Low Carb Taco Soup

I had someone ask me for my low carb taco soup recipe so I thought I would share with the group. I found this recipe on Plain Chicken. The blogger shares a ton of yummy recipes. Most of it is not low carb but she does have a few things, including this amazing taco soup. She says it’s so good you’ll want to lick the bowl clean; I kinda agree with her. I haven’t licked the bowl yet but I do frequently go back for second servings. Another thing that makes this soup a winner is that it is so simple to make and most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this bowl licking soup:

2 lb. ground beef cooked

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

1 (8 oz.) package of Velveeta cheese or shredded cheddar

1 (1 oz.) package Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix

3 TBSP taco or southwestern seasoning (she uses Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning so that’s what I used as well)

2 (10 oz.) cans Ro*Tel tomatoes and green chiles

4 cups beef broth

How do you make this bowl licking soup?

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. (The recipe calls for cooked ground beef but I don’t know anybody who buys it like that so step one: brown the beef! Step two: dump everything into the crock pot).

OR

You can also make this on the stove top. Again, dump everything into the pot (after you’ve browned the beef), bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Here are a few tips from me:

1. I chose to cut the Velveeta cheese and cream cheese into squares.
2. I found that when I cooked this in the slow cooker the cream cheese didn’t want to thoroughly melt. I scooped the pieces out along with a bit of the liquid and used an immersion blender to get it fully blended. You could leave it in the crockpot and use the immersion blender but I didn’t like the idea of blending up the hamburger. When I cooked it on the stove top I did not have this problem; the cream cheese was thoroughly melted and blended in. If you do find that there are chunks of cream cheese in your soup, even when cooking on the stove, feel free to get out your handy dandy immersion blender and blend away.
3. I used the Velveeta instead of the cheddar cheese so I can’t vouch for how great that is. I’m sure it’s wonderful. I also couldn’t find an 8 oz. container of Velveeta. The smallest one I found was 16 oz. so I just cut it in half. I turned around and made this soup again a few days later so it didn’t go to waste.
4. I’m a big baby when it comes to heat and food, but I used the original Ro*Tel instead of the mild version and it was fine.
5. I’ve been serving this with sour cream and shredded cheese as toppings. She suggests sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro. You can add whatever you desire. I would add some tortilla strips if I wasn’t doing low carb.
6. If you’re watching your carbs you want to be careful about the kind of taco seasoning you use. That is why she suggests Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning.
7. If you’re not watching your carbs feel free to throw in a can of black beans and/or corn.

MOPS Apple French Toast

Have you ever heard the expression, “That’s so good it makes me want to slap my mama!”? Usually I hear it down south. I don’t know why you’d want to slap your mama because your food tastes good but that’s what they say. This French toast recipe, though, is “slap your mama” good. It’s yet another recipe I found through MOPS. It’s a great one for lazy weekend mornings and would be perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. Or a special quarantine breakfast for you homebodies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I used to. I always paired it with sausage links but you could serve it with patties or bacon. You could even serve ham if you want. Enjoy!

P.S. This needs to be made the night before and refrigerated overnight. Just telling you so you don’t start making it one morning, get halfway through the directions and then start cussing.

Apple French Toast

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 T light corn syrup

3 large tart apples, peeled and sliced

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk (or you can use 3 eggs)

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Day old French bread, cut 3/4 thick

Cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, cook brown sugar, butter and syrup until thick, about 5 minutes.
2. Pour into an ungreased 9×13 pan and arrange apples on top.
3. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, and vanilla. Dip bread slices in egg mixture for 30 seconds each side.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon over top.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Remove from refrigerator for 30 minutes and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Hot Wings Buffalo Dip

I’m not normally a fan of hot and spicy but I love me some buffalo wings! This is the perfect dip. It combines the ranch, the spicy hot sauce and the chicken all together in a delicious, gooey dip.

Hot Wings Buffalo Dip

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese at room temperature

8 oz. bottle Ranch dressing

12 oz. hot wing sauce

3 cups grilled chicken, cubed (I use the bagged chicken that is already cooked- 2 bags)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Combine cream cheese, Ranch dressing, and hot wing sauce. Mix well.
2. Add chicken and Cheddar cheese. Pour into a greased baking dish.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
4. Serve warm with tortilla chips and celery.

