Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Have You Tried...

Have you tried freeze dried herbs? I know that fresh is best, but its the middle of winter and I live in Lansing, MI. So I have resorted to using freeze dried herbs and so far am pretty impressed with their flavor.

Creamy Chicken Chowder- MY WAY

Last night I made a delicious Creamy Chicken Chowder in the crock pot. I loosely followed a recipe found in a cookbook, but made quite a few adjustments. Its a great winter treat. Top it off with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and some tortilla chips!

Here's how I made it:

combine the following in the crockpot:

about 1lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 11oz can corn with sweet peppers (drained)

1 10 3/4oz can cream of chicken soup

1 10 3/4oz can nacho cheese soup

1 4oz can fire roasted green chile peppers

2 tbs freeze dried cliantro (or fresh snipped)

1 envelope taco seasoning

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup PACE tomatillo salsa (you could probably use whatever kind you want, just NOT fresh because its too watery)

COVER, cook on LOW 4-6 hrs, or HIGH 2-3 hrs.

in a small bowl, stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into 1 cup of dairy sour cream. Make sure its REAL and not reduced fat!!! stir sour cream mixture into crockpot mixture, use a whisk if necessary to make it smooth. Add 1 14oz can of pinto beans (drained and rinsed). Stir. Cover and let stand 5-10 minutes or until beans are heated through. I decided to add the beans last because I didn't want them to turn into total mush.