God is Able

One of my favorite worship bands, Hillsong Live, released another CD this past Tuesday - God is Able, and I have been listening to it non-stop since I downloaded it. I am so thankful for their ministry! Below are some of my favorite songs from the CD.

Chicken Enchiladas

Okay, so we like our Mexican/Tex Mex food. I wanted to find a recipe for enchilada sauce that was not tomato based - as that is not what they use in restaurants. What do you know - they had one in my new favorite cookbook collection! I think we are set on enchilada recipes now. The search is over!

Chicken Enchiladas

Canyon Ranch Cooks

Makes four, 2 enchilada servings

Ingredients

For the enchilada sauce:

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground oregano

Pinch dried thyme

Pinch black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

3 1/2 cups vegetable (or reduced sodium chicken broth)

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp honey

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp salt (optional - I think this makes it too salty)

For the enchiladas:

1/2 cup onion, minced

12 oz cooked chicken breast, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup vegetable (or reduced sodium chicken broth)

8 corn tortillas

4 oz low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. In a large saute pan, combine flour with dry herbs and spices and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Add remaining ingredients for sauce and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

2. Lightly coat a medium saute pan with canola oil and saute onion, chicken, oregano and chili powder until chicken is lightly browned. Add 1 cup stock and simmer until liquid has evaporated.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Soak a tortilla briefly in warm water, lay on a flat work surface and spoon 3 Tbsp chicken filling inside one edge. Roll tightly and place into an 8"x8" baking pan. Repeat. Ladle sauce on top and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Each 2 enchilada serving contains:

- 430 calories

- 55 g carbs

- 9 g fat

- 76 mg cholesterol

- 35 g protein

- 482 mg sodium (or less if remove salt)

- 6 g fiber

Chicken Pot Pies

I try not to cook with butter... but I do, I use about 1-2 Tbsp. This recipe uses 7 (!). I'll work on cutting the fat our later. For those of you whole don't mind it every once in a while, this is an easier version of chicken pot pie. It makes six, 8-oz ramekin pies instead of one 9" pie.

Chicken Pot Pies

Canyon Ranch Nourish

Ingredients

For the crust
1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp evaporated cane juice (or sugar)
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
4 to 6 Tbsp ice water

Filling
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
Four 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, diced
2 cups yellow onions, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp dried crushed thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh sage (or 2/3 tsp dried sage)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. For the crust, place the flour in a medium bowl. Add the salt and cane juice (sugar) and mix well. Cut the butter into the flour, using a pastry cutter, until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the water, 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing gently after each addition. The dough will begin to form a ball when enough water has been added. Gather the dough with dry hands and form into a ball. Let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a circle large enough to fit the top of an 8-oz ramekin.

4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Brown the chicken on all sides. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Whisk 4 cups of the chicken stock, the thyme, and sage into the chicken mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Combine the cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 cup of the chicken stock in a small bowl. Mix well. Slowly whisk the paste into the chicken and vegetable mixture and cook over medium heath until thickened. Stir continuously to avoid burning.

7. Add the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, parsley, and lemon juice and remove from the heat.

8. Place 1 cup chicken mixture in each of six individual 8-oz ramekins and top each with a dough circle. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crusts are golden brown.

Each serving contains

- 400 calories

- 40 g carbs

- 15 g fat

- 86 mg cholesterol

- 24 g protein

- 734 mg sodium

- 3 g fiber

Crispy Roasted Garbanzo Beans

I recently purchased two cookbooks off Amazon: Canyon Ranch Cooks and Canyon Ranch Nourish. I love them. They have hundreds of delicious, nutritious dishes. Usually when I buy a cookbook, I only really like two or three of the recipes, but I am just about liking every one I make from these books.

I made this snack when my mom and grandma were up in College Station last weekend. I'm excited to make these and other spice variations in the future! These are surprisingly spicy, so if you don't do spicy, I'd omit the cayenne pepper.

Crispy Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Canyon Ranch Nourish: indulgently healthy cuisine

Makes six 3/4 cup servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp evoo

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp onion powder

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Two, 15-oz cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with canola oil spray.

2. Combine the olive oil, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, basil, oregano, cayenne, and pepper in a large bowl.

3. Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans well and pat dry. Add the beans to parmesan mixture and toss together until well coated.