You can also make it in a crockpot. Cook on low for 2-4 hours. I usually bake it and then transfer to a crockpot to keep it warm.

A Sweet Little Breakfast Recipe

When my kids were 1 and 3 I used to attend MOPS meetings- Mothers of Preschools. I was even a part of the hospitality group that helped bring in the breakfasts we enjoyed each time we met.

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes from that time, the other one being their famous Apple French Toast. I’m saving that recipe for later!

These little beauties are called Cream Cheese Clouds and they are delicious. They are a little time consuming but well worth it.

Cream Cheese Clouds

Ingredients:

1 can (16,3 oz.) buttermilk biscuits, refrigerated

1/2 cup sugar

1 T cinnamon

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into 12 cubes

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions:

1. Separate dough into 12 biscuits; press or roll to 1/4 inch thickness
2. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish.
3. Dip cream cheese in melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon and sugar.
4. Place 1 cream cheese in center of dough circle; gather sides of dough to enclose filling and press edges of dough to seal.
5. Place seam sides up in a lightly greased muffin pan.
6. Drizzle any remaining butter over the “cream cheese clouds” and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Sunday Dinner

When I was a little girl I remember my grandma making Sunday dinner. Beef and noodles. Fried chicken. Ham loaf. Pot roast. Pork chops. With side dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, wilted lettuce, many different salads, cinnamon rolls.

I always thought it would be nice to have Sunday dinners again. Most of the time, of course, I lived several hundred, if not over a thousand, miles away. Then I moved back to Indiana. It’s been three years and I kept thinking we should have a Sunday family dinner.

Yesterday, I finally followed through. I invited my brother and his family, a few single friends, and Rock Star and her roommate. We ended up with seven people gathering round for dinner and an eighth showing up after work.

I made two meatloaves, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, and a salad. All topped off with a cake. It was delicious. It was also a lot of work!

I started making the meatloaves around 10 in the morning and just kept cooking. I didn’t use instant potatoes this time. I peeled those suckers, cut them up, boiled them, and then mashed them. The green beans were fried up in bacon grease and then simmered for almost an hour.

It got super hot in the house. We were opening windows and changing into shorts and short sleeved shirts.

After dinner I was ready for a nap!

It was a good time. I’m going to start out slowly. My goal is once a month, and I’ll work my way up from there.

Here’s to Sunday dinners!

This is the meatloaf recipe I used. It’s a combination of two different recipes I’ve posted before. I really feel like this is “the one”. It combines all the best parts of each recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’m going to toot my own horn for a minute, and I really hope I’m not overselling this recipe but my niece and both friends told me it was delicious. Queen B had second thoughts about showing up because meatloaf isn’t her favorite but she said this one was really good. She loved how moist it was and raved about the glaze. My friend Sweet J asked me to share the recipe and my other friend agreed that it was amazing.

Sam’s Amazing Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¾ c milk
• 3 slices of bread torn into small pieces
• 1 t salt
• ½ t pepper
• 1/2 c ketchup, divided
• 2 lbs ground beef
• ½ c onion, diced
• 1 oz pkg ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese

For the glaze:

• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. mustard

Instructions:

1. Combine your eggs, milk, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine gently.
3. Now you have two choices. You can shape it into a loaf and bake it on a cookie sheet with a lip, or put it in a loaf pan. Or you can make a mound in your greased slow cooker.
4. Combine the three ingredients for the glaze and spread over the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 90 minutes. Or cook on low in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours,

Chicken Ole Crockpot Soup

I did a lot of potlucks at the school back in my SAHM days. One of my favorite things to do for the teachers was to have an assortment of soups for them to choose from at lunch. This one was brought in by one of the school secretaries and it’s a keeper.

Chicken Ole Crockpot Soup

Ingredients:

1 can Rotel tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 can of corn with the juice

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

3 chicken breasts

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2-1 cup milk (depending on how creamy you want it)

1 packet of dry Ranch dressing mix

1 T. cumin

1 t. onion powder

1 t. chili powder

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove chicken and shred it. Then place back in soup.

