Recipe #72: 10-Minute Potato Leek Soup

I was kind of skeptical about how this recipe would turn out, wondering if it would be too bland, but I was way off- it's GREAT! For 10 minutes of work, you wouldn't expect something to come together so well! It's super thick and creamy, and I had to keep myself from going for thirds. This is from Rachael Ray's cookbook "Veggie Meals."

Note: It's not a very photogenic soup, but don't be fooled...

Also, if this is your first time using leeks, they look like big green onions, but use the WHITE end, not green. You'll be slicing little circles of leek for this recipe.

Leeks have a little bit of grit in them sometimes when you cut them apart, which is why they require a good rinsing in a colander before use.

INGREDIENTS:

1 leek, halved and very thinly sliced (I used 2 smaller leeks and just cut rings)
3 cups reduced-fat or non-fat milk
2 cups water (I exchanged one for chicken broth)
1 brick (8oz) cream cheese, softened
4oz pouch mashed potato flakes (I used Hungry Jack buttery potatoes flavor)
Few grinds of fresh black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse trimmed, thinly sliced leeks under cold water in a colander and drain very well. Bring milk, water, and leeks to a boil in a medium deep pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer, 5 minutes. Whisk/stir in softened cream cheese until combined. Stir in potato flakes until soup becomes thick and smooth. Remove from heat, stir in pepper and serve.

Just complaining...

Well, for some reason Google, in all of its infinite wisdom, won't let me switch my email for Blogger (which is a Google service) from my old, non-gmail account to my new gmail account, which makes me have to sign out of my gmail and then into my non-gmail account to be able to post. This non-gmail account is tied to another Google account that will not consolidate with my NEW Google account.

Is your head spinning yet?

So I found a work-around for Blogger... I invited MYSELF to be a co-author on this blog, emailing my gmail an invitation from my non-gmail account so I can log in and post through my gmail. *big breath* And so here I am, co-authoring with myself.

...I won't even begin to think of the mess involving Google Analytics (tracking information for this blog that's tied to my non-gmail account).... I'll just leave it alone. I also have a Google Latitude account (tracks me via GPS when I turn it on on my phone- good for Nick if I'm out of town or traveling by myself...)- but I can probably change that over easily since it doesn't really store data.

My YouTube account (also a Google service) has this problem too. Maybe I'll just close it and open a new one under my new account, but then I'd lose all my favorites and uploads. *sigh*...

I saw someone posted something back in 2006 complaining about this, and apparently Google's solution was a "multiple account login" that I've tried. Total failure- it logs me out of the other account anyways.

I'm so irritated that something so simple has to be such a stupid mess.

UPDATE! I went back into my non-gmail Blogger account and granted my gmail account administrator privileges... and then I deleted my non-gmail account (basically deleting the privileges to post). HAHA! VICTORY! Epic work-around!!

Recipe #71: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

My sister told me about this recipe, and it was a hit the first time I made it.  Nick particularly likes this one, and it's one he usually requests.  I'm copying the recipe as-is, but I'll make notes where I've changed things...

Ingredients

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup or Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese  (I use cheddar usually)
• 10 Mission® Fajita Size Flour Tortillas, warmed  (I use an 8-pack of whatever flour tortillas)
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 green onion, sliced

Directions

1. Mix soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder.
2. Mix 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese. (I don't add the chicken yet)...
3. Spread about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. (I instead spread the mixture on first, THEN add chicken, saving the mess of step 2).  Roll up and place seam-side down in 3-quart shallow baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over enchiladas. Cover.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until hot. Top with tomato and onion. 

Makes GREAT leftovers!

 

Recipe #71: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Oh man... I could rave about this one for quite awhile, but I'll restrain myself.  This is even better than I was hoping for, and the home-made tortilla chips are a perfect garnish!  You can use store-bought ones, but these are so much better, thicker, and more flavorful!  Copied from allrecipes.com, here's a new winter favorite:

Without toppings...

Ingredients

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken  (I hand-shredded a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I used more)
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  (I used more)
• 2 cups water  (I replaced one cup with chicken broth)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn  (I used more)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro  (I skipped this)
• 7 corn tortillas
• vegetable oil 

I also added a can of black beans...

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.  (Instead, I cut them first, placed them on the sheet, and sprayed them with olive oil spray.  Then I lightly salted them with kosher salt.)
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. (I also added cheese and sour cream!)