4. Spread the beans evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy. (I baked them for 1 hour; however, a lot of recipes on the internet say 30 minutes is enough. I guess if you don't want them super crispy, shorten the cooking time.)

Each serving contains

170 calories

20 g carbohydrate

7 g fat

8 mg cholesterol

10 g protein

313 mg sodium

3 g fiber

Cheeseburger Macaroni

This is like homemade hamburger helper, but it tastes way better... and it is just as good for leftovers!

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Kevin and Amanda

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb lean hamburger meat
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
2 cups beef broth (or water)
1 cup elbow macaroni

Cheese sauce:

2 Tablespoons butter
2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Brown and drain hamburger meat. Stir in taco seasoning, Rotel, beef broth, and macaroni. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 mins until macaroni is tender.

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce…Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 5 minutes until fragrant and light brown in color. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted. Add the salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture. Stir gently to combine.

Chicken & Veggie Nuggets

I don't know anything about the website I got this recipe from, but I'm assuming there are veggies in these nuggets to hide them from their children. It is genius. They would have fooled me! (Other than the fact that you can kind of see orange and green through the panko bread crumbs.) These chicken nuggets are so good, simple, and cheap (if the ground chicken is on sale). The ground chicken was $4.99/lb at Kroger last week. I'm not sure if that is normal, but it sounds really high to me.

Chicken & Veggie Nuggets

Cheeky Kitchen

Ingredients

1 (12 to 14-oz) package California veggies, thawed

1 egg

1/2 lb ground chicken

1 tsp onion salt (or other seasoning)

2 cups panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Put the veggies and egg in a blender or food processor. Blend until pureed. Pour puree into a large bowl. Add the ground chicken and onion salt. Mix together with a fork until well mixed. On a large cutting board, spread a thin layer of the panko bread crumbs, and salt and pepper them lightly. Spread the chicken mixture on top of the crumb mixture until it's about 1/2" thick. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken mixture, and sprinkle the last cup of panko on top. Use a cookie cutter to cut the chicken into shapes.**

Transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes, or just until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with ranch dressing or barbecue sauce.

**It got kind of messy doing this on a cutting board. Panko kept falling off the counter (and kind of grossed me out since it touched the raw meat). I think it would be easier to do it either in a 9 x 13" pan (using a circle or a not-so-detailed cookie cutter), or to form small balls in your hand and roll them in the panko. Then flatten them to 1/2" with your hand or a spatula. This is the method I am going to try next time.

Spicy Jambalaya

I found this delicious recipe on a friend of mine's website - Fitness Food and Faith. (Awesome blog by the way.) I think I am making three of her recipes this week, and I have a feeling they will all be great! :o) This meal takes about an hour and a half to prepare, but is very hands-off. My favorite kind after a long week of work!

Spicy Jambalaya

Sam Walton

Ingredients

12 oz andouille sausage

1 Tbsp oil

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

1 large onion, diced

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1 stalk celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup long grain brown rice

1 1/2 cup water

1, 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown sausage and then remove and set aside. Add flour to the oil and make a dark roux by cooking the flour over medium high heat until golden in color, stirring continuously. Add the chopped onions, celery and parsley to the roux and toss well to coat. Cook for about six minutes or until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook for thirty seconds more. Add the browned sausage, water, tomatoes, rice, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir well and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for one hour. Before serving fluff with a fork.

French Onion Soup

Yummy french onion soup without butter. Yes. I've made this a few times now, and we really like it. It is time consuming, so I only make it on Saturdays. (I think it takes about an hour and a half.) If you have the time, I recommend it!

French Onion Soup

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

5 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced

olive oil

1 tsp sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups beef broth

4 cups chicken broth

1 beef bouillon (I use 1 tsp Better than Bouillon beef base)

1/2 cup dry white wine (I use chardonnay)

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp ground thyme

Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

French baguette (slice and toast before placed on soup)

Gruyere/Swiss cheese (I'm cheap and buy the presliced Kroger swiss)

Directions

In a large saucepan, saute the onions in olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30 to 40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add stock, wine, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

We use ramekins, but if you have oven proof soup bowls, it would probably be easier (and you won't have to keep going back for more). Ladle the soup into the bowls. Cover with toast and a slice of cheese (or a ripped up part of one if using a ramekin). Put into the oven/toaster oven and broil until cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.