Coconut Curry Soup

Oh. My. LOVE.
This is my new favorite soup. We’ll be eating it A LOT this soup season.
The coconut milk adds a fantastic depth to the flavor. SO GOOD!

• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 cup Water
• 2-3 tsp. Curry Powder (I used 3 tsp.)
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 1-2 lbs. chicken breasts (I used 3 frozen breasts)
• 2 lbs. Carrots, sliced
• 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup frozen Peas, thawed
• 1 can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 1 Red Pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup Sliced Green Onions

Combine the chicken soup, water, curry powder, salt and pepper. Put carrots and chicken breasts in a crock pot and pour the soup mixture over the carrots and chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred or cube and return to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients, cover and cook for 30 minutes on high. Potatoes should be just fork tender when ready.

Enjoy! 

{Recipe adapted from On Our Dinner Table}

Cilantro Lime Rice

My boys eat this by the pound! :)
It’s a copy-cat recipe for Chipotle’s rice (which my kids adore). It’s a keeper.

• 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
• 1/2 lime, juice of
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
• 3 tsp. vegetable oil

In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt (I just used my rice cooker, and it worked perfect). Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

Makes 4 servings.

{Recipe from Gina’s Skinny Recipes}

Zucchini Bites

Be careful! These are so addicting! We’ve made several batches
in the last 2 weeks using our garden fresh zucchinis!

• 2 cups shredded Zucchini
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 Onion, finely chopped
• 8 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped {I have used 1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley, that was good too}
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt

{If you’re lazy, like me, put your parsley and onion in a food processor and chop it up in there! I don’t like huge chunks, so that does the job perfectly!}
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Scoop into a well greased mini muffin pan. Fill to the top, but not overflowing. Bake at 350* for 18-20 minutes. Let cool.
Makes about 2 dozen.

Homemade White Bread

This bread was SO easy to make.
My first time making bread loaves ever and all 4 turned out perfect!
My kids devoured a whole loaf hot out of the oven. DELISH!

In a small bowl, combine:

• 2 Tbsp. Yeast
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1/2 cup Warm Water

Set this aside for the yeast to grow.

In a large* bowl, mix together:

• 4 cups HOT Water
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 4-1/2 tsp. Salt

Then add:

• 6 cups Flour

Mix together well.

Now pour your yeast mixture into your large bowl with your flour mixture. Mix well.

Now add:

• 5-7 cups Flour {This entirely depends on the temperature, humidity, and atmosphere of your baking area – you want the dough firm, and just barely not sticky}

Knead for 5-8 minutes, until your dough is a nice firm ball. (*If you use a REALLY large bowl, you can knead right in your bowl with no need to dirty your countertop! Use one hand to rotate the bowl around and one hand to knead right inside your bowl)

Cover the dough, and let it rise until double (about an hour) and punch it down.

Let is rise again until it’s double.

Punch it down and divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle (about the width of your bread pan and 1 inch thick), then roll up the long way to make a loaf. Pinch the ends down. Place in a greased loaf pan, seam side down, and let rise about an hour and a half. Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes. Optional: Butter the top of the loaves right when you pull them out of the oven. Enjoy!

{If you’re using dark bread pans, reduce your heat to 350* and bake for about 25 minutes.}

Makes 4 loaves.

Mexican Lasagna

This is soooo yummy. It kind of has the flavor of
tamales meets enchiladas, lasagna style.
…So if you dig those, then you’re going to want to try this.
I just had leftovers for lunch and it' was just as good reheated. YUM!

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. cottage cheese
• 4.25 oz. can chopped green chiles
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 bag corn tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350*

Brown the ground beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Add garlic powder, salt, black beans and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Combine the sour cream, cottage cheese and green chiles. Set aside.

Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with no-stick spray, then put a layer of chips at the bottom (you could just as easily use corn tortillas for this step) of the pan. Then put half of the meat mixture, then half of the sour cream mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers.

Top with crushed chips and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until it’s all bubbly and heated through.

Let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Serve with a side salad and/or corn!

{{This recipe is fantastic to freeze. I usually double the recipe and freeze one! Just assemble (don’t bake it), cover tightly and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.}}