My mom introduced me to this delicious and easy recipe that makes great leftovers. And she found it on the back of the Quaker Quick Barley box. I had a couple friends over to sample it and they approved. So give it a shot yourself.
Ingredients
1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes diced, undrained
1 (16 oz) jar/can salsa or tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chicken broth
1 cup QUAKER Quick Barley
3 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn
3 cups chicken breast cooked and diced (about 3 chicken breasts)
Directions
1. Cook chicken in the oven for 30 minutes at 350. Dice into cubes and set aside.
2. In a large soup pot, combine the first 7 ingredients (tomatoes, salsa, chicken broth, barley, water, chili powder, and cumin)
3. Over high heat bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add beans, corn, and chicken. Increase heat to high until chili comes to a boil.
6. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for another 5 minutes, or until barley is tender.
Top with shredded cheese and sour cream and enjoy.
Credit to Quaker Oats for this recipe
Well it's back to work after the holidays. Personally, I'm feeling a little bummed...I took all of my Christmas decorations down yesterday (sad) and I have no scheduled time off of work until Memorial Day (unless I take vacation...and I just might, hehe). Oh and it was 11 degrees this morning on my way to work (yuck!).
BUT, one of my Christmas presents helped to cheer me up yesterday. I've never owned a crock pot until now (thanks mom and dad!). I feel super old getting as excited as I did about a crock pot, but oh well, I'm excited. So of course I tried my awesome Christmas present out yesterday. I figured, what better recipe to try out and help me warm up from the cold than this beef stew recipe. It was my mom's originally, but I've modified it a little to fit my tastes. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 pound beef cubes/stew meat
1/2 cup flour (split into 2 1/4 cups)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes
2 medium potatoes cubed with skin
1 can low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Place meat, 1/4 cup of flour, and a couple dashes of pepper and salt in a ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake it to cover the meat in the flour mixture. Set bag aside.
2. Cut up all veggies and place in crock pot.
3. Place meat on top of veggies.
4. Pour beef broth over all ingredients.
5. Cook on low in crock pot for 8 to 10 hours. If you're home you can stir the mixture periodically. If you leave it, that's ok.
6. About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve the stew, mix 1/4 cup of flour with 1/2 cup milk and pour into stew. Stir and let cook for remaining 30 minutes.
Serve with corn bread and enjoy.
Every year when the weather gets colder, I end up making a lot of soup...it tastes good, helps warm me up, and makes for great leftovers. Potato Chowder is one easy and delicious soup recipe I got from my mom. And I just made that today. Here's the recipe, I recommend giving it a try:
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 can (8 oz or 15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 tsp thyme
Dash of pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Combine potatoes and broth in large soup pot with tight-fitting lid. Bring to boil, then simmer until tender (about 10 minutes).
2. Use fork to slightly mash up potatoes. You don't have to mash them up a lot, just break them apart a little.
3. Stir in carrots, corn, celery, and thyme. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender (about 15 minutes).
4. In a separate bowl, stir together milk and flour. Then add milk and flour mixture to the rest of the ingredients. Stir in cheese. A little bit of the cheese can be set aside to sprinkle on top of the soup; bacon bits are also good on top :).
Now serve and enjoy!
Credit to my mom for sharing this recipe with my mom.
Well I think the weather has officially indicated that it's fall now...personally I'm a much bigger summer person, but I do love the food that comes with fall: apples, corn, warm soup...the list goes on. With the weather getting colder, I was in the mood for something warm. And that something ended up being chili. This recipe is really easy (just takes 10-15 minutes of prep), and it makes some great leftovers...always a plus :)
Ingredients
1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can of light red kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained
2 cans of stewed or diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili powder
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Directions
1. Brown the meat in a big pot (a stockpot for example).
2. After the meat is browned and drained, add the remaining ingredients. After adding all the ingredients, fill one of the tomato cans with water and add that to the pot.
3. Stir all the ingredients together and let simmer for 30 minutes. You can simmer for longer than this if you like; the longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes.
4. After simmering for 30 minutes, do a taste test and add any additional chili powder and/or Tabasco sauce to your liking.
Emily's Thoughts
The great thing about this recipe is that it's flexible and you can easily adjust it based on your taste. For example, I'm not a huge spice person, but I like a little Tabasco sauce in there, so I add some until it's spicy enough for me. Also, sometimes I like to add veggies to my chili. You can really add whatever you want, but I've used corn, carrots, zucchini, and green peppers in the past.
Some people like their chili plain, but personally I recommend serving yours over elbow macaroni, with cheese sprinkled on top, and a dollop of sour cream to top it off.
Also, being that you're using a lot of canned items in this recipe, I recommend looking for low sodium beans at the store.
Now give this simple and easy recipe and enjoy it as the leaves and temperatures start to change this fall!
