Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup

This time of year induces my soup making mode.  I don't know what it is about the cooler weather that makes me want to throw ingredients into my Crockpot and then have warm tasty soup waiting for me a few hours later.  If you are like me then this is a great recipe to try.  Its a little spicy so if you have little ones in your house you might want to cut the amount of cayenne pepper by half.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Yes. . . that's the answer to the question that is going through your mind right now, "do those tacos taste as good as they look?"  And the answer is '"Yes!"  You want to know what's even better about these tacos than how good they look?  They are SOOOOO simple to make.  Throw a few things in the crockpot and in 4-6 hours you have delicious shredded beef for these amazing tacos.

Grilled Guacamole & Cheese Sandwich

Let me just tell you how adorable my 3 year old son is.  One day we were out running errands and we stopped for lunch.  Normally his "go-to" lunch is a corn dog, but this place didn't have corn dogs so I asked him if he wanted a "grilled cheese sandwich" and he said, "mom, I'm not a girl."  A little confused I told him I knew he wasn't a girl and asked him again if he wanted a grilled cheese sandwich.  This time he said, "well don't they have a boy cheese sandwich since I'm a boy."  Apparently when I say 'grilled' it sounds like 'girl' to him.  So now, in our house, when our 3 year old is around, we call our 'grilled cheese sandwiches' 'boy cheese sandwiches' instead.

This sandwich is really tasty.  What could be better than melty cheese and creamy guacamole?  Not much, if you ask me.

Woodsy Vegetable Parmesan Orzo

Is 'woodsy' a word?  When I was trying to think of how to explain the mixture of vegetables in this recipes that was the first word that came to mind.  Maybe 'earthy' would be better?  I don't know!  But I liked 'woodsy' so I went with it.  This recipe was just something I threw together one night for dinner.  I had a mixture of vegetables that I needed to use up from my Bountiful Basket.  If you don't know what Bountiful Basket it is check out the link and see if they are in your area. . .  I promise you will LOVE it.    Back to the recipe. . . this was so surprisingly good when I had the first bite.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

I am a huge fan of buffalo chicken.  Honestly my favorite is the appetizer from Apple Bee's, the buffalo chicken bites with blue cheese dressing for dipping...yum-e!  So, when I saw a recipe for buffalo chicken tacos my first thought was, "Oh that's going to be so good." and my second thought was, "Why didn't I ever think of that?" (I say this to myself a lot when I see creative things that I wish I had thought of!)  I kept putting off making these tacos because I'm really the only one in the house that likes buffalo chicken.  My hubby likes his chicken wings (or chicken bites) in a sweet sauce, usually like a sweet BBQ.  Finally one night, when my hubby was away for work, I made them.  I only coated the pieces of chicken I was going to eat in the wing sauce, it actually worked out well.  My 3 year old ate chicken bites with ranch dressing, my 13 year old had chicken tacos and I had buffalo chicken tacos!

Grilled Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

You know what's really yum-e?  A peanut butter sandwich with sliced bananas on it.  You know what's even better?  Put some butter on both sides of the sandwich and throw it on a hot grill (or grill pan, which is what I use since there is a LOT of snow out there surrounding my grill).  The peanut butter gets all gooey and warm, the bananas get soft and sweet and the bread gets toasted and buttery.  Yup, its practically the best thing on earth!  No wonder Elvis ate it all the time!

Celery Soup with Caramelized Apples

Almost a year ago I was introduced to an awesome thing called Bountiful Baskets.  Have you heard of them?  It's wonderful!  Click the link above if you haven't heard about them.  You get fresh produce at a fraction of the price you would pay for it at the store.  I LOVE it!!!

So what does Bountiful Baskets have to do with celery soup?  Well, one week I received two bags of celery.  I'm not a big celery eater, in fact I really don't like it at all.  The texture is not appealing to me.  Usually the only way I will eat it is with peanut butter on it, and even then I'm forcing myself to finish it.  When I received the two bags of celery I was a little disappointed, I really assumed it would go to waste, especially without my hubby here to help eat it.  But then I stumbled onto a recipe for soup, celery soup!  I figured it was worth it to give it a try since either way it would go to waste, either with me not eating it or me using it to make soup and then not liking it.  Surprisingly enough it was so GOOD!  It must've been the pears and the apples that were added to it, or maybe it because I just don't like the text of celery, whatever the reason, this soup was really wonderful!

Baked Potato Soup

This is a recipe I have been making for years now.  The whole family loves it and requests it often.  I love it because not only does it taste good, but its also a very cheap dinner.  You can't get much cheaper than a bag of potatoes.  Another great thing about this recipe???  I've adapted it from my Cooking Light cookbook so its light in the calorie and fat sections!  Woohoo you can't ask for more than that!

Orzo Parmesan Melody

My hubby has a great time joking around every time I make orzo.  He picks on me by saying, "oh this RICE you made tonight is wonderful."  "I've never had RICE that has so much flavor," etc, etc.  Yes, he is a comedian!  

I love orzo.  To me it has this buttery quality to it, even when you don't add anything to it.  Usually I make it as a side dish to a protein that we are having, but this time I made it as the main course.  Orzo is great because you can add almost anything to it and have a tasty, satisfying meal.