Exploring New Foods: Valerie's Chicken Corn Chowder

I've been falling behind on the new recipes with the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  But, finally, I'm back to trying my hand at some new recipes.  This recipe was shared by Valerie, my sister-in-law's mother-in-law. I tried this chowder when we spent our weekend at camp for Labor Day and it was delicious- I just hope that I was able to recreate the delicious soup that Valerie makes!

Valerie's Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

• 2c potatoes
• 1 1/4 onion
• 6 tbs butter
• 6 tbs flour
• 2c Chicken Broth
• 1 8oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1 16oz can cream-style corn
• 1 16oz can whole kernel corn
• 2c cooked, chopped chicken
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 3/4c milk
• 2 Tbs shredded carrots 

Directions:

• Cook onions & potatoes in butter 3-5 minutes over medium heat. 
• Stir in flour, cook 5-6 minutes until golden.
• Increase heat and add broth slowly, whisking until smooth.
• Reduce heat; add remaining ingredients and cook 15-30 minutes.  

Notes/Changes:

• I didn't use the onion
• I used a bit more carrot, about 5 baby carrots, shredded.

Review:

Awesome!! This soup is so good and I'm glad I was about to make it like Valerie did when I tried it.  When I asked Derek if there's anything he would change, like I always do, the only thing he asked for was more carrots. He loves carrots. So the plan is that next time, I'll just chop carrots and cook them in the butter with the potatoes to soften them.  This recipe is so good though that it doesn't need any modifications and if he wasn't such a carrot lover, there would be NO changes! Will make it again...and again...and again!

Exploring New Foods: Recipe VII

Homemade mac & cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods, especially during the winter.  Surprisingly, it's something I haven't made- I've always eaten it when my grandmother makes it, along with her awesome fish fillets. My favorite was when my grandfather would go deep sea fishing for sea bass. YUM!  Well,  mac & cheese is a favorite of Victoria's and she loves going to Mam-mam's to have it.  At one point, she even told me that Mam-mam stays at home to cook mac & cheese. My grandmother makes the Mueller's mac & cheese recipe, minus the dry mustard, so that's where I got my recipe from.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Elbow Macaroni
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded American or Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Cook pasta. Drain.
• In medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, salt & pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in milk until smooth. Add margarine, stirring constantly.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 1 minute.
• Remove from heat. Stir in 1-3/4 cups cheese until melted. Add cooked pasta. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake uncovered 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Notes/Changes:

• I used half sharp cheddar cheese and half monterey jack.
• I topped half the mac and cheese with panko breadcrumbs before baking.

Review:
 No surprises here- it was great!  Victoria had two helpings of it, of course.  The panko was a fabulous addition.  I grew up with baked mac & cheese topped with breadcrumbs, but Derek isn't a fan and Victoria goes back and forth, so I decided to only do half. Panko is so much crunchier than the regular breadcrumbs, almost a mix between chips and breadcrumbs for the topping. It packed a nice crunch. I'll obviously make it again, I just wish I would have realized how quick & easy it is to prepare!!

Revisited: Exploring New Foods: Recipe III

About a month ago, I added a new recipe for Cheddar Potato Chower that was an absolute disaster for me due to some technical difficulties (ahem, misreading the recipe). I LOVE potato soup, so the recipe was begging for redemption and I gave it another go.


Cheddar Potato Chowder




Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups diced unpeeled red potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• 1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham

Directions:

• In a dutch oven, combine first 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Meanwhile, place flour in a large saucepan; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir the cheese sauce into undrained vegetables until combined.

Notes/Changes:
I didn't have any ham on hand, so I skipped it. We also left out the chopped onion since we don't really care for onions in our house. I also only used half the amount of cheese because I didn't realize that I was nearly out of shredded cheese!

Review:
It didn't live up to the ridiculously high expectations that I had for it.  I love potato soup, could eat it daily I love it so much.  I just don't have a recipe for one yet.  It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't what I wanted.  Derek commented that it didn't have enough potato flavor, and I could agree with that.  I only used half the amount of cheese since I forgot to get more, and that may have added a little to the disappointment.  There's leftovers from dinner, and I will eat them because it was good, just not great.  I have some ideas for changing the recipe a bit, but I am going to continue my potato soup recipe quest.

Exploring New Foods: Recipe VI

I haven't tried a new recipe in about two weeks with Thanksgiving and then the family being away.  This week, I'm trying a new recipe, but it is something I've made before.  I haven't made Beef Stroganoff in at least two years and I just found a new slowcooker recipe in an old (2007) issue of Taste of Home magazine. Slowcooker recipes are perfect for the busy days we've been having with gymnastics and Derek's nighttime work schedule.

Slowcooker Celery Beef Stroganoff 

Ingredients:

• 2lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jar (6oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• Hot cooked noodles

Directions:

• Combine everything except sour cream and noodles in a 3qt slowcooker.
• Cook on low for 8 hours or until beef is tender.
• Stir in sour cream and serve over noodles.

Notes/Changes:
I didn't add the chopped onion or jar of mushrooms since we don't like onions and I'm the only one to eat mushrooms.

Review:
It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fantastic either. I've had better.  I can't pinpoint my disappointment, though I'd have to say that it tasted very salty, which I'm assuming came from the soups and onion soup mix since I didn't add any salt.
I might try again, but it would need a bit of tweaking.

