Homemade Taco Seasoning {Chicken Taco Soup Recipe}

My friend Rachel passed a recipe on to me for "Chicken Taco Soup" that is delicious and super easy to throw together in the crock pot or prepare in bulk and store in the freezer for multiple crock pot meals.

One of the ingredients on the original recipe is "one packet of taco seasoning," and scribbled out beside is a homemade alternative that I was pleased to find is comprised of ingredients that we keep in our spice cabinet! I love scratching pre-made ingredients off my shopping list! Use this in any recipe calling for a packet of taco seasoning:

Equivalent of One Packet of Taco Seasoning:

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

*This is a bit spicy, so if you prefer a milder seasoning, leave out the red pepper flakes.

The possibilities of course are endless with this. It makes delicious "taco meat," and I've even made taco flavored hummus!


Now for the yummy soup recipe:

Chicken Taco Soup:

1 chopped onion

1 each 16 oz. canned chili beans*,

black beans, and corn. (I use frozen corn)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup of chicken stock or broth

2 10 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning (or above recipe)

2-3 chicken breasts

For topping:

Sour cream (We use plain yogurt and it tastes great!)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla Chips (or Fritos )

*I stopped using kidney beans and started preparing my own black beans via Trina Holden's instructions in Real {Fast} Food to eliminate canned beans!

Just dump everything in the crock pot and make sure the chicken is below the surface of the liquid ingredients. Cook 5 hours on high or until chicken is cooked through. Pull out chicken and shred, and return to soup. That's it!

{Confession: We eat this with Fritos, which I was pleasantly surprised to discover has a refreshingly short ingredient list of only three things! You should check it out. I'm not going as far as to call it a "health food" though! ;) }

To Prepare in Bulk:

 I quadruple the recipe in a large pot on the stove top using the same amount of chicken as the original recipe for more with less. I divide into as many quart size freezer bags as possible and freeze.Then a few hours before serving, I just dump a frozen quart bag of it in the crock pot and put it on high.

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Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot!

Boy, have I learned a lot in the past 48 hours or so! First of all, I've been back and forth about whether to bother making my own yogurt or not because all the recipes that I could find that were supposed to be "easy" did not look so "easy" to me! Why? Because checking the temperature and keeping it just right for hours is something that this "global" mom would never be able to stay on top of. Yes, I always have multiple things going on at once but that level of attention to detail is beyond my ability and makes me nervous! I would have to stand there the whole time. I would never remember to check otherwise. I know that you can get a system down with trial and error and find a way to incubate yogurt without having to check, but I was dreading the trial and error and all the potential waste of milk and time in the process. I even have my mom's old yogurt maker that works really well, but we go through it SO FAST that I would have to make it so often since that makes a pretty small batch compared to what we use.

I saw a recipe once for making yogurt in the crock pot, but so many of the comments were negative, saying that it had come out runny, that it discouraged me. I lost my motivation.

Until this week. The fact that we go through yogurt so fast had gotten me thinking about really doing this some way in which I can make bigger batches.

Then I discovered, "A Year of Slow Cooking." I know, I know, I'm way behind the times, but I'm SO excited! That blog will become one of the three cookbooks I'll be using for a year starting in April. (I'll share the other two in a later post.) Stephanie's enthusiasm and results along with the many positive results shared in the comments motivated to try this, and as she would say, "It works! It really really works!"

My daughter and I enjoyed the tastiest most perfectly textured yogurt today that I have had in a long long time...if ever!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU STEPHANIE! My fingers aren't quite shaking, but I'm very very excited, which is why I'm writing this post right now when I should be doing a lot of other things!

I won't repeat all of Stephanie's recipe, you can just check it out here. I will describe how I "sorta kinda" adapted it.

1. I heated a half gallon of whole milk on low fro 2.5 hours as the recipe called for.

2. The next step was to unplug it and let it sit for three hours. I didn't exactly follow this because I have the thermometer that goes with my mom's old yogurt machine that is perfect for global folks like me and doesn't even have numbers! It just has an arrow signaling, "When the temperature is here, mix in the starter!"  Love it!

