Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Cheeseburger Chowder



Cheeseburger Chowder
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Coarsely crushed corn ships, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and chopped green onions(optional)

Directions

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the soup, milk, potatoes, chilies, taco seasoning, onion and chili powder until blended.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minuted or until heated through. Garnish with corn chips, cheese and green onions if desired.

*I also garnished with pickles.
*This was enough for Jon and I, I would double the recipe if you're making it for more than two people.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Banana Bread

This recipe is from the Cooking Light cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas. I substituted Splenda for half the sugar and it turned out great. I also added in some dried cranberries and chopped pecans. Xavier wouldn't stop eating it!

Classic Banana Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Winner!

We went to the Super Bowl party for our young adults group at church and they were having a chili cookoff. I brought my taco soup for a little variety--I figured it had ground beef, beans, and tomatoes and was close enough to chili.

Anyway, I didn't even realize that the chili was a cookoff, but my taco soup ended up winning the most votes!

Here's the link to that recipe:
http://onthedinnertable.blogspot.com/2009/01/taco-soup.html

This time, I only used 1 lb. of meat, used fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of stewed tomatoes, and actually used 3 cans of Rotel instead of one. This made it a little spicier than usual. I also added a can of corn and some fresh cilantro.