Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
½ cup chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounce) Rotel diced tomatoes and jalapenos
1 package (10 ounce) frozen corn
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup bell pepper, diced
1 can (10 ounce) Enchilada sauce
2 whole chicken breasts
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

What you’ll do:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and ½ cup milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. In a large bowl, whisk together the enchilada sauce and chicken broth mixture . Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth. Set aside.

In a crockpot, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place the chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into the soup, mix together. Top with cheese and serve. I topped ours with slices of avocado, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.

Quino and Bean Chili

Quinoa and Bean Chili

§  1 cup red quinoa, uncooked

§  2 15-1/2-oz cans red kidney beans

§  2 15-1/2-oz cans diced, no-salt-added tomatoes

§  2-1/2 cups water

§  1 medium onion, finely chopped

§  1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

§  1 bay leaf

§  2 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

§  2 tbsp Olive Oil

§  1 tbsp tomato paste

§  1 tbsp vegetable bouillon

§  1 tbsp lemon or lime juice

§  1 tbsp honey

§  2 tsp ground cumin

§  2 tsp dried oregano

§  1 tsp garlic powder

§  1 tsp ground chipotle powder

§  1 tsp paprika

§  1/2 tsp salt

§  1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

1.    Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.

2.    Cover and cook 8-10 hours on low (or 4-5 hours on high).

3.    Remove bay leaf and stir well before serving.Q

Carrot Cake

Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 lb. medium carrots (6 to 7 large carrots), peeled
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
Frosting (I double the recipe below to frost a 9-inch layered cake):
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream, light or regular
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour a 9X13-inch baking pan or 2 9-inch round pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside. In a food processor fitted with large or fine shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. You can also shred by hand on a box grater if you don't have a food processor.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 32 minutes for 9-inch round pans and 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan. Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely (the 9X13-inch cake can be cooled completely in the pan if you don't plan to invert and ice all the sides). At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature prior to frosting.
5. When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute. Frost and eat!

Slow Cooker Fudge

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 cups Chocolate Chips, [I used dark chocolate chips because of their health benefits. Ghirardelli is a good brand and works well with this recipe)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk, (canned, not in a carton)
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar, optional honey or maple syrup
• Dash of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Fudge is perfect for the slow cooker because it doesn't scorch or burn.

Add chocolate chips, coconut milk, coconut sugar, salt, and coconut oil, stir to combine. Next, cover and cook on low 2 hours without stirring. It's important that lid remain on during the 2 hours.

After 2 hours, turn the slow cooker off, uncover, and add vanilla. IMPORTANT; Do not stir fudge mixture at this point. Allow to cool to room temperature, or it reaches 110 degrees with a candy thermometer.

Once cooled, use a large spoon, stir vigorously for 5-10 minutes until it loses some the gloss.

Lightly oil an 8"x8" square pan. Pour fudge into pan, cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. This fudge is very rich and meant to be eaten on occasion as a treat.

Note: Canned coconut milk can be found in the Asian or organic sections of most grocery stores.

Read more at http://skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-fudge/#uDjBqS78zXPg3GzO.99

Carrot Soup

Carrot Soup
(adapted from A Hint of Honey)

Serves 3-4

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb carrots, roughly chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste


Melt butter in a large cooking pot and saute onions until tender. Add garlic and carrots (I ran mine through the food processor's slicing blade), cooking for about 5 minutes. Add the broth, cumin, and allspice, then bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes. Cover the pot with the lid, and place in the Wonderbag, and let cook for 4-6 more hours (or you can let it continue simmering on the stove until the carrots are super tender).

With an immersion blender or in a conventional blender, puree the soup, then add the honey, lemon juice, and sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve topped extra sour cream as desired.

Butternut Squash Crockpot Soup

Butternut Squash Soup Easy Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients
One large or two medium butternut squash
One yellow or white onion
One apple (granny smith is best but work with what you’ve got)
2 cups chicken stock

Everything else is optional, but I like to use:
1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Bay Leaf
Creme fraiche or sour cream

Directions

First you want to roast your squash and onion. You could use pre-made butternut squash puree, or you could just dice the squash and put it in the crock pot, but roasting brings out the sugars and makes it much more delicious. Also, if you choose to roast, you don’t have to cook your onions on the stove top. If you don’t roast, you’ll want to dice your onions and cook in a pan until translucent. So preheat your oven to 400 and prepare your squash and onions.

