Oh man you guys, this Santa Fe Soup is the easiest thing to make EVER!   Such simple ingredients that are yummy to the tummy.   I’d love to hear what you guys would do with the following ingredients from this week’s meal solution:

• Great Value Chicken Breast 12.5oz $1.96
• Great Value Chunky Mild Salsa 24oz $1.99
• Great Value Aseptic Chicken Broth 32oz $1.27
• Del Monte Whole Kernel Corn 15.25oz $.82
• Santitas White Corn 13.0oz $1.98
• BC Chocolate Chip Cookie 17.5oz $1.72

I used the chicken breast, salsa, chicken broth, and corn to make Santa Fe Soup.

Santa Fe Soup

Ingredients

• Great Value Chicken Breast 12.5oz  (I used two cans because I have big teenagers who could eat the whole house)
• Great Value Chunky Mild Salsa 24oz
• Great Value Aseptic Chicken Broth 32oz
• Del Monte Whole Kernel Corn 15.25oz

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a pot and boil for about 10 minutes.  That’s it!  If you want to call it tortillas soup, take the Santitas chips, break them up and add them to the soup.

That’s my meal solution. What would YOURS be?

Disclosure: Compensation has been provided by Walmart for my time and efforts to create this post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. Check out more meal solutions from my fellow