Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Chili

Crowd favorite flavors, but make it chili-esque. We needed some comfort post-election and this was a hit, as were the leftovers.

This was comforting, flavorful, and fun with all the toppings! We had some green beans on the side and crescent rolls.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Chili
Ingredients:
(serves ~6)
28 oz pinto beans
1 1/2 roasted chicken breasts
2 carrots
4 oz can green chilis
2 tablespoons ranch powder (or 1 envelope)
1-2 cups chicken broth (for desired thickness)
1 cup cottage cheese, pureed (or 1/2 brick cream cheese)
~4 slices bacon
Green onions
shredded cheddar
corn chips

Directions:
Peal & chop the carrots, drain and rinse the beans (don’t drain for thicker chili), bacon, and puree the cottage cheese.
In a large pot with a drizzle of olive oil, cook the broth, beans, carrots, chilis, and ranch to a low boil for 8-10 minutes.
Shred the chicken.
Reduce heat to low for another 5 minutes. Stir in the cottage cheese puree and the chicken.
Cook for 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
Top with shredded cheese, green onions, more bacon, and corn chips.
Enjoy!

This was good! It was more soupy than some chili is, but we all liked it. Cooking everything together can be a gamble, but this one paid off (and crescents & green beans were some safe options).

This could go into a crock pot with raw chicken breasts for 4-6 hours with the cream cheese or pureed cottage cheese at the end.

14th Blogaversary

Woohoo! 14?! Crazy. This year had some fun adventures during school vacations, more swimming than ever, and the kids seeming so much older. I cooked a lot of burritos/wraps, they’re a favorite of mine and some really fun appetizers. This is my chance to look back on the past year and set some intentions for the year ahead. I bring you some superlatives:

Best Burger: Pizza Burger with pepperoni grated into the burger.

Most Underrated: Street Corn Pasta Salad is addictive and the perfect taco side but maybe looks not so cute. It’s so good.

Most liked: Greek Chicken Burritos were the fan favorite on instagram for the year.

Goals for this past year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: this was mostly good, though a few misses on Etsy so I didn’t tag creators who I wasn’t happy with
More meatless meals: this happened on occasion but I didn’t really prioritize it
sandwiches and salads: yes! So many hot wraps/burritos!
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: this went so-so but it’s a fun one when it does happen!
redo photos: I was so glad to refresh some that needed a makeover!
What I’m reading: I’m up to 44 books read this year!

Goals for this upcoming year:
Year of replacements/upgrades! I realized I have some not-beloved things that are due for a better version or that are worn out and I just keep using without thinking about a better one.
Restaurant Recreations – It has been awhile but this if a fun one
Special ingredient focus – this could be a nice push to use some ingredients I don’t always reach for
More fish – I may have said this before and not made it happen so we’ll see how this goes
maybe I’ll add another or see how it goes

Loaded Tomato Sauce

Our family eats pasta on the regular though pesto is the top request so I push the boundaries with different shapes and sauces to keep them on their toes.

This one is a pink sauce with heavy cream and a fun shortcut!

Loaded Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:

1 1/2 28 oz cans tomatoes (blend smooth if desired)
2 tablespoons garlic
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 creamy sauce mix
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Directions:
In a large pot, heat a drizzle of olive oil and garlic. When sizzling, add in the tomatoes.
Whisk together sauce mix with milk and add that into the tomatoes quickly before the tomatoes get hot to avoid separation.
Stir well and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir into pasta. Enjoy!

October 2024 Recap

October went by so quickly with lots of soccer, the end of fall baseball, and all the fall things. By the time Halloween actually hits the kiddos will have been in their costumes at least 3 times. October is wrapping up with a bang and November will be a flurry with a super busy work time the time change, and a lot to fit in.

In the kitchen, I loooved this whipped cottage cheese with honey and pistachios and I definitely don’t love cottage cheese.

Nachos got an upgrade with some special touches for Nacho Average Nachos. There are flavored chips (mine are El Nacho – Hot Honey, Mango, & Lime), refried black beans, queso, lots of cheese, salsa, and pickled onions. Try any flavor of these chips…they are incredible.

Next I made Hibachi stye rice bowls! They were good and I’ll keep at the yum yum sauce to get it closer to the restaurant. This is an easy step compared to the flaming volcano onion.

I gave some Greek rice wraps with rice, greek salad, chicken, and dressing.

I’ll be OK with soccer wrapping up. I guiltily said no to helping coach basketball – that’s not my sport and I need a season off. I cannot wait to be a spectator. I’m not 100% set on November blog posts. The darkness is tough! Work gets crazy and I’ll be excited for Thanksgiving.

The Big Kid:
He’s had a fun time with lacrosse and it’s so nice to try something without committing to all the gear and a whole season! He lost 2 teeth! He has a creepy skeleton mask for halloween. We found a few fun chapter books even when I was choosing for him. He tried out for basketball and made one of the travel teams which starts soon! He has one more lacrosse 3×3 and is taking lacrosse after school for a few weeks.

The Littler One:
She lost 2 teeth! It was exciting to see big ones come in. We’ve had a fun soccer season and there are just a few more. She had a friend over and went to a party with the class so I think she is settling in a bit more. She chose to be a witch and has a great time in her purple velvet cape! She is signed up for gymnastics starting in December and she’s interested in ice skating so we’ll see what comes together.

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I got a black & white wreath ribbon that felt fitting for fall/Halloween
More meatless meals: nachos were our meatless dinner
sandwiches and salads: salad bar came in handy to prolong shopping.
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time:
redo photos – no redos right now
what I’m reading: I reread Firekeeper’s Daughter for bookclub and loved it as much years later. I read The Women and it might be my best book of the year. I read I Hope This Finds You Well and it was very interesting…kind of a train wreck. Then I read Fake which was better than some other art/auction/forgery I’ve read.

Hibachi Rice Bowls

We are not hibachi connoisseurs but it was such a fun family birthday celebration for a special 9 year-old so I remembered these flavors and made them into rice bowls. A good rice bowl is customizable with a grain and has something raw, something cooked, and a special sauce.

Ours have rice, teriyaki chicken, sautéed zucchini, shredded carrot, and a yum yum sauce – which was just yum to one kid, and not at all yum to the other. Theirs was on the side so don’t worry to much about them.

Hibachi Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (for ~4)

1 1/2 cups rice + water/broth
1 pound of chicken, chopped into bite size chunks
1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
1 zucchini
1-2 carrots
1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon melted butter
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:
Cook the rice + water/broth. Mine went in the pressure cooker for 8 minutes.
Marinate the chicken in the teriyaki sauce while the rice cooks. Chop the zucchini and grate the carrot.
Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add in a drizzle of vegetable/canola/avocado oil. Cook the chicken until cooked through with an internal temperature of 165-degrees.
Mix up the yum yum sauce with mayo, vinegar, ketchup, melted butter, spices.

Whisk together and refrigerate until serving.

Assemble the bowls as you wish – the kids wanted everything separate.

These were good – though I haven’t cracked the code on the restaurant yum yum sauce. I love how sweet it is – especially with the teriyaki but I wonder if theirs isn’t ketchup/paprika flavored…more turmeric/orange?

These won’t be our most requested, but I was glad for variety of flavors, and after a busy day it was a good dinner. Here are others – Italian themed rice bowls are always a hit, and the coconut rice/pineapple/pulled pork or kielbasa is my personal favorite.