Chef’s Notes: This can be served with crumbled tortilla strips or chips, shredded cheese and/or sour cream. Really, any toppings you’d like. I’m not a big fan of black olives or jalapeños but if you like them feel free to add them.

This recipe is excellent and so easy!

What Do Immersion Blenders Have To Do With Adultery?

The answer to the title question? Absolutely nothing but I needed a way to introduce my new topic which is, you guessed it, immersion blenders.

I meant to write about this back when I first used it but time has slipped away from me. I wasn’t going to do a review anymore because so much time has passed but I can’t help it. These things are amazing!

If you’ve never had an immersion blender you need one. They’re like mini blenders on a stick. They get into places you can’t even imagine. I use mine mainly to blend things really well when making soup. They do an amazing job!

Come to think of it I’m pretty sure the only time I’ve ever used one is when I’m making soup. For example, my Loaded Baked Potato Soup uses cream cheese in the recipe. No matter how much I soften it up or try to give it time to melt and blend I feel like I always still have small chunks of cream cheese in my soup. Until I brought out the immersion blender and used that to mix it up directly in the pot. No more chunks. Problem solved. Conversely, when making my Cheesy Vegetable Chowder I use the immersion blender to break down some of the vegetables and thicken the soup.

You can do that with any kind of sauce, soup, or gravy. How many times have you added an ingredient to the pan and no matter how much you stir small clumps remain? Or, you’ve made soup or a sauce and you’re thinking, “This really needs to be thicker.  What can I add?” That’s where your immersion blender comes in.

I wish I could remember exactly when I first used my immersion blender. I’m sure I was home in Virginia though, and I remember my overwhelming thought was, “Holy crap! This thing is amazing!” No more lumps, everything blended, and, if this is what you’re going for, a much thicker product.

I did a quick Google search to see what other benefits I could offer you all if you’re thinking about running out and buying one of these handy tools. I found a few more ways you use your immersion blender. You can make: smoothies, pesto, whipped cream, homemade mayonnaise, tomato sauce, hollandaise sauce (Eggs Benedict, anyone?), salsa, pancake and waffle batter, cheese sauce (any kind of sauce really), and apple butter.

On average these beauties run between $30-$65. Not a bad price at all. I highly recommend one!

I”ll leave you with a recipe. It doesn’t require the use of an immersion blender. I hope you enjoy it. I have not made it myself yet but I’ve made other recipes from this site and they are fantastic.

Crack Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients

3 cups of chopped chicken (the author uses a rotisserie chicken but you can use whatever is convenient for you)

5 1/2 cups of chicken broth

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 (3 oz. package) real bacon bits (you could always fry up some bacon as well but this is quick and easy)

1 (1 oz.) package of Original Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning mix

1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup

2/3 cup of uncooked long grain white rice

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large Dutch oven or other large pan
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes, until rice is cooked.

Recipes Are Back!

I know you all come here for the great recipes, right? LOL This one I’ve only made once or twice. I really like it and it’s super easy. My kids aren’t as wild about it. I think they are looking more for the breaded orange chicken like you get at Panda Express, or Panda Slow AF, as I now call it.

Just as an FYI, since I’m always willing to give credit where credit is due, the last time I went to Panda Express, which was several months ago, I zipped right through the drive thru. I pulled in, ordered my food, paid, received my food, and drove off all within about 5 minutes. It’s a miracle! Or my blog has gone viral at Panda Express headquarters. Then again, maybe it was just a slow day.

Anyway, this is my awesome orange chicken recipe. It comes from Frugal Girls; it is made in the crockpot and it has no breading on the chicken. I would imagine that you could probably dip the chicken in milk or an egg bath, dredge it in bread crumbs or flour, and then fry it until crispy before putting it in the crockpot if you want the breaded chicken. I don’t know how that would work out for you in the crockpot, though. The chicken might get soggy; it might be fine. I don’t know and honestly, I’m not going to test it for you.

4 Ingredient Orange Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
• ¾ cup Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade
• ¾ cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce

Instructions

1. Cook chicken in crockpot on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours {covered}
2. After 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW, drain juices from crockpot
3. At this point… you can either leave the chicken breasts whole, or remove, cut into cubes, and transfer back to crockpot.
4. Mix together bbq sauce, orange marmalade, and soy sauce.
5. Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes {covered}
6. Serve with rice and Enjoy!!