Therefore, I took off the lid and let it sit a while and checked a couple of times...not sure how much time went by, I think it was about an hour, but the temperature was just right the second time, so I scooped out two cups of it into a separate bowl and mixed in a half cup of store bought yogurt.

3. Then, since I knew it was at the perfect temperature, I put the lid on the pot and wrapped that sucker in TWO HUGE towels as airtight as I possibly could, because I knew it needed to not get any cooler.

4. Then I just forgot about it. The this morning, around 7:30, I remembered. I hadn't been in the kitchen yet because my dear husband brings me a mug of coffee as I stagger to a chair in the living room in the mornings where I remain with my coffee until Lydia wakes up and/or I remember that yogurt is incubating on the counter! For this reason, it was incubating for about 12 hours. I'd meant to leave it for only 10.

When I opened it up I saw clumpy yogurt with liquid separating it a little. I was excited because I knew this meant "not soupy." Yay! This was after stirring a tad:

 

This is where I reveal what a rookie I am, but it wasn't until yesterday that I learned that you call that "liquid" whey. I had tried to print out Stephanie's post, forgetting there were 400+ comments, and needless to say, it ran out of paper before even finishing the comments. I did scan the comments and that is where I learned what whey was and that you could use it for other things, like baking bread.

I did a quick search on uses of whey and got some great information really quickly. I knew I wanted to get some of that whey out for a bit thicker consistency of yogurt, so first I tried using our coffee sieve and scooping out a bit at a time and letting the whey drip off. I quickly learned that this was not going to work.

I thought I needed cheese cloth but I tried using one of our buffet style cloth napkins that we use as kitchen cloth because it is thin. I wet it, wrung it out, and laid it in a colander which I sat on a bowl. I emptied the crock pot of yogurt into the colander and sat it in the fridge for an hour or two. I know that's a broad range, but that's just how I work.

I was so excited when I pulled it out. The yogurt was just right, and I had about 2 cups of whey. Exactly the amount that I needed to substitute whey for water in my easy homemade bread recipe (which I'll be posting some tips on soon).  I learned from my earlier search that using it instead of water to prep the yeast would make the bread moister and add some protein. I'm excited about all of the potential uses of whey, a great list of which you can find in this discussion on Chow Hound. It led me on a search about how to make mozzarella cheese, which I might just try after our trip to Brazil!

So finally I had a big bowl of yogurt in the fridge and a nice bit of whey on top waiting for the bread baking, which happened to be today since we just ran out.


I was distracted and left out a couple of important steps in the bread making and we were short on yeast. It's cooling now, but I don't expect the results to be stellar. I will try again and let you know how it turns out!

All in all, I can see this EASILY becoming a weekly routine! Set milk in the crock pot  on low for a couple of hours around dinner time. Take the lid off and let it cool, keep check, but it should be ready in an hour or so to mix in a tad of last weeks yogurt. Then wrap it up in two towels and forget about it until the next morning. Save the whey and make bread for the week as well. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scratch yogurt off my grocery list! Woo Hoo!!!!

Homemade Ranch Dressing: Good News for the Tastebuds, Not so Good for the Waistline

Do you love Ranch dressing, but would like to know what's IN your Ranch? You can make your own just about as quickly as you can whip up a batch out of a pre-prepared packet!

Some time back, I posted about my deliverance from my Ranch dressing addiction brought about by an equally yummy homemade olive oil and garlic salad dressing. That was all well and good until recently.

We had baked chicken the other day, which made me really crave some Ranch because I LOVE it for dipping baked chicken in. I decided to look on line and see if there was a recipe for homemade Ranch. I was doubtful, but my husband told me that there was. He follows Hallee Homemaker's blog and had seen it there.

