Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Copycat Chicken Enchilada Soup

Lynn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:44:13 +0000

I recently realized that I do not have very many chicken recipes on my site. I love chicken and I really need to share more of them with you.

So, in an effort to fix my lack of chicken recipes, I decided that for Souper Monday this week I would share a chicken soup recipe. My copycat chicken enchilada soup recipe to be exact.

We love soup, and we love Mexican type food, so my family thinks this soup is a perfect combination.

This is similar to the chicken enchilada soup I have had at like Chili’s or other restaurants. It is not exactly the same, but we think it is pretty close.

Copycat Chicken Enchilada Soup

3 chicken breasts- cooked and cut into small chunks (really you can use any cooked chicken here at long as it is 3-4 cups)
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
10 ounce can enchilada sauce (or use my homemade enchilada sauce)
12 ounce can evaporated milk
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 – 2 teaspoons salt (basically to taste)
1 teaspoon chili powder- more if you like it spicier
1/2 teaspoon cumin

In a large pan heat oil and cook onion until tender.
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds
Add chicken broth, water, enchilada sauce, evaporated milk, cheese, salt, chili powder, and cumin. Cook on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken and keep cooking until chicken is heated through, this should only take a few minutes.
Serve with additional cheese, chips, etc., as desired and enjoy!

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Two Free Gooseberry Patch ebooks

Lynn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:23:14 +0000

You all loved the free ebooks that I mentioned last month, so I thought I would tell you about a couple of Gooseberry Patch ebooks that I just loaded to my Kindle that are FREE right now on Amazon. The price may change on these at anytime, so if you want them for free, I would get them while you can.

Circle of Friends Cookbook 25 of JoAnn & Vickie’s Favorite Recipes is free right now and it looks really fun. I can’t wait to look through the recipes in this one.

And Gooseberry Patch’s Candy Cookbook ebook is also free on on Amazon right now. I love candy, so I am hoping to find some good recipes in this one.

Have I mentioned that I love free ebooks, especially cookbooks?!

Would you like me to keep posting the free or really inexpensive ebooks as I see them? If you like this feature let me know by leaving a comment, because if you all love it, I will try to continue sharing them.

And if you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry, Amazon has you covered with other options for reading them that work for ebooks.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this site.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Menu Plan and Menu Plan Board On Pinterest

Lynn — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:12:34 +0000

Last week’s mostly Mexican meal plan went well and except for one night, went as planned. And I have a few avocados left that are not quite ripe, so we will eat them this week with the couple of Mexican type meals I have planned.

I recently started a menu plan board recently on Pinterest. I hope to continue adding to this board over the next few weeks and months, so if you are on Pinterest and would like some menu planning ideas please check it out. And if you need an invite to Pinterest let me know and I will be glad to send you one.

Now for this week’s menu plan.

Breakfast

coconut baked oatmeal

breakfast bowls ( I made a large batch and froze them last week)

yogurt and muffins

boiled eggs and toast

waffles or pancakes

Dinner

breakfast for dinner

slow cooked stew

beef and bean bake

cheesy cauliflower soup

southwest ground beef stew (new recipe)

in-laws house for dinner and I am taking salad and ice cream

crock pot shredded beef

For more menu planning ideas please see Menu Planning Mondays.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

A Few Recent Highlights From My Allergy Section

Lynn — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:46:03 +0000

I have had a lot of new readers over the last few months and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you and say thank you for reading!

If you are a newer reader, you may not be aware that I have an allergy section. I do not focus on food allergies here on my main site because I want to keep the focus on food that everyone can enjoy, but several in my family eat gluten free and my daughter has a tree nut, peanut, and sesame allergy, so we talk all things gluten free and allergy friendly over in my allergy section.

If you or someone in your family is gluten free, or deals with food allergies, you might be interested in my allergy section.

Today I thought I would highlight a few of the things we have covered recently in my allergy section so that you can see what that section is all about.

I recently shared my thoughts on gluten free pasta and gluten free flour blends. And I loved hearing what my readers thought on those subjects as well.

I also shared my struggles with some foods, especially things like SunButter, never being the same. But see that picture at the top of this post, that is my first try at really trying to embrace Sunbutter and I have to say they turned out very well. Those are SunButter cups that are based on my homemade peanut butter cups and they were really good. My whole family loved them.

