Chicken Taco Soup

This looked like a super easy recipe, open a bunch of cans, add a few more things, heat and serve. That's exactly what it was and just what Whitney and I needed in Colorado for dinner a couple of nights. It was really tasty, probably a bit on the spicy side for Bob but it worked for us. There's a bunch of optional spices at the end which we didn't add since we were in a Air B-n-B and I'm not really sure you need them. No picture this time, we ate it before I remembered to take one.

Chicken Taco Soup
serves 6-8

1 15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can sweet corn, drained (or equal amount of frozen corn)

1 14.5oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 10oz can green enchilada sauce

1 4oz can diced green chilies

1/2 half package of grilled chicken, broken up into bite size pieces

1 14oz can low sodium chicken broth

1 packet taco seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cumin, optional

1/2 tsp chili powder, optional

1/2 tsp garlic powder, optional

1/2 tsp onion powder, optional

for garnish - sour cream, tortilla strips, avocado

Put both beans, corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, chilies, chicken and chicken broth into a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the taco seasoning, other seasonings if desired, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 20 minutes. If the soup seems too thick add more chicken broth (or water). Serve with garnishes.

slightly modified from 12tomatoes

Apple-Cranberry Slab Pie

Oh, my goodness, this was so good! We went to dinner at a friend's last weekend and we were asked to bring either an appetizer or dessert. I gravitate towards desserts and went looking at my pinterest board. This looked good and since there were going to be eight of us plus a couple of kids I needed something that had at least 10 servings. I didn't get a good picture, I was running late trying to finish the glaze, get it on, plus get changed to go out but at least I got one before we finished it off.

Apple-Cranberry Slab Pie
serves 16

2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 7 cups)
1 c dried cranberries
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 package puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1/4 c unsalted butter, cubed
about 3 Tbsp milk
coarse sugar (for sprinkling on top crust)

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted
4-5 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease a 15x10 baking sheet. In a large bowl stir together the apples, cranberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold one pastry sheet. Roll the pastry into a 16x11 inch rectangle and transfer to the baking sheet. Spread the filling over the pastry to within an inch of the edge. Evenly dot the filling with the cubed butter.

Unfold the second pastry sheet and roll into a 15x10 inch rectangle. Place this on top of the filling. Brush the edge of the bottom pastry with milk. Fold the bottom pastry over the top and press to seal with a fork.

Using a sharp knife cut slits in the top pastry. Brush with milk and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.

Bake 50-55 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the pastry is puffed and golden. If needed to prevent overbrowning cover the edges of the pastry for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.

While the pie cools, prepare the icing. In a bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt; add enough milk to reach a drizzling consistency.

Once the pastry has cooled drizzle the frosting over top, slice, and serve.


from inspired by charm