I went and found it and within 10 or 15 minutes, had a cup of the most delicious Ranch Dressing I'd ever tasted! That's how quick and easy it is, and yes that means you don't need fancy ingredients because obviously we already had everything needed!

 
I couldn't believe it was that simple. Now I'm really happy because if God ever calls us to another country, I can make Ranch Dressing! I've already shared it with one friend living overseas and plan to share it with more. That is so exciting to me. Yay!

 Here's the recipe:

⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
⅓ cup buttermilk (I just use whole milk because that is what we keep around)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp dried parsley flakes
½ tsp dried dill

Stir it together and store in whatever you please. Chill and serve on whatever you fancy. :)

Yum!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese on the Stovetop

 *Disclaimer: I realize this is nothing new to the rest of the world, but please humor me. I began this blog originally by logging my experiences in learning to make things myself that I was used to buying pre-made. It's a little challenge I've been enjoying. Please don't think badly of my mother. I wasn't the least interested in these things as a kid and didn't pay attention. It's not her fault! :)
 
 I spend time with my friend Rachel on Thursdays, and the last time I was there, she made some mac' n cheese with...you won't believe it...CHEESE! I was pretty excited because I hadn't seen it done that way, that I *remember.*

Yet again, I was surprised to learn how to make something simple from scratch that I'd only ever known to come out of a box. I must say, my mom did make homemade macaroni and cheese when I was a kid, but it was in the form of a casserole, and I never thought of it as an option for a quick, stove top meal.


I haven't got measurements because she just eye balled it, and so did I. It's pretty hard to go wrong.

1. Start about 2 cups? of macaroni noodles boiling.
2. In a saucepan, melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter.
3. Add about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
4. Stir in "a little" milk (sorry for the vagueness.)
5. Continue cooking and stirring on medium low heat until blended.

6. When I realized I was just making a white sauce with cheese, I added a tablespoon of flour to thicken it a little.

7. When noodles are done, strain them and then mix them into the sauce.

This is where the "choosy" wins out over the "cheap," because cheese is expensive. That's why I'll just make this every once in a while. I'm not at all opposed to a good ol' box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese every now and then either. I'm just glad to know I can do it myself. This way a comfort food becomes a healthy food...relatively speaking.;)

Scratch boxed Mac n' Cheese off my grocery list!

Easy Improv: Creamy Italian Chicken

I've mentioned before that one of the most helpful things I've learned from More With Less cookbook is how to make a simple white sauce, thick enough replace condensed cream of ____ soup, or thin enough to be soup. We have chopped chicken frozen in one cup portions in the freezer and I was feeling like something creamy. We also had macaroni noodles. In the past, a craving of creamy pasta led to the opening of a box of Pasta Roni! But now that I know how easy white sauce is, that didn't even occur to me!

I'm pretty excited because this "throw together" meal ended up being a new recipe! The impulsive tossing in of slivered almonds really set it off! This is huge because I am not a cook. I've been learning to cook, and using More With Less as my guide since it's simple and from scratch.

As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure this is my FIRST "original" recipe! (Though influenced inspired by similar things in More With Less.)

My new recipe is hereby dubbed:

"Creamy Italian Chicken"

 Here's how to make it:

1. Put water for pasta to boil and continue with recipe, but add pasta and boil when ready.
2. Melt 2 TB of butter in a saucepan.
3. Add a crushed garlic clove, 1/2 tsp of salt, and basil and oregano as much as desired.
4. Stir in 2 TB of flour until it's all mixed.
5. Stirring with a wisk, add about 2 cups of milk.
6. Keep stirring at medium heat until thickened. (You can add milk if you want it thinner.)
7. Add 1 cup of chopped or pulled chicken.
8. Add a half cup or so of slivered almonds.
9. Drain Pasta and put in serving dish or dishes.
10. Top Pasta with chicken mixture.
11. Garnish with dried Parsley and/or slivered almonds.



I used to be a Pasta Roni Aholic!  But now... who needs it???? Seriously, this was just as easy to prepare, and much better!