Exploring New Foods: Recipe V

In my quest for soup recipes, I requested a recipe from my sister-in-law's mother-in-law (are you following?) Well, along with the soup recipe I asked for, she also included a few other recipes and we decided to try the Taco Shells, a a fun twist on tacos crossed with italian stuffed shells. It was an easy recipe to make... Derek actually prepared it while I was on my way home from work since we had some time constraints today.

Val's Taco Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
• 3oz cream cheese
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 16 Jumbo shells
• Taco Sauce
• 2 c Shredded Cheese
• Tortilla chips

Directions:

• Boil shells.
• Brown ground beef, drain grease.  Add cream cheese, chili powder and salt & pepper. Simmer 5 minutes.
• Fill shells with beef mixture, place into a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and bake 15 minutes at 350. Add shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Notes/Changes:

• We didn't add the tortilla chips.

Review:

Success! I really enjoyed this recipe as a fun spin on traditional tacos.  We were in a hurry today, so Derek made it and that was the whole meal.  Ideally, it would be great served with salad, or keeping with the mexican theme, refried beans or black bean & corn salsa.

The only thing I would consider changing would be to add some taco seasoning to the ground beef, but it was great just the way it is too!

Exploring New Foods: Recipe IV

Libby's Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:


1.PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.

2.COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

3.BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

4.BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Notes/Changes:

• I didn't have ground cloves, and I'm not a fan of the clove flavor, so I skipped it.
• I didn't add the optional walnuts.

Review:

SUCCESS!!!
This was a pretty easy recipe to make.  Pumpkin rolls always seem so intimidating to me, I remember my mom making them and getting frustrated with them cracking and a friend of mine making them and they wouldn't roll right.  Well, maybe seeing these things helped me because I wrapped it right away, unrolled when it was still slightly warm and then re-rolled and put it right in the freezer, because I prefer it frozen instead of refrigerated.

Oh my gosh- it was fantastic.  I didn't think it would have the right flavor, but it was pretty good. Everyone says you can't mess up a pumpkin roll, but obviously they haven't tasted some of the pumpkin rolls I've tasted. I love pumpkin rolls. I will definitely be making more!

Exploring New Foods: Recipe II

Okay, so this isn't so much a new recipe, but it's something I've never actually made before and have just recently started loving.  It's something that my sister in law makes and it's commonly served at parties, yet I've never had a desire to make it at home.  But, it's football season and during football season in our house, I like to make "football foods". You know, the snack type foods that you can pick at all day long if you really want to or pizza/Stromboli or cheese steaks and hoagies.


So, here's my first attempt - kind of following a recipe that a friend gave me years back, and kind of just throwing it all together as I go like my sister in law said she does.


Buffalo Chicken Dip


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2-2 lbs cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup hot sauce/wing sauce 1 cup ranch dressing
• 8oz cream cheese
• 8oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Cook chicken and cube
• Cube cream cheese
• In a crockpot, mix together chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot wing sauce and most of the shredded cheese.
• Use an electric hand mixer to combine and shred up the chicken
• Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of mixture
• Cook in crockpot on high for about 30 minutes and then switch to warm.

Serve with dippers of your choice


Notes:

•  I used a 3 cheese blend of Vermont sharp, Wisconsin sharp and New York sharp.
•  I used Ken's Buffalo chicken marinade/sauce
• For dippers, we had sliced French Baguette (untoasted) and Tostitos scoops. Celery and Carrots are also good dippers.

Review:
It was pretty good. Next time I'll use a bit more chicken or cream cheese to thicken it up - or I'll mix it a little less.  I'd also like to try with Bleu Cheese dressing instead of Ranch- but I'm not a huge fan of Bleu cheese, so maybe 1/2 and 1/2. I also might try shredding the chicken and just mixing the ingredients and letting them cook together- though the electric mixer is so much easier.

Exploring New Foods: Recipe I

I've decided that I'm going to try one new or very old (not used in a year or so) recipe each week to add some variety to our normal eating "routines". I really want to change it up and introduce new foods and flavors to our palette.  This week, I'm going to try a soup recipe passed along to me by a friend. I LOVE black bean soup. I had gotten this recipe and also found another online that I wanted to try, but this one had chicken in it and that wins Derek's vote.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
--1 pound chicken (I used frozen breast tenderloins)

--1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)

--4 cups chicken broth

--1 cup sliced mushrooms

--1 cup frozen corn

--1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)

--1 1/2 tsp cumin

--1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)

Directions:

• You will need a crock pot – 4qt or larger.
• Soak the black beans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans.
•  Add to the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.
• If you are using beans you soaked overnight, canned beans, or pre-cooked beans, you can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time.
• If you'd like to thicken the broth, you can use your immersible blender to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot.
• Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving.

Notes/Changes:

• I soaked the beans overnight
• I didn't add the mushrooms since we don't really eat them
• I used the sour cream as a garnish and didn't mix it into the whole pot

Review:

This was a pretty good soup, and very easy to prepare. It wasn't exactly a "black bean" soup as I had imagined- but it makes sense since it used salsa in it.  It had a nice, taco-esque taste with the chicken and salsa incorporated. I'd make it again.