Kendi's Kitchen: Crock Pot Potato Soup

I tried a crock pot potato soup recipe I found on pinterest once before.  It did not go well.  It actually killed my stick blender, well, Kevin's stick blender.  So when my BFF, Kimmy, posted a picture of the soup she had just made on IG, I immediately sent her a message asking for the recipe.  She sent it to me and I set out making it for dinner Sunday night.  It. was. FABULOUS!  Just like the kind you buy in the restaurant.  And it was super easy.  Be warned, it's not healthy.  But its nice comfort food.  Now if I can just make a bread bowl...


Crock Pot Potato Soup (original recipe here)

1 bag frozen hash browns (30oz)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth (I use the powdered bouillon)
1 diced onion
1 pkg softened cream cheese (8oz)
1/2 tbsp of pepper 

Optional:  green onions, bacon, shredded cheese

In your crock pot, mix cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, onion, pepper and hash browns (use the whole bag!).  Cook on low for 5hrs.  

Here's what I used.  I'm a "no-name brand" girl

It should look like this when you start to cook

After 5hrs, stir in the whole block of cream cheese.  Stir it enough to see it melt pretty well.  Continue cooking on low for another 30 minutes.  Here's a Kendi tip: I only added the equivelent of one can of broth for the 5 hrs by mistake, so I had to quickly add the second.  Since it was bowling hot when I poured it in, I think it helped melt the cream cheese and really make the consistency what you see in the picture.  I will probably keep making it that way.

It should look like this when you are finished cooking.  Nice and creamy!

Now, you can eat it just like this, which is very good.  Or you can get restaurant fancy with green onions, shredded cheese and bacon and make it "loaded baked potato soup".  :-D

Mmmm...fancy...

Cheers!

Stats:
Time: 6 hrs
Cost:  around $7
Servings:  4+
Leftovers:  yes

Kendi's Kitchen: One Pot Pasta

Kevin does most of the cooking at the Kendi Haus (he is braver than me).  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm so lucky I married a man that can cook.

We've had this twice.  It's from Pinterest via Martha Stewart.  I was skeptical at first, but it turned out really nice.  Highly recommended for a quick dinner that will impress.

Cheers!

One Pot Pasta (link to Martha)

1 box of linguini
1 can diced tomatos
1 sliced onion
4-5 sliced garlic cloves (we always use more garlic than the recipe says)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
some fresh basil leaves (we just grab some and go)
4 1/2 cups of chicken broth (we use the powder and and make our own)
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tsp oregano

Cut up you veggies, make the broth and get the spices.  Put everything in a big pot.  You don't have to cook the pasta first, just put everything in the pot.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, covered.  Stir every now and then.  Cook until there's no liquid left, or just a little left.  Season with salt, pepper and Parmesan. 

You wouldn't think this would work, but the pasta cooks and it has a lot of flavor.  Makes great leftovers if you use the whole box of pasta.

Stats
Time:  20 min
Servings: 4+
Cost: $3
Leftovers:  yes

Get YDFM bread as a great side

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

Dinner options in the Haus of Kendi have been pretty sparse this week because we haven't gone grocery shopping since returning from vacation (more on that soon). Rather than going out for dinner last night I decided to take a quick stock of the pantry to see what I could whip up. I found a can of black beans, a jar of salsa, and some chicken in the freezer. After consulting the Google I found a recipe for a Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa. It sounded tasty, we had all of the required ingredients, and it was a simple recipe. Turns out I made a great find! I modified the recipe slightly based on what we had in the kitchen and the baking time didn't work out. I thought the suggested time of 35 minutes on 350 was a little short, but I went with it. I ended up adding another 25 minutes at 400. Here are the details:

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

4 chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
1 can (16 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (12-15 oz) corn, drained (I used frozen corn, about 12 oz)
2 cups chunky salsa, divided
1 can (4 oz) chopped mild green chile peppers, optional (we didn't have this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (we didn't have fresh, so I just sprinkled some dry)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Mix the beans, corn, 1 cup of salsa, chile peppers, and half the cilantro in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of the mixture. Pour the remain salsa and cilantro over the chicken. Top evenly with the cheese.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the chicken is cooked thoroughly (this took another 35 minutes for me - 10 minutes at 350 and 25 minutes at 400).

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

Stats
Cost: $6
Servings: 4
Leftovers: yes
Time: 45 minutes

Taco Chicken

I have to share this with you.  It was a pin that lasted three days.  It was also the easiest pin I think that we've tried.  I'm calling it Taco Chicken, or Chicken Tacos.  Enjoy!

Taco Chicken

2-6 chicken breasts (we used 4)
16 oz. jar of salsa
package of taco seasoning

Pour the whole jar of salsa into a slow cooker.  Mix in the package of taco seasoning.  Add the chicken breasts on top of the salsa.  You can spoon some of the salsa on top of the chicken to cover them.  Cook on low for 6-8 hrs.  That's is.  After it's done cooking, the chicken will shred apart.  It should look like this:

Then, you just make tacos like you normally would.  We made soft tacos with wheat tortillas, added some cheese and lettuce and went to town.  They were really good.

