Happy Holidays

Hello everyone. I have been cooking just haven't had the time to post. After the holiday's I'll be sure to update the blog.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

XOXO
Lynn

Turkey Chili

Tasty chili for a nice winter day/night. Although it ended up being 60 degrees today it was still delish! I added in more beans than the recipe called for just because I like lots of beans.

*You can find the recipe here

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe comes from one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks, Rachael Ray: 365 No Repeats

This is a recipe that I've made before. It's a tasty soup. For some extra spice, I added some red pepper flakes and for some more chicken I used chicken breast instead of chicken tenderloins.

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1-1/2 pounds

chicken tenders

Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 Green Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

1 large Onion, chopped1 Jalapeno pepper minced (don't touch your eyes after cutting pepper until you have washed your hands)

2 celery ribs, finely chopped1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 cups yellow corn tortilla chips (about 4 handfuls)

2 teaspoons hot sauce such as Tabasco

1 quart chicken stock or broth (store bought works fine unless you want to make it homemade)1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish

Zest and juice of 2 limes combined

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (chopped)

4 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced (use both the white and green parts)

1. Preheat a medium soup pot over medium high heat and add the olive oil ... a couple times around the inside of the pan should be fine.

2. Chop the chicken tenders into bite size pieces.

3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot soup pot.

4. Lightly brown the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, celery, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. While that is cooking place the tortilla chips in a food processor and process until well ground. I f you don't have a processor place the chips in a plastic storage bag and crush with a rolling pin.

6. Add the ground tortilla chips to the soup pot and stir to combine.

7. Add the chicken stock and bring the soup to a simmer.

8. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes

9. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the sour cream. Pass the lime zest, chopped cilantro, and sliced scallions for each person to add to taste.

Winter Grilling: Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Oregano

Just because it's winter it doesn't mean you can't grill! I have an indoor grill and I grilled up some chicken.

I made grilled chicken with lemon and oregano, green beans with lemon zest, & some brown rice.

I steamed the green beans-mixed 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, butter, salt & pepper.

For the chicken I followed this recipe.

*I used chicken tenderloins instead

Magnolia Bakery: The Taste Test

As I mentioned in my Magnolia Bakery cupcake post, my friends and I went to NYC this past Friday. We stumbled into one of the Magnolia Bakery locations. I was very excited to get to try their cupcakes and see the bakery! It was packed!

I got a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. I wasn't crazy about the frosting - I should have gotten the butter cream frosting. Overall I enjoyed the cupcake! The presentation was great (I should have taken a picture of the cupcake).

Christmas Tree Cookies

An excuse to use my new cookie press! If you don't have a cookie press- I suggest you get one! Baking season is here and the cookie press makes great cookies. I got my recipe from Martha. The cookies turned out great. They're rich and buttery! You can get really creative with these cookies. I dyed the dough to make some green Christmas trees. With plenty of shapes you can make these cookies at any time of the year.

*You can find the recipe here

Turkey Meatballs

I've been making these turkey meatballs for several years now. They're very easy and very tasty!

Take 2 tablespoons of olive oil spread on baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating place cookie sheet in the oven.

Mix ground turkey (1 1/2 lbs), 1 egg (beaten) and 1/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs. Roll into balls. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn meatballs over and cook for another 5 minutes.

November Club: Thanksgiving with Friends

For November club I had the girls over for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday 11/22. We ate a lot and drank a ton!

Of course we ate turkey! I also, made carrots, brussels sprouts, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, & stuffing. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the turkey breast when it came out of the oven! It looked so good and would have made a great picture but I must have been too busy to think about taking the picture.

Below are some of the recipes from November club!

I made the cranberry sauce ahead of time to make sure it could cool at room temperature. Cranberry sauce is incredibly easy!!

Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Add cranberries and let boil for 10 minutes. The cranberries will burst open and break down. Stir sauce and let cool at room temperature. Below is the finished sauce! As I mentioned the turkey breast tasted really good! I used this recipe from the food network. Next time I make it, I'll be sure to get a picture.

Since everyone was going to be eating Thanksgiving dinner again later in the week. I decided to switch up the potatoes. Instead of making mashed potatoes. I quartered smalled red potatoes, placed them in a pot, added water, kosher salt, minced garlic and fresh chopped rosemary. I let the potatoes boil until soft. Drained and mixed them with butter. They were very tasty--especially with gravy on top!

The brussels sprouts were tasty too! I got the recipe from the November issue of Real Simple. Although I couldn't get Liz to try brussels sprout, I did get everyone else to try them and I believe they all enjoyed! You can find the recipe here.

I steamed the carrots in chicken broth, added butter and thyme and they were ready to serve.