First cut the butternut squash in half. Cutting a butternut squash is a pain, but here’s the secret. Stick the whole thing in the microwave for 3-5 minutes (depending on how powerful your microwave is). Then slice a bit off the top and bottom so you can stand it up straight with the larger end as the base. Now push your knife down from the top to bottom. It should be fairly simple but if it gets stuck you can tap the knife to push it through

Now scoop out the seeds and drizzle olive oil on a roasting pan, then place the squash, cut sides up, on it. Also cut your onion in half, leaving the paper on, and place the two pieces cut sides down on the same pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 40 minutes, until you can stick a fork in the squash and it’s nice and soft. The onion will also get soft and sort of smoosh apart to the touch. In the meantime, peel, core and dice an apple. Throw it in the crock pot. When the roasting is done, scoop out the flesh of the squash and throw it in the crock pot.  Remove the paper from the onion and separate the layers (or chop a bit if you want to) and add it to the crock pot as well. Now you’ve got apple, squash, and onion in there. Pour two cups of chicken stock on top, and add a bay leaf or two. Set crockpot to low and let it cook. Anywhere from 2-4 hours on low is good. Then all you need to do is remove the bay leaf and blend the mixture with an immersion (stick) blender (or use an actual blender if you like) to your desired consistency. Stir in your spices (I like coriander and white pepper), salt to taste, and half a cup of creme fraiche or sour cream. This soup is so thick you don’t need the cream, but if you like it, it does add a little tang. You could use heavy cream too if you like that, but this soup is so healthy and thick without it, I say don’t waste the calories and have a cookie for dessert instead.

Serve with a dollop of  sour cream and a sprinkle of chives (or whatever herbs) and devour

Snicker Doodle Cake

Snicker Doodle Cake

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups flour
2. 1 1/2 cups cake flour
3. 1 tbsp baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp salt
5. 1 tbsp cinnamon
6. 2 sticks softened butter
7. 1 3/4 cups sugar
8. 4 eggs
9. 2 tsp vanilla
10. 1 1/4 cups milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease two 9'inch round cake pans and set aside.
2. Combine flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.
4. Add dry ingredients and milk, alternating (in 2-3 batches) and mix until well combined.
5. Pour batter into prepared cake pans (divided evenly) and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not let brown.
6. Let cool completely before frosting.
7. To frost place bottom layer of cake on a cake plate and spread a thick layer of frosting all over the top. Place the second cake layer on top. Then spread frosting evenly all over the sides and top of cake.

By Always with Butter (http://alwayswithbutter.blogspot.com/2011/03/snickerdoodle-cake-with-brown-sugar.html)

Brown Sugar Buttercream

Ingredients

1. 3 sticks softened butter
2. 2/3 cup brown sugar
3. 1 tsp cinnamon
4. 5-6 cups powdered sugar
5. 6 tbsp milk
6. 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Beat butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add cinnamon and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar and milk, alternating, until you reach the desired consistency desired. Beat until creamy and fluffy.

Easy Beef Chili

Simple Chili

By lucid501 on October 14, 2006

91.00%;

 33 Reviews

Photo by anniesnomsblog

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Servings: 4-6

About This Recipe

"This comes from a Betty Crocker cookbook of One Dish Meals and it is so yummy! Its easy to make too, most of the time is for simmering. This is really mild, but could be a great starting point for a spicier chili. ZWT 3: U.S. (chili) and Mexican/tex-mex/S.W. (variation)"

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (15 -16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained or 1 (15 -16 ounce) cans pinto beans, if desired

Directions

1. Cook beef, onion and garlic in 3 qt saucepan until beef is brown.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans.
3. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low.
4. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in beans.
6. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low.
7. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness.
8. To freeze for OAMC: Let chili cool to room temperature and then place into quart-size freezer bag. Remove air and freeze flat on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, can be stored in freezer standing up or stacked horizontally.
9. To serve, thaw in fridge overnight and then transfer to a pot and reheat over medium low heat until heated through.