Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have been looking for an easy tortilla soup recipe for a long time.  THIS is the one, FINALLY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
½ cup chicken or beef broth
2 cups milk
1 medium can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large can diced Tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 bell pepper, diced small
1 can Enchilada sauce or Homemade Enchilada Sauce (see below)
2 whole chicken breasts
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack (or cheddar) cheese

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Stir in flour and keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Watch this closely as it can scorch or clump easily.
3. Remove mixture from heat and add the chicken broth and ½ cup of the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously to keep smooth.
4. Return to heat and bring sauce to an easy boil while stirring constantly, until it thickens and remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the enchilada sauce and chicken/beef broth mixture . Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth and then set aside.
6. In a large stew pot, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, salt, and bell pepper.
7. Chop chicken breasts into cubes and sauté.  Add to the pot mixture and add sauce.
8. Cover and then cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
9. Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, and/or tortilla chips (strips) and serve.
   ** to make this spicy add your own hot sauce or chili peppers** 
   Serve with cornbread (because everything is good with cornbread).  SO YUMMY!
   Thank you to The Idea Room for a version of this recipe! So many amazing cooking ideas on this site, please check it out!!

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies!

These are a no brainer.
As in… my child will even eat these sort of no brainer!
Soooooooo delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinammon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter (not margarine)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup large oats (not the quick kind)
1 1/4 cup grated carrot

Icing
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla


DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinammon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a second bowl mix butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla.  Mix with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
Mix wet and dry ingredients lightly, then fold in carrots and oats.

For icing, mix butter and cream cheese and blend on high until smooth.
Add icing sugar and vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drop dough onto a cookie sheet spreading cookies approx. 2 inches apart.
Bake 11-14 minutes (until lightly golden brown).
Let cool to room temperature before adding icing.

Place a small amount of icing into a pastry bag (or ziploc baggie with the end snipped off - my preferred method, no mess).
Pipe a small (or large) amount of icing between two cookies making a sandwich.

CHOMP!
Seeeeeee… so yummy!

I may add raisins to the cookies another time, or of course chocolate chips.

Thanks to Annie's Eats for a version of this recipe.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

UHM HELLO BEAUTIFUL!
HELLO YUMMY!

These will make your Sweetheart happy, I'm sure of it!
A new recipe to me but one I guarantee I'll be heading back to very very soon!
(and as always my wee Bean was a helper so this one is a great one to make with kiddos who like to crack eggs!)

Ingredients

• 3 cups white flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1½ tsp. baking soda
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1¾ cup butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Instruction:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar until creamy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. 

In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. 

Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture, and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet (I always place my cookies on parchment paper).  Sprinkle tops with sugar. 

Bake 8-11 mins, depending on your oven.  The cookies will be a bit soft and squishy but cool them completely and they will be chewy, not crunch.

Next time I'm going to add white chocolate chips!!

ENJOY!

I borrowed this recipe (and changed a few minor things) from a Fellow Mumma blogger, Kierste.  She is quite possibly the most domesticated woman on the planet, seriously.  And she has FIVE kids, 2 sets of twins.  For real!

Thank you Simply Kierste for always sharing your quick and easy recipes!