Thankful Thursday

On this last day of 2009, I am thankful for many things...

My health...

My family...

My husband...

My Little Sprout...

Happy New Years!

Tasty Tuesday

Last night was the perfect night to try out this new recipe! We had rain all day and it was very chilly! It was nice to come home to nice, hot supper!

Farmboy said it was a keeper in the recipe file!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb raw chicken breast*
1 (15oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed**
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth***
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro****

corn tortillas
vegetable oil

1. Place all ingredients (except tortillas and oil) into crock pot and stir together.

2. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. After cooking, shred chicken and place back into soup.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush tortillas with oil and cut the tortillas into strips. Cook the tortilla strips for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Add tortilla strips to your bowl of soup. You can also use tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

*You can also add a pound of pre-cooked chicken. I used 3 chicken breasts (raw) and it was a little over a pound.
**I think a can of Ro-Tel would work just as good.
***I used about 2 cups, just because I like chicken broth!
****I used 1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro. I live in the south and I could not find fresh!! Couldn't believe it!

Tasty Tuesday-Cheddar Bacon Spread

I made this on Thursday when I went to my SIL's wine night. I didn't know what to bring and what would go with wine, so I thought I would try this out! It is a very informal gathering of ladies and they are not wine snobs, so you can pretty much get away with serving anything.

Needless to say, it was all gone by the end of the night! I was quite suprised!

This recipe can be made as is or halved. I made a half batch for wine night.

Baked Cheddar Bacon Spread

2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened

2 cups sour cream

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and then crumbled

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Assorted crackers

1. Fry bacon, cool and then crumble. Set aside.

2. Use a little of the bacon grease and cook the onions for a few minutes.

They do not have to be cooked all the way through. I would not cook them no more than 5 minutes.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, onion and mayonnaise until smooth.

4. Fold in bacon and 3 cups of the shredded cheese

5. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

6. Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

7. Serve with crackers.

(I used Ritz-wheat and regular, toasted sun chips)

*If you halve the recipe, use an 8x8 baking dish*

Tasty Tuesday

It's Tasty Tuesday!

Rebekah started Tasty Tuesday last week, so I thought I would join in this week.

I love Pumpkin Bread. It was introduced into my life during my grad school days. One of my best friends, Emily, made this for us.

And I was in love.

This is not her recipe as she refuses to share it. Her grandmother has a secret ingredient and I am on the mission to find it! But this is pretty stinkin' close.



Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
1. 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin PUREE (not pie stuff)
2. 4 eggs (I use X-lg or Jumbo)
3. 1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup veg. oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
4. 2/3 cup water
5. 3 cups white sugar
6. 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
7. 2 teaspoons baking soda
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
9. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
10. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
11. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
12. 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 7x3 (or close to that) loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, vanilla, eggs, oil (or oil and applesauce mixture), water and sugar until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture slowly and until just blended. DO NOT OVER MIX!

5. Pour into prepared pans.

6. Bake for about 50 minutes. I start checking them at 40 to make sure. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Enjoy!

My husband grows cotton

Guess what folks....

My husband grows cotton.

I hope you enjoy these pictures from our cotton season!