 

Pot Roast! Get Your Pot Roast Here!

Because so many people come to an infidelity blog to get new recipes I am including two different pot roast recipes. Both are cooked in the crockpot and both are delicious! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

To Die For Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

1 envelope brown gravy mix

1 envelope Italian dressing

2-3 pound cut of meat of your choice

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix the 3 envelopes of seasonings together in a bowl. Pour over the meat, which should already be in the crockpot.
2. Add the water and cook on low for 6-8 hours, along with whatever vegetables you would like. I usually use small red potatoes, carrots, squash, and mushrooms.

That’s it! Wasn’t that easy?

The above recipe was my go-to recipe for pot roast for the longest time. For a change I’ll sometimes use the following recipe.

Vegas Meets Mississippi Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 3 lb chuck roast
1 packet of dry Ranch dressing mix
1 packet of dry Au Jus mix
1 stick of butter
5 – 6 pepperoncini

Directions:

1. Place the roast in the crockpot and sprinkle with Ranch dressing mix and Au Jus mix on top.
2. Top with one stick of butter cut into chunks.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. If you are feeling adventurous you can remove the meat from the crockpot and cover. Then pour the remaining liquid from the crockpot into a saucepan on the stove, bring it to a boil and add a mixture of corn starch and water (or flour and water) to thicken it.

You can also choose to shred the meat and serve it with the gravy on top, or serve it in chunks. Your choice.

This recipe is equally delicious. I highly recommend both!

Soup, Anyone?

I’m back to posting recipes on occasion. Why not? I love to eat and it makes for a nice bit of filler when I’m too tired to write or edit. Here’s the other thing: I will never post a recipe that I have not personally tried. So if I’m posting it you know it must be good.

We’re into April already. I don’t know about most of you but we’ve had a fairly mild winter. It’s probably incorrect to say here’s a great soup recipe to try before the weather warms up too much because it hasn’t really been soup weather this entire time! Regardless, here is a wonderful soup recipe. I found it on Pinterest and the original website is called Miss Information.

I went in to work one day and told people I had made soup. Naturally, the next question was, “What kind did you make?” I told them it was Italian Tortellini.  I was shocked to find out that this is a very popular soup! I don’t know why I was surprised, though, because it’s also a very delicious soup. Try it! You’ll like it.

Italian Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Italian sausage (if it is in casing take it out)
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 1 32oz box low sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 can original Rotel tomatoes
• 2 tbs. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. each salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tbs. tomato paste
• 19 oz package frozen cheese tortellini (you can also use the refrigerated kind as well, you just won’t have to cook it as long)
• shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, over med heat, start browning you Italian sausage chopping it up as you go like you would ground beef.
2. Once it starts browning throw in your onion and garlic and let it start to sweat for about 2 minutes you don’t want to let it brown.
3. Next add the carrots. Keep tossing it around until the onions are opaque and the sausage is cooked through.
4. Pour in the chicken broth, water, Rotel tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and tomato paste.
5. Let it simmer together for 30 minutes.
6. Taste and add more salt if you wish, but keep in mind you are going to add Parmesan cheese which is salty as well.
7. After simmering for 30 minutes add the frozen tortellini and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked through.
8. Serve this Italian Tortellini Soup hot and top with Parmesan cheese. You can try it without but I promise you the Parmesan makes this dish.

Chef’s Notes: You can freeze this recipe but it’s best to omit the tortellini because it will get soggy after being frozen and then thawed.

You can use any kind of sausage you want- hot, spicy, mild, sweet. It’s completely up to you. I generally use regular ol’ Italian sausage.

I usually make this recipe as outlined, i.e. cooking it on the stovetop, but you can also throw it into a crockpot after browning and sautéing the necessary ingredients. Cook on low about 6 hours and save the tortellini for the last bit of cooking time.

I also usually use regular chicken broth instead of trying to buy the lower sodium version. Again, your choice.

She’s not lying about the parmesan cheese. Last time I made it I didn’t have parmesan so I used mozzarella. It was tasty but I definitely like the parmesan better.