Because we made the chicken with four pieces, we had a LOT left over.  Kevin ended up using some of the chicken the next day to make a quick quesadilla for lunch.  Way easy.  For dinner, we altered the "8 Can Taco Soup" recipe.  It's also really easy and filling and makes great leftovers.

8 Can Taco Soup

1  15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1  15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1  14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1  15.25 oz can sweet corn, drained
1  12.5 oz can white chicken breast, drained (we used our leftover taco chicken)
1  10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
1  10 oz can green enchilada sauce
1  14 oz can chicken broth (we make this from powdered bouillon.  WAY cheaper...)
1 packet taco seasoning

There you have it!  The second meal with the Taco Chicken.  The soup was just as good as the first time we made it.  Sprinkle some cheese on the top and break up a taco shell to add some crunchies and you're good to go!

The last meal we made with the taco chicken was oven baked tacos.  Got the idea from this pin.  We didn't follow it exactly, basically just used the oven idea.  We got some hard shells, lined them up in a baking dish, put the taco chicken on the bottom and added cheese.  Baked them in the oven and topped them with lettuce and sour cream when they came out.  Very easy and so nice eating a taco that doesn't fall apart with the first bite.  We will definitely try her whole recipe some time in the future.

So, if you're keeping track, we made 3 dinners and 7 lunches from 4 chicken breasts.  All for less than $15.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  :)

Cheers!

Stats:
Time: prep- 5 mins, slow cooker- 6-8 hrs
Servings: 13
Leftovers:  Definitely
Cost: less than $15 

Dijon Fish Cakes

Real Simple magazine taught us how to cook fish.  This recipe has become a staple in the Kendi Haus because of its reliability and speed.  Now, Real Simple has taught us how to make fish cakes!  If you have ever been to a restaurant and wanted crab cakes, you probably saw the price and was like, DANG!  They aren't cheap.  Well, Real Simple has a great alternative and you can't beat the cost.  I present, Dijon Fish Cakes!  They taste amazing and I think I like them better than crab (I never liked how crustaceans were cooked...).

Cheers!

Frying up the fish cakes!!

They got a touch darker than they should have, but they aren't burnt and taste really good!

Stats:
Cost:  about $3
Servings:  4 (two cakes a serving)
Leftovers:  Yes
Time:  1 hr

Best Baked Ziti Ever

I don't generally like to toot my own horn, but I'm not ashamed to say that I make some of the best baked ziti ever. It's my go-to meal for special occassions and Sunday dinner. It's probably the only dish I can make without looking at the recipe cards. I start by making a batch of homemade marinara. While the marinara is simmering I boil the noodles and cut/grate the cheese. Usually the noodles and marinara are done at just about the same time as I finish with the cheese. I mix together the ingredients, transfer to a baking dish, top with a layer of cheese, and stick it in the oven. Half an hour later we have a bubbling mass of cheesy goodness topped with a golden-brown layer of more cheesy goodness. Yum! Oh, and the leftovers are great for taunting your co-workers at lunch the next day.

It pairs great with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir. This was the first meal I cooked in my new kitchen in Lansing. After spending a year without a functional kitchen I needed to celebrate with my favorite meal and one of my favorite wines - a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon from McKenzie-Mueller. My brother and I discovered McKenzie-Mueller when I was visiting him in San Francisco several years ago. We were driving around hitting up some wineries in Napa Valley and stumbled on them after getting a recommendation from another winery. They aren't usually open for tastings, but it was the 4th of July so they had special hours. The owner spent a lot of time with us explaining all of the wines and letting us taste just about everything they make.

Stats:
Cost: $7
Servings: 6-8
Leftovers: Yes
Time: 60 min

Summer Ravioli

Over here in the Kendi Haus, Kevin and I have a system for meals.  He enjoys cooking them, I enjoy eating them.  I am very fortunate to have a husband that is a really good cook.  Lately, we have established a pattern of me finding recipes to try, and Kevin trying them.  So far, it has worked out pretty well with a bunch of new dishes to add into dinner rotation.  Here was a keeper that we tried last night.

Summer Ravioli (originally found here) with our modifications:

1 package frozen ravioli
1 large, ripe tomato, washed, stem removed, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
¼ cup Italian parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup water
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat to boiling, 5-6 quarts of water salted with kosher salt. Drop in the fresh pasta, being careful to separate the ravioli. Cook 4-5 minutes until al dente.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan, add the cooked ravioli, tomato pieces and garlic. Season with sea salt and pepper. Toss and stir 5 minutes.
3. Raise the heat, add ¼ cup water. Simmer and reduce the sauce.
4. Serve on a plate, topped with a sprinkle of Italian parsley and grated cheese.

We changed the recipe on accident (note the use of pasta water in the original), but it still came out great.  Next time we try it, we'll cut back on the butter to make it a little bit healthier.  We try to only have one pasta dish a week, and this one is filling and gives you good left-overs for lunch (a must for any Kendi meal).  Highly recommended.

Cheers!

Stats
cost:  less than $6
servings:  4
leftovers:  yes
time:  35 minutes