We have also been talking about gluten free cookies and I shared two new favorites. We love both these gluten free banana cookies and gluten free chocolate cranberry cookies. These are both so good that you would never know that they are gluten free. YUM!

For more great gluten free baked goods and for all the food allergy talk head on over to my allergy section. We would love to have you join us!

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Oven Fried Pork Chops

Lynn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:20:45 +0000

My husband loves pork chops. They are one of his favorite cuts of meat to eat. Over the years I have cooked pork chops many different ways and these oven fried pork chops are one of our favorites. We love these!

And our favorite way to eat them is with buttermilk mashed potatoes. The gravy that this recipe makes works perfectly with a side of mashed potatoes and the buttermilk in both recipes go very well together.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

1/4 cup butter, melted
4 or 5 pork chops ( I brine mine first and it really makes them better, so I would not skip this step.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature, and divided
3/4 cup flour ( I now use a gf flour blend or Bob’s Red Mill gf biscuit mix)
1 can cream mushroom soup ( or make your own)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Pour melted butter into 9×13 pan and set aside.
In a shallow dish or on a plate combine salt, pepper, and flour.
In a separate shallow dish place 1/2 cup buttermilk (Save the other cup of buttermilk for later use.)
Dip pork chops in buttermilk until completely wet and then dredge in flour mixture until completely covered on both sides.
Place in the pan with the melted butter.
Bake for 25 minutes.
In a bowl combine the remaining cup of buttermilk and the soup. Pour over pork chops and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes or until the pork chops are done.
Enjoy!

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

January 2012 In Review and A Look At February

Lynn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:19 +0000

Last year I started doing a quick month in review post at the end of every month to highlight a few of the most popular posts from that month. I took a break during November and December, but I really enjoy doing those posts, so I thought I would bring it back for 2012.

So, here is a quick review of what we covered in January and a look at what is coming up in February.

I am planning on continuing Souper Mondays and Ground Beef Thursdays for at least the first few months of the year. I am really enjoying these series and I know you all are as well.

We covered some great recipes for Ground Beef Thursdays like the Fiesta Macaroni (pictured at the top) and frito pie. It was so fun to read through the comments on the frito pie recipe to see how many of you love this dish also. And I was happy to share a new idea/recipe with so many of you that had never heard of frito pie.

And for Souper Monday I shared several recipes including one of my kids’ favorites which is Pizza Soup.

One of my goals for this year is to really work on serving my family healthy breakfasts. So, with that in mind I shared homemade coconut granola and coconut baked granola, which are both fun and simple to make.

I also shared my goals for working on my grocery budget and my reading goals for the year.

And I have some great things coming up this month for you as well. I will be sharing quick and easy flan, which would be a perfect Valentines Day dessert. And I will also share oven fried pork chops, taco chowder, chicken enchilada soup, and more.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Ten Super Bowl Recipes

Lynn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:44:27 +0000

It is no secret that I am not a huge football watching fan, however I love food and cooking, and food and football go together very well. So, I love football when I get to make food for football watching.

I thought today I would share a few fun and very good recipes that are perfect for Super Bowl food or really for anytime.

I shared a recipe yesterday for our new favorite chip and dip type food,

bacon cheddar dip is perfect Super Bowl. YUM!

But we also love this homemade french onion dip. So easy and so good!

And we love jalapeno dip. So good!

The Happy Housewife has a recipe for bacon cheese dip in a bread bowl that sounds really good. And my friend Jen shared a beer dip recipe that looks really fun to make. (Not sure it would be good with a gluten free beer, but I might have to try it sometime.)

I love 7 layer dip and Amy’s version is almost exactly like what I make.

Baked potato dip anyone?

My sister has a really good dill dip that can be served with vegetables if you are looking for something a little bit healthier.

Restaurant style salsa is always a hit in our house.

And if you are looking for a fruit dip this marshmallow cream cheese dip looks great.

What fun foods will you be serving or making for the Super Bowl?

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Bacon Cheddar Dip Recipe

Lynn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:21:47 +0000

I made this bacon cheddar dip three times over the holidays and I never got a picture of it. Every time I made this dip it was gone before I could get a pictures. I guess that is a sure sign of a really good recipe.