 Scratch Pasta Roni off my grocery list forever!!!!!!!!!! ( I told you there would be more :)

(It's been a while so if you're new here you can click on my "cooking from scratch," and/or "simplifying" button on the left to see more things I've enjoyed scratching off the list!)

In the Kitchen this Week: A Work In Progress

Lately I have not been posting much about learning to cook since I took on quite more than I could handle with review and giveaway events. I had no idea how challenging that would be since I started planning for it when Lydia was sleeping and eating the majority of the time.  That was quite a few months ago. Around that time I also had begun learning to cook from scratch. I was excited about finding ways to simplify our grocery list and eat more naturally, and that is what got me motivated about cooking, along with the timely purchase of  More With Less Cookbook.

I'm looking forward to focusing on cooking again in the coming year. I am continuing to plug my way through More With Less Cookbook, and plan to continue to do so until I have found all of our favorites and have made them enough for it to be second nature.


Here are a few random things I've learned along the journey so far:

~ Yogurt is a perfect substitute for sour cream. Really. I know it doesn't seem like it would work on a taco but it totally does, and it's healthier too!

~ Salt really brings out flavor...try adding a bit more salt before adding anything else.

~ Freezing meat in one cup portions majorly stretches your meat supply and your budget. It also makes cooking simpler. More With Less has a lot of recipes that you can used chopped chicken, ground beef, or any left over meat that are very tasty.

~Homemade pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce are both easy to make. We no longer keep Ragu and Papa John's in business.

~We don't keep Pillsbury in business anymore either since biscuit dough turns out to be easy to make and can be used in my all time favorite recipe in place of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

~Bread crumbs are really easy to make yourself...just save the heels or any bread that got a little too dry but hasn't gone bad in the freezer and when you have enough, toast it at about 250 degrees until it's hard all the way through...crush or process in a blender or food processor. For Italian flavored crumbs, add garlic powder, salt, sugar, onion powder, basil, and oregano. (I add a teaspoon of each of those per approximate cup of crumbs).

~We no longer keep whatever company has the best coupons out for Ranch dressing in business either since we discovered a simple but DELICIOUS oil, vinegar, and garlic homemade salad dressing recipe.

~No more Cream of {Whatever} soup for us! A basic white sauce at the right thickness provides the perfect substitute...add chicken stock for cream of chicken and the possibilities are endless!

~Kellogg's, General Mills and whatever other producers of boxed cereal no longer have our business either since it's overnight steel cut oatmeal in the crock-pot, homemade granola, or eggs and toast for us in the mornings!

~You can grow lentil sprouts on your counter, and they work great in stir fried dishes.


Things I really need to work on are:

~Learning to make some easy healthy snacks.

~Storing homemade bread without it drying out.

~Dealing methodically with the bigger mess and increased amount of dirty dishes that cooking this way creates.

~Remembering to start things ahead of time that need to be chilled, sprouted, etc.

~Chopping up vegetables that I know I'll need ahead of time and storing them in the freezer/fridge accordingly.

~Some simple but tasty vegetable side dishes. (Trying to incorporate a few that sound yummy this week.)

~Figuring out what I'm doing wrong when I try to make tortillas!

~Making realistic menu plans... :)
 

*Image Credit: The Graphics Fairy

 

Saving With Bunch Spinach {MPM}

We eat a lot of Spinach salad, mostly as an excuse to eat our yummy homemade salad dressing :). I love the health benefits of spinach too, though!

I used to buy baby spinach in a bag because it was so convenient and perfect for salad, but then I saw things on the news that were a bit disturbing about bagged salad, so I started buying bunch spinach. At first I found preparing it for salad to be a bit cumbersome, tearing the stems off by hand and tearing the leaves into bite size pieces. Finally, I had an idea that made it super easy and perfect for salad!
Before taking of the binding around the stems, I lay it on the cutting board and start slicing it, just as if it were a tomato or onion.



