Chicken and Cream Cheese Soup

I found this recipe on The Sister's Cafe, and WOW is it so good! I used a rotisseri chicken from Sam's Club and it made this meal so incredibly easy. I love it when I can have dinner done in 30 minutes. I also love this recipe because I always have the indredients on hand. I made these cheddar and garlic biscuits to go with it, perfect!

Chicken and Cream Cheese Soup

1 lb chicken (breasts or combination)

1 onion, diced

1-2 Tb butter

2 handfuls baby carrots (about 2 cups sliced small)

4-5 potatoes, diced small (I used red potatoes)
4 cubes chicken bouillon, or chicken base

1 c milk

1/4 c flour

8 oz package cream cheese

1. Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When chicken is cool, shred. (or use a rotisserie chicken)

2. Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of water or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor (I add 4 bouillon cubes). Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

3. Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Soften cream cheese in microwave then add to soup in little pieces and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

The first time I had this pizza was at California Pizza Kitchen and I fell in love with it! The cilantro makes it for me. Home made pizzas are so fun and always a big hit at our house. I have blogged pizza dough recipes on here before so you can one of them, another favorite of yours or even frozen from the store. I make extra and freeze it, this makes for a really quick and easy dinner. This is also a great way to use left over BBQ chicken.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough

BBQ sauce (we love Sweet Baby Rays)

pizza sauce

Mozarella cheese, grated

1 chicken breast, BBQed, and shredded

1/4 red onion sliced

chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out dough to desired thickness and shape. I like to cook my dough for 5-7 minutes before I put anything on it, this makes for a crispier crust. Mix BBQ sauce and pizza sauce and spread on crust. Top with cheese, chicken, red onion, cilantro and any other toppings you like. (We have also used diced tomatoes, mushrooms would be good too). Bake pizza until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown, around 10-12 minutes.

Grandma Twinkle's Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

My Grandma used to make these every time we were going to her house. Everything about them reminds me of her! They are so wonderfully good, especially right out of the oven when the Kiss is still melty!

Grandma Twinkle's Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

1/2 C butter

1/2 C peanut butter

*cream together, then add

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C white sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

*mix again, then add

1 3/4 C flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

Sugar to roll dough in

Hershey's kisses

Preheat oven to 375. Mix dough until combine. Make into balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes, press {unwrapped} kiss into top of each one and return to oven for another 2-3 minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken kabobs

I got this recipe from my sister Abby and I am in LOVE! It is so easy, so delishious and so summer-y! This recipe would be great with whole chicken breasts too but we cut up the raw chicken before we marinated it and then put it on kabobs. But hey, be creative!

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

2 T Brown Sugar

3 T Soy Sauce

1 T oil

1/4 t powdered ginger

1/8 t garlic powder

1-2 chicken breasts

fresh pineapple

bell peppers

onion

We cut up the raw chicken into cubes before marinating, this makes assembling the kabobs so easy! It is best to marinate overnight but I would say at least a couple of hours. We put fresh pineapple, red and green bell peppers and onion on the kabobs too. The fresh pineapple totally makes it! Grill until chicken is done. We put them over a bed of rice and wow what a great meal to eat on our deck! We used 3 chicken breasts for our family of 4.

Garlic Ranch Breadsticks

I worked at a pizza place growing up and we made these there, well not these exact ones but this idea. We just love these and they go with so much. We make them to go with soup, pasta, salad and pizza.

Garlic Ranch Breadsticks

Dough
(California Pizza Kitchen)

1 teaspoon yeast
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
1 ½ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Put yeast into warm water and let sit for a few minutes to activate. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combine and smooth. Do not over mix, this will make your dough tough. Let rise until double.

Filling

ranch dressing
chopped garlic (about 1/2 teaspoon)
mozarella cheese (shredded)
parmesan cheese (grated)

Roll out dough into a square. On half of it spread ranch dressing and crushed garilc then sprinkle with mozarella and parmesan cheese. Fold the top half onto the bottom and press it gently down to get rid of any air and seal the two halves together. Cut it into about 8-10 strips. Now twist them and put them on a pizza stone or greased cookie sheet. Bake them at 450' for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and they are golden brown. Dip them in pizza sauce or ranch dressing.

A Long Time Gone...

Call it lazy, call it procrastination, call it morning sickness that lasts 24 hours a day for 17 weeks, call it whatever you like. I am sorry to have abandoned you for so long but extenuating circumstances beyond my control have kept me out of my kitchen, and ill with the thought of it literally, for many, many weeks (far too many in my opinion). I have been busy growing and cooking up my most amazing concoction of love, sweetness and beauty, but it won't be ready until August. So I am content to let it cook a little longer while I do my best to get back to normal life until it arrives, I mean until it is done. So here is to being able to open my fridge without gagging!

Tuscan Lentil Soup

This recipe comes from the Sister's Cafe, and like so many of their recipes it is wonderful! Pair it with Garlic Ranch Breadsticks and you really can't go wrong. Here is the recipe...

Tuscan Lentil Soup

Tuscan Lentil Soup

1 pound small French green lentils, rinsed

7 cups vegetable broth (I use chicken broth)

1 bay leaf

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 small cup pasta

8 oz spinach, chopped

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

salt

freshly ground black pepper

fresh Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, combine the lentils, broth and bay leaf. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for approximately 45 minutes, or until lentils are just tender.

In a small skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, but not browned. Set aside.

Bring a med saucepan of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 5 minutes, or until just al dente. Drain and set aside.

Add the sauteed vegetables, spinach, tomatoes (with juice), and parsley to the lentils. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the pasta and season with the salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf. Ladle in bowls, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!