recipe of the week: southwestern style egg rolls

remember how i told you i split the ranch taco chicken meat between two recipes?

well, this is the other :-) i ran across this recipe on pinterest, but i knew we'd like a little different flavoring (and MEAT) in ours, so here's my adaptation.

southwestern egg rolls

olive oil for sauteing and brushing

1 pound chicken, cooked in crockpot with one tbsp ranch seasoning and one tbsp of taco seasoning

1 container egg roll wrappers

2 cups corn (i use fire-roasted from trader joe's)

1 can black beans

several handfuls of spinach (6 cups non-packed is 3 or 4 handfuls)

a generous bunch of cilantro

5 scallions, chopped

1 small container of sliced black olives

1 container of diced green chiles

1 container of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cups cheese (i used the organic fiesta blend from whole foods)

you can add seasoning, but with the adobo sauce, seasoning on the meat, and cilantro i found we didn't really need any!

 heat oil on stove, and saute green onions, chiles and chipotle peppers for a few minutes

meanwhile, process spinach and cilantro in food processor until it's pretty fine. 

 combine corn, beans and greens in a bowl

 remove onion, chile and peppers from stove and process it with black olives

 add to the mixture, top with the shredded chicken and cheese and mix thoroughly

 put a large spoonful of the mixture in each wrapper and roll up (most packages have easy to follow instructions)

line them up on a baking sheet (i use parchment paper because of the messiness factor) and brush each side with olive oil

i made a batch of my ranch dressing and added one avocado to the mix. 

and it was so good!  definitely a recipe we'll keep around.

recipe of the week: honey sesame chicken (slow cooker!)

i'll be honest. when i first bookmarked this recipe, i did it with my husband in mind.  i really didn't think i would LOVE it.  i'm not a "sweet with my meat" kind of girl. but shocker...i actually really enjoyed it!  partly because tweaked it a bit and added some spice to it, and partly because i used really good honey :-)

honey sesame chicken


1 pound chicken thighs (i find they are more flavorful AND cheaper than breasts)
1 cup (yes, one CUP) of honey
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup organic ketchup
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sriracha hot chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced (i prefer the sweet vidalia variety when they're available!)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoons water



 mix together the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, sesame oil, and sriracha

 add the onion and garlic

 place the chicken in the slow cooker and sprinkle with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes

 top with sauce, and cook on low for 4-6 hours

remove chicken from slow cooker and remove bones/cut into bite sized pieces

 meanwhile, stir the cornstarch and water together into the sauce.

 return the chicken to the sauce and cook for another 10-20 minutes

 serve over rice.  enjoy!

obviously, the sugar content is rather high on this simply because of the honey.  but worth it :-)


based on 6 servings, rice not included in the nutritional facts.

recipe of the week: chicken ranch tortilla soup (slow cooker recipe)f

as much as i love pinterest, there have been a few ideas that i have tried and been disappointed by.


one was the sausage egg breakfast casserole. ick.
another was the chicken ranch tacos. cooked in the crock pot. they SOUNDED right up my alley. and so i followed the instructions


put chicken (2 pounds--i used a pound of breasts and a pound of thighs) in crock pot

 add taco and ranch seasonings (of course, it called for the prepackaged stuff...no thanks from me, but you can do what you like)

 (i used two tablespoons of each)

 a cup of chicken stock

 and cook for awhile

 shred cooked chicken

...


and then i tasted it.
and it.was.bland.
(to me)


i could NOT get excited about this at all.  so i froze half of the mixture (the recipe for what i did with that will come later) and with the other half, i decided to try my hand at chicken tortilla soup.  only, since there was the ranch element in the chicken i decided to make it a chicken ranch tortilla soup.


so. here's the (much tastier) outcome. turning a pinterest fail into a recipe that my husband immediately said to "keep in the rotation" isn't a bad deal at all :-)
(i still haven't salvaged that breakfast casserole. some things are lost causes.)


chicken ranch tortilla soup

1/2 chicken cooked as above (or similarly), reserved in crockpot (the other half you can save for a second batch, another recipe, or just double the following ingredients)
theoretically, i cook the chicken overnight on low, then start the soup before i head out the door for work.
olive oil
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 can black beans
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 pound shredded chicken (preferably cooked as above, or similarly)
2 cups corn (i used trader joe's fire-roasted)
1 1/2 tablespoons ranch seasoning (separated)
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning (separated)
avocado (1 for every 2 adults eating)
cilantro
tortillas


in a saucepan on the stove, heat olive oil and saute the onion in the 1 tablespoon each of the ranch and taco seasonings for 5-10 minutes

 add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer while you assemble the other ingredients in the crock pot.

 to the chicken in the crock pot, add the corn, beans and cilantro

 pour the tomato mixture over

 warm through. i cooked for probably 4 hours on low, but you can simply set your crock pot to "warm" if that's an available option.  about 10-20 minutes before serving, "wake" the spices by adding the additional 1/2 tablespoons of the ranch and taco seasonings.

 ladle into bowls and top with fresh avocado slices, cilantro and strips of tortillas (or tortilla chips if you prefer)

the caloric damage on this isn't too bad either.  the avocados add the most in terms of fat and calories, but since it's a good fat i don't get too worried.  here's the nutrition facts based on 6 servings and 1/2 avocado in each serving.

if you make it without avocado, here's your nutrition info.