Crock Pot Tikka Masala

 Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts cut up in cube size pieces

2 cups heavy whipping cream

12 ounces of Tomato Paste

1/2 cube of butter

1 tblsp. Paprika

1 - 1 1/2 tblsp. Curry Powder Hot

1 tblsp. Garam Masala

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. black pepper

4-6 cloves garlic minced

2-4 tsp cayenne pepper 

Cilanto for garnish

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and put on low for 6-8 hours. Make a side of rice and some garlic naan bread. This is so good and a great dish to put leftovers in the freezer to take for lunch. For garnish you can add cilantro just before serving.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana Soup
1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced white onion

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes

¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.

3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.

I also like to cut up a fresh tomato and place it in my bowl of hot soup as well. Mmm.... Tomatoes make everything better.

I made this last night and made it with my Olive Garden bread stick recipe and my Olive Garden salad recipe.

Eat with:
Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing 
Olive Garden's Bread Sticks 

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

My friend originally told me about this recipe. She said that her husband took it to work for a salsa competition and he won for best salsa. I made this and it was pretty good. I'm still searching for a better salsa, but this will do for now. I'm pretty picky about my salsas.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt

My addition:
Onion, chopped finely, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
Extra cilantro

1.    Roast the chiles and garlic.   In a small ungreased skillet over medium heat, roast the chiles and garlic, turning regularly, until they are soft and blotchy brown, about 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic.  Cool until handleable, then pull the stem(s) off the chile(s) and roughly chop.  Peel the skin off the garlic.  Scoop into a food processor and pulse until quite finely chopped.
2.    Finish the salsa.   Add the tomatoes with their juice.  Re-cover and pulse until you have a coarse puree.  Scrape into a serving dish.  Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2  teaspoon.  You’re ready to serve.

I got this recipe from rickbayless.com

Award Winning White Chicken Chili

The 24 other chilis that we were up against. Ours is in the red crock pot.

 Adam holding our prize!
The Most Original Chili

Adam and I got this recipe originally from my sister Amber. (Thanks Amber for sharing!!) It's been one of our favorites and Adam expands on it each time we make it. Our ward was having a talent show/chili cook off last night and there were 24 people who brought their chili. Adam and I brought this White Chicken Chili and there were about 3 other people who brought white chili as well. There were five awards that they were giving out: the spiciest, the most appealing looking, the chunkiest, the most original, and the best overall. We were awarded the most original, and all the five that they picked had to taste really good too for them to be awarded the prizes. Each chili was given a number so that it could be anonymous and we heard several people comment on how good our white chili was. We even heard the judges talk about it, so this is seriously a keeper recipe!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used one chicken breast and it was plenty)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 small garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans,undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup sour cream, plus additional for topping
2 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes


Our additions:
1-2 Potatoes cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2-3 big carrots chopped
Extra cayenne pepper
Corn
1/2 package of Bacon
We used Rotisserie Chicken rather than Chicken breasts... yum!
Just make sure these are all cooked and added to the pot!

1. Cook the chicken by the desired method. Cool and tear into pieces.
Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic,
and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add
the chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, and
cayenne. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point
and refrigerated or frozen for serving later.

3. Add the 1 cup sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until the
cheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.

4. Serve in bowls and pass cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream.
-thefoodnanny.com

THANKS AMBER FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE!!

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

I grew up on eating curry and I've been using the same recipe for years. Adam saw this recipe posted by his sister-in-law, Whitney, and he made it. It was way yummy and tasted more authentic than the stuff I make. It almost tasted like something you would get at an Indian restaurant. She got it from Kraft Recipes.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

10 Chicken thighs (We chop it in 1-1 1/2 inch cubes)
1 Jar of chunky salsa
1 Onion chopped
2 tablespoon Curry powder
1 cup Sour cream
1 Potato chopped

Put it all in a crock pot except for the sour cream and cook on low for 8 hrs or high for 4. Then mix in the sour cream and serve with rice.

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

I've never actually had the real soup from Chili's but this recipe was excellent. It was fun to make and it was a surprise in the end since I didn't know what to expect. We halfed the recipe and it fed us for 3 days. It does make a lot. I have been craving it since we made it. For the pico de gallo, Adam added some pepper and some lime juice. It's worth a try!

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Servings: 12

Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb chicken breast fillet
1/2 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, pressed, to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce (We used the red enchilada sauce)
16 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Garnish:
shredded cheddar cheese
crumbled corn tortilla chips

Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup diced Spanish onion
2 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and de-ribbed
2 tsp finely minced fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt

1. Add 1 tbs of oil to a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.
3. Set chicken aside.
4. Add onions and garlic to pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.
5. Add chicken broth.
6. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.
7. Add masa mixture to pot with onions, garlic and broth.
8. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.
9. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.
10. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
11. Serve soup in cups or bowls, and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, and pico de gallo.

I got the recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Excellent!