7. The Mother's birthday falls during the trip, so I hope I get the chance to cook something special for her while we're there. Oh, and the BIL's birthday falls on the second trip we're taking out there in July, and I am in charge of his birthday cake, which means I have been test driving cake recipes at home. I haven't found one yet that I am satisfied with, or even that I find worthy of posting here, but up next is Chef Chuck's Torta di Cioccolato. I'll try and take pics and let you know how it turns out after I've had a chance to whip it up!
8. Oh yeah, did I mention WORK? Mmm hmmm.

Well, anyway, I've been busy, but I'll try to do better. And if you can just hang on and bear with me for a couple more weeks, I'm sure I'll have an endless supply of blogtastic material when I get back from the coast.

For now, here's some pics of my precious little man.

Cordon Bleu - Revisited

When I originally posted about the hubs' favorite version of Chicken Cordon Bleu, it just so happened that my camera had died before I could take a picture of the finished product.

In the interest of trying to use things up out of the freezer, I made the dish again last night with the leftover chicken chunks and managed to snap a couple of shots as the casserole came out of the oven. For whatever reason, this time instead of mixing the chunks of cheese and ham BEFORE adding them to the dish, apparently I put the ham on last, and there it is, poking up all over the top. The hubs didn't complain, though.