Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup tonight and it was FABULOUS.  I was thinking of a few things to tell you while I was making it. 

I use chicken tenders instead of chicken breast.  They are both white meat and a tender is right under a breast on the chicken and it basically is the same thing.  If I am going to be cubing or shredding the cooked chicken it's always easier for me to do with tenders.  Plus I use a dinner fork to hold the chicken down and a salad fork to pull the meat off.  This may be way too detailed, but I find it to be easiest this way and that's what this blog is about. 

I also don't appreciate when a recipe calls for a vegetable to be chopped and then measured in cups...I prefer to be told half an onion or a whole pepper.  Anyway, I used a large green and red bell pepper and the quarter cup diced comes out to half of the pepper.  I would also suggest you use a small white onion and the entire thing diced comes out to about a cup.

I also added between one half and a whole extra teaspoon of cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder. 

This soup was so delicious and could ultimately be a very healthy dish if you aren't like me and add in cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  But it was Delightful!

Taste- 4.5
Difficulty- 3.5 (it wasn't hard, it just took a while to cook)

I will make this again.  We have a lot left over and I already told Lance it's what we are eating for dinner tomorrow too.

Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin

I made these Potatoes Au Gratin two days ago and they are divine.  I made them exactly as she suggests except I peeled my potatoes and used minced garlic from the jar.  I wouldn't even really consider those exceptions. You should definitely try them out.  Great addition to any meal!

Taste- 4.5
Difficulty-2 (super, super easy)

Sloppy Joes

Lance and I have been wanting these Sloppy Joes for a week or two now.  I absolutely loved this meal!  Delish!  It feels weird using the word DELISH to explain a sloppy joe, but it really was.  I added a little extra chili powder, dry mustard, and worcestershire sauce.  This was such an easy meal and I'll probably be eating one tomorrow for lunch too!

Taste-4.5
Difficulty- 3.0 (only because there is some chopping involved and more than a few ingredients)

Cinnamon Toast the Right Way

I made Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast the Right Way this weekend.  It really was yummy, if you want a dessert, I thought it was a little too heavy for a breakfast food.  I know, I know, it's breakfast food, and I am not one to turn down a sweet for breakfast.  I have eaten cinnamon toast my entire life and I typically eat almost an entire loaf of bread when I do.  I think if I had used half the amount of topping than what she suggested it would have been perfect. 

Taste- 4.0 (it was delicious, just a little too much for 8am)
Difficulty-2.0 (very easy)

Spinach Soup with Gruyere

Yesterday I made Pioneer Woman's Spinach Soup with Gruyere.  The thing is, I started doing all the taste testing and adding cayenne, salt, and pepper and I forgot to even add the gruyere cheese in the end.  It was so good that I didn't even notice until I was almost done eating it.  It's very easy to make and really creamy. 

Taste- 4.0
Difficulty-3.5 (only because you have to go back and forth between the blender and the pot)

Monkey Muffins

I made these Monkey Muffins this morning.  I used Grands Jr biscuits and cut them in quarters.  The biscuits come 5 to a can and I filled 6 muffin tins.  I also used a little less butter than the recipe called for.  I wasn't so liberal with the sugar and cinnamon and noticed that you couldn't see any on top once they started to bake so I pulled them out and quickly sprinkled a little more sugar and cinnamon on each then baked them until they were done.  These "muffins" don't take long to cook so don't go too far or you'll over cook them.  Not only are they yummy, but they are perfect individual portion sizes and would probably be awesome for a brunch shower or Sunday School.

Taste- 4.5
Difficulty- 1 (seriously that easy)

Oh, I didn't use the condensed milk.  I can't see how that doesn't make anything even better.  I eat it on sno-cones so I'm not one to knock the sweet milk.

Mini Meatball Sandwiches

Holy Guacamole....these little Mini Meatball Sandwiches are the BOMB!

I did everything just as she says, but I used turkey instead of beef.  My mind wants beef but my stomach says "no way".  They were delish!  Lance commented the entire time I was cooking on how good it smelled and how yummy it looked.  He was just as pleased.  I think next time I'll do them like a mini slider pattie.  The meatballs were a little hard to maneuver but it kinda went along with the fun of having a mini sandwich.  Also, I used the panko crumbs because that's what I had on hand, and I used already minced up garlic that you buy in the jar so that way all I had to do was dice half of an onion.

Taste- 5 (oh my, I haven't given anything a 5 yet)
Difficulty- 2.5 (not much to do at all)

Corn Chowder with Green Chilies

I made this Corn Chowder last night and I think it's one of my favorites so far!  It is spicy and I wouldn't suggest it for your children unless they REALLY enjoy spicy food. 
I did used one onion instead of one and a half.  It was perfect.  There was a comment on the recipe page that says they wished they had cooked their bacon a little longer, so I did cook mine a couple minutes longer before adding the vegetables in.


Tastiness- 4.5 (really, it's that good)
Difficulty- 3 (there is some dicing, but really not bad)

Yum Yum Y'all!

Stay Tuned

I'm thinking this week I will be making at least three of Pioneer Woman's recipes.  I've just spent the last hour on the internet looking at food, so this little bitty ol' blog won't disappoint this week.  Come on back now ya hear!