I slice it all the way down to the stem in about 1 inch slices, then put the stems in the back of compost stuff and the sliced leaves, which are now perfect size for salad in a colander to rinse thoroughly before saving out the amount needed for our salad that night and putting the rest in a bag in the fridge for later.

It's easy, less expensive, safer, and just as perfect for salad!

This week's menu plan:
Monday: Leftover Curry or Beirrocks
Tuesday: Empanadas
Wednesday: Chop Suey (Lentil sprouts are being grown as we speak!)
Thursday: El Burgos or Pakinstani Kima
Friday: Off to visit family for the weekend!

So Long,Pillsbury! {Menu Plan Monday}

By the time I finish this post it may become "Menu Plan Tuesday" as I'm busy trying to adjust to life with a crawler and no more morning nap (unless it's just the teething).

I will continue with Menu Plan Monday, because my family needs to eat, and it provides a motivation and accountability to sit down and plan out meals and make a grocery list accordingly. This prevents a ton of stress for the rest of the week. Otherwise, you would find me around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. with my usually by then tired baby (and all that that implies), scratching my head, looking into the fridge and pantry asking myself, "What in the world am I going to cook for dinner?" Then, hubby would come home to a frazzled frustrated wife and no hope of dinner anytime soon. He's so sweet that he would not complain or criticize, but I'd be frustrated and as we all know, that's not a fun state to be in.

Oh and about that grocery list made according to my menu plan...have I mentioned that my grocery list is SOOOO simple thanks to More With Less Cookbook? The simple list of things we get weekly or bi-weekly covers many many recipes in the book. At most I get one or two things a week that I buy with one specific recipe in mind, and usually can use it for a few other recipes too. The rest are staples that go in a variety of recipes...and did I mention that they're mostly low cost ingredients as well? Just Sayin'...

I believe I have mentioned that before More With Less, I could barely cook. That is not entirely true, but my list of recipes that I felt confident about was very short, ie maybe 4, and most of them, if not all, involved some pre-made food or another as a main ingredient.

One of the recipes that I loved and served to everyone who came over for dinner at some point (sorry friends if you had it twice...or..thrice...or...yikes!) is affectionately known to us as "Chicken Crescent Rolls" or to our Spanish or rather Spanglish speaking friends as "Bolitas de Chicken."

It was passed on from a family friend, and may have originally come from the back of some some Pillsbury product or another because the essential ingredient was Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

Do you know that it never occurred to me that I could make the dough myself? I remember thinking many times, "What would I do if we moved to another country? I wouldn't be able to get Pillsbury Crescent Rolls!" It's sad I know, but it's the truth.

Then one day, I was looking through...you'll never guess....More With Less Cookbook, and I found a recipe that looked very similar to my beloved Chicken Crescent Rolls, except...wait a minute...you use biscuit dough? Don't tell me they're just basic biscuit dough! But, sure enough, that turns out to be the case and I realized that you don't need some fancy recipe or ingredients.

So, I finally got around to trying Chicken Not Crescent Rolls without buying refrigerated dough! And guess what? It was easy! I spent about 5 minutes making the dough and maybe 2 extra minutes rolling it out. I dirtied about 2 more dishes, and felt no worse for the wear.

Here are some way overly processed pictures of the experience. I got a little carried away with Picnik. (It's so much fun!) The food may be less processed but the pictures definitely are not!

Here's the ball of dough I prepared first and put in a bowl in the fridge while I got everything else ready.


While doing this I had some chicken boiling, and then chopped it up. I used about 4 breasts. I was going to save some aside to freeze in 1 cup portions for other recipes, but forgot. So we ended up with LOTS of chicken balls!


Then I mixed in half a bar of cream cheese, a dash of salt, a dash of pepper, and a bunch of dried oregano and basil


Next I rolled out the dough and used a mug to cut circles. We don't have cookie cutters so I always use cups or bowls. They work great and offer a pretty good variety of size options! Yay for things you don't really need!!!


