Mexican Chicken Soup (from Barefoot Contessa cookbook)

Mexican Chicken Soup (serves 6 to 8)

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed

2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

To serve

Sliced avocado

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in half, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Olive Cheese Bread

Olive Cheese Bread
1 regular can whole black (ripe) olives
1 6-oz jar pimiento-stuffed olives
2 green onions
¾ pound Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup real mayonnaise
1 stick butter, softened
1 loaf French bread
Roughly chop black and green olives. Slice green onions and give them a rough chop. Combine
green onions and olives with the softened butter, ½ cup mayonnaise, and grated Monterey jack
cheese. Mix thoroughly. Slice French bread in half lengthwise, then spread mixture evenly over
the halves.
Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, or until thoroughly melted and starting to turn light brown
and bubbly. Cut into diagonal slices and serve with salad, with soup, with spaghetti, or as a
yummy appetizer.
Make-ahead tips: You can make the cheese mixture up to two days ahead of time and store in the
fridge. Or, you can spread the mixture on the bread and freeze the bread, unbaked, for several
months.
Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Caramel Popcorn

This isn't as good as my original Caramel Popcorn, but its pretty darn good for how easy it is.

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 large marshmallows

1 bag of microwave popcorn

Pop the bag of popcorn & remove the seeds.
Melt butter, brown sugar & marshmallows in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir. Melt for 30 more seconds. Once completely melted pour on top of popcorn & Voila!!

Caramel Bars

2 sticks of butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 Cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 bottle of Caramel syrup (i just use the small bottle of smuckers caramel topping)

Chocolate chips

Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, baking soda & salt

Stir it all together. I like to use my hands. Makes me feel all earthy and homemaker-ish. The dough should clump together, but still crumble well.

Now press only HALF of the dough into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 325 for 17 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and dump an entire bottle of caramel syrup on top.

Next, generously sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the caramel. Then top that with the remaining dough. You don't need to press the dough this time, just crumble all over the top.

Now pop this baby back into your 325 degree oven and bake for another 17 minutes. Once you remove the pan from the oven, let it cool completely. They really need to sit for a while to allow that caramel gooey-ness time to firm up a bit. You can put them in the freezer to speed up this process if you're too impatient to wait.

Garlic Roasted Vegetables

1 lb bag of carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 onion, thinly sliced and separated

1 lb bag celery washed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 bell peppers of choice, I used a red and yellow, seeded and julienned or cut into strips

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt

¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt

¼ teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place all vegetables onto a large baking sheet with edges. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic salt, salt and pepper or vegetables and gently rub ingredients together so vegetables are well coated. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

5 lb bag of russet potatoes, washed, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
¼ Cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide cubed potatoes onto a large baking sheet with edges. Drizzle potatoes evenly with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic salt, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese over potatoes. With hands, gently rub ingredients together so potatoes are well coated. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender and golden brown. Take a nibble then season accordingly if it needs a little more salt.

Firehouse BBQ Grilled Chicken

6 thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts

½ Cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

¾ Cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

4 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons Worstershire sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a large ziplock bag and marinate for at least an hour. Preheat stovetop grill pan (this is what I used) or outdoor grill over medium heat. Grill chicken for 5-6 minutes each side or until chicken is cooked through.