I also got asked for the recipe every time I made this, which is another sign of a good recipe.

Since I never got a picture over the holidays, and I really wanted to share this recipe before Super Bowl Sunday, I decided over the weekend that my family would have to eat this one more time. Yes…..I know being related to a food blogger is a tough job, but they suffered through eating this one more time for me.

This recipe is our new favorite chip and dip type recipe. We all love it. I mean it has bacon, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese in it, what is not to like about it. (And I said it was good, not healthy. )

I like to serve this with chips, but it works great with crackers as well. Really anyway you serve this it will be good. It is also really easy to half this recipe if you are not serving a large group.

Bacon Cheddar Dip Recipe

2 ( 8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl beat together cream cheese, sour cream, onion, and mayonnaise.
Stir in bacon and 3 cups of cheese.
Spread into a baking dish. I use an 11×7 Pyrex, a pie plate, or similar size.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Adapted from Taste of Home

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Red Wine

Lynn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:22:49 +0000

Today for Souper Monday we are talking stew.

Stew is one of those perfect wintertime comfort food type meals that my family loves. I love how easy it is to put in the crock pot in the morning and have it ready and waiting at dinner time.

One of the ways I like to change up stew is to add a little red wine to it. Just a little bit adds so much flavor and helps tenderize that meat. If you have never tried a little red wine in your stew, you should. It really enhances the flavor and makes it so much better.

Now, the thing is my husband and I don’t drink wine, so I never have it on hand, but I do always keep a bottle of red cooking wine on hand to use in recipes. And I know what some of you are thinking about cooking wine, but it really works well and I have used it for years.

Another reason I love cooking wine is because it is readily available at my grocery store. You see I live in a state where you can only buy wine at a liquor store and it is not usually convenient for me to go to a liquor store. Cooking wine at my local grocery store where I always shop is convenient for me, which is another reason why I buy and use it.

Now for the recipe. This is really just a basic stew recipe and you can easily add whatever you like in your stew. Sometimes I put mushrooms in it and sometimes I add other vegetables to it. You can really add whatever you want to it.

Have you tried wine in your stew before?

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Red Wine

1-2 tablespoon oil
1- 3 lb beef roast cut up or use stew meat
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1- 14 ounce cans of tomatoes
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks ( I like to cut them into large chunks)
1 lb (or so) carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup Holland House Red Cooking Wine
beef broth- we like a thick and hearty stew, so I usually just add 1 cup or so, but if you want a little more liquid you can use about 2 cups

Heat oil in a large pan. Brown meat on all sides and place in the crock pot.
Cook onion in the pan until tender, adding more oil if needed.
Add onion and remaining ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat and vegetables are done.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Disclaimer: I was compensated for my time in writing this post, but my thoughts and opinions are my own. I have used Holland House products for years and love them.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Vitacost: Health and Gluten Free Foods and $10 off

Lynn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:34:58 +0000

I have been hearing a lot about Vitacost lately from several of my friends, so I finally decided to give it a try. Last week I ordered a few gluten free products and was very happy with what I got.

Right now they have a new customer $10 off coupon. So, just for signing up for an account you will be emailed a $10 off coupon.

And Vitacost sells all kinds of items from vitamins and health foods to skin care and gluten free foods.

I have a trip coming up, so I used my $10 off coupon to order a few gluten free snack items to take with me. I got these three items for $6.97 including shipping. That is a good deal for gluten free food.

Vitacost sells so much stuff that I had a hard time deciding what to order. I almost ordered the Tinkyada gluten free spaghetti that they have on sale for $2.28 lb, but decided that I need some items for the trip instead.

And I think Vitacost might just be my new go to place to get vitamins because they sell a lot of different brands. They also have Burt’s Bees products, all kinds of food and grocery products, and more. They really do have some great deals, especially if you use the coupon for signing up.

All you have to do is:

1. Sign up for Vitacost. There is no obligation, but you do have to create an account to receive the coupon. Once you sign up, you will receive an email with your $10 off coupon.

2. Go to Vitacost and find the items you want to purchase.

3. At checkout enter the code for the $10 off that you were sent when you signed up and it should take the $10 off. Shipping is flat rate of $4.99, so your final total could be as low as $4.99.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this site.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here