Then I grabbed a ball of the chicken mix and placed it in the middle of one of the discs of dough and wrapped it up. I found it actually easier to work with and stretch around the chicken than the refrigerated dough! In the background you can see the bowl of melted butter and the bowl of homemade italian breadcrumbs that I roll the ball in once it is formed.


Finally I ended up with two 9x9 baking dishes full of these yummy things.


With the store bought dough, you cook it for 25 minutes. I found that these needed a bit longer. I forgot to set the timer so I'm not sure how long. We just went based on the look. Next time I'll start with 30 min. and go from there.

So, Scratch Pillsbury Crescent Rolls off my list...FOREVER! Yay!

This week.....

Monday: Chick Fillet :)
Tuesday: Homemade Pizza
Wednesday: Pakistani Kima (pg. 131, More With Less) (We tried this last week...Y.U.M. and really quick!)
Thursday: Beirrocks (pg. 144, More With Less)
Friday: Lentil Barley Stew (pg. 107 More With Less)
Saturday: El Burgos (pg. 138 More With Less)

Homegrown Fresh Herbs {Menu Plan Monday}

I finally used our home grown oregano and basil in homemade spaghetti sauce enhanced with a basic white sauce that serves as a substitute for cream of "whatever" soup! Here are some pictures of the herbs from pot to sauce :).







This weeks menu plan: (Busy day today so not too much detail on the menu plan.)

We finally bought some chicken! (Did I mention that since I began to use More With Less cookbook, I've only had to buy meat TWICE?? I need to check, but I'm pretty sure it's been AT LEAST two months!)

I hate dealing with raw chicken, and again, thanks to More With Less Cookbook, I have even more ways I can use already cooked, chopped chicken!

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Chicken Crescent Rolls
Wednesday: Creamed Chicken over Rice
Thursday: Chicken Curry
Friday:Beirrocks
Saturday: Vietnam Rice (with leftover chicken and leftover rice)
Sunday: Lentil Barley Stew

More about Sprouts and Menu Plan Monday

A couple of weeks ago I posted about growing lentil sprouts. Well, this coming Tuesday evening we will be hosting my brother in law and his new wife from Japan. While browsing through More With Less cookbook in search of a main dish to prepare, I found a recipe for Yakisoba, a Japanese recipe. I noticed that it called for bean sprouts and was a little disappointed not to have thought of it earlier so that I could grow my own again. I decided to look on line however, to see if there were other methods to grow them that might go faster. I'm not sure about the faster part, but I definitely found some additional methods, and began to learn a lot more about sprouts.

This time I will be using a colander to grow the sprouts. After looking seeing a variety of other possibilities, I've concocted the following plan:

Soak lentils overnight.

Place a wet cloth over the bottom of a colander.

Rinse beans and place them on the cloth in the colander.

If you place them in a dark place, they will be more white, like what you see in stores, but you can just leave them sitting on the counter.

Rinse beans a couple times a day and replace them in the colander.


We'll see how it works! I will report next week. This search led to some reading about why sprouts are healthy. That coupled with things I started reading as a result of searching to see if pre-soaking brown rice would make it cook more quickly and be softer has led me down a path of discovery that's a little overwhelming in regards to soaking and sprouting grains, a subject I had intentionally been avoiding because I was already learning so much and didn't want to get too overwhelmed. I'll be writing about that in coming weeks.

This weeks Menu Plan:

Monday: Baked Chicken in the Crock pot.

Tuesday: Yakisoba

Wednesday: Left over spaghetti

Thursday: Creamed Chicken over rice

Friday: Chicken Curry

Saturday: Maybe chicken crescent rolls (that I didn't get to last week)

Sunday: ?

*This past week was horrible as far as sticking to the plan. I've taken on too many responsibilities that happen at the end of the month. This week was particularly difficult because we also had a family emergency and a trip out of town. I have a new plan for the coming month to try to keep things from getting too stressful at the end. So, once again, there will be some trying again on the menu this week. Here's to trying again...again.