Crockpot Chicken & Leek Stew

Serves: 6

           9    chicken drumsticks, skin removed

• 6cups water
• 2medium carrot, sliced
• 2stalk celery, sliced
• 3/4cup barley
• 3teaspoons chicken bouillon
• 2teaspoons salt
• 1⁄4teaspoon pepper
• 1bay leaf
• 2cups leeks, with tops (sliced and cleaned very well)

Add all ingredients to a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.



Adapted from:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cock-a-leekie-chicken-and-leek-soup-7702

Crockpot Mushroom, Barley & Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ cup pearled barley
• ¼ cup brown or green lentils
• 16 oz button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in a crockpot. Cook on high for about 3 hours, or until grains are cooked through and vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Found here: http://www.hummusapien.com/crockpot-mushroom-barley-lentil-soup/

Kid Friendly Sweet Potato Quesadillas

We've been having a hard time with dinner lately with our 6 year old boy. Nothing tastes good apparently, who knew.

My solution, to try and find healthy meals that my husband and I will enjoy, and that the kids will eat and want seconds.  This recipe was mission accomplished!

Here it goes:

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled, cubed, and boiled (10 minutes)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1-15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• handfull of cilantro, washed and chopped
• 1/4 cup sour cream, plus extra for topping
• 10 - 6 inch wheat (recommended) flour tortillas
• 1.5 cups shredded chicken (I used leftover chicken)
• 1-2 cups monterey jack cheese (recommended, but you can use any other cheese)
• Toppings of your choice: sour cream, salsa, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, etc..

Directions:

1. In a heated skilled, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, cilantro. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add black beans and cook a few more minutes to heat them through.
2. Add the cubed/boiled sweet potato to the skilled, as well as the sour cream. Use a hand blender to blend mixture into a puree (this is the trick to getting kids to eating veggies--next time I will add spinach in this mixture, mwuahaha!)
3. Heat another pan. Add a couple spoon-fulls of the mixture onto a tortilla and spread to cover, add some shredded chicken and then some cheese, and top with another tortilla. Place in the heated pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip and repeat.

Enjoy friends!
Cathy

Egg Salad Sandwich

I remember when mama B made this for me when I was in elementary school..I hated it. Not because of the taste but because everyone made fun of how bad my lunch box smelled. It was bad. Anyways, now I love egg sandwiches and I do not care how it smells. Cathy has the perfect way of boiling eggs...but i'll let her post that :)

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 t. lemon juice

Directions

Boil the 8 eggs for about 10-12 min. Peal the eggshell off of the eggs and place in bowl and begin the mash the eggs. Place al the ingredients in the bowl and mix together. Toast two slices of homemade bread and put the desired amount of egg salad in your sandwich.

Enjoy !!

-Christy 

Mediterranean tuna salad

This is a Momma B original, so you know it'll be good. I've been eating this for lunch for years! And every-time I love it even more. My husband, who is not a fish lover, loves having this for lunch. The red wine vinegar masks a lot of the fishy flavor that tuna usually has. This is one of my favorite keeper recipes.

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 2-9 ounce cans of tuna, drained
• 2 Tbs chopped black olives
• 2 Tbs finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 Tbs sliced green onions

1. Mix up the mayo, oregano, and vinegar
2. Add the drained tuna, olives, red peppers, and green onions. Mix well.

Serve this on a toasted bagel, or just whole wheat bread, with cheese if you'd like. I also add a slice of tomato on there, do what you want, and I want this right now!!


Enjoy,
Cathy

Not Chili

It's like chili, but white instead of red, chicken instead of meat, cilantro instead of....ok so it isn't chili at all! Ever try it? A similar chili recipe was the winning chili at our church chili cook-off back in 2009, made by the Goold family (and not to brag, but my corn bread won first prize...or I guess Paula Dean really actually won first prize, but I did make it for her...)

The original recipe was easy, simple, and DE-LICIOUS-- I decided to kick it up a small notch/make it my own and substitute in a couple more fresh ingredients (it: real onions instead of onion powder etc)...so here it is!

If you are not a fan of regular chili, this is the chili for you. I don't even think it should be called chili. My husband loves this, and he is a chili hater (had a bad experience, yes you got it). So there you have it, hubby approved!

• 1 lbs of chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 
• 5-19 ounce cans white kidney beans
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2-3 cans of chopped canned green chilies (hard to find in canada, Old El Paso makes them) You can add more if you want.
• 2-14 ounce cans of chicken broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream (whole milk or milk to make less fatty)
• Cayenne pepper to add some heat (optional)
• Chopped cilantro before serving

1. Fry the onions until translucent (5-8 minutes)
2. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds until the aroma hits your nose
3. Add the cooked chicken, beans, corn, chicken broth, salt, cumin, oregano, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the sour cream and cream, and reduce to a simmer.
5. Simmer for as long as you can wait, but 20-25 minutes for best flavor mixing results.
6. Add cilantro in individual bowls as desired

Served this with fresh baked bread

Let me know who wins in your books, chili, or not chili?


About 8 servings (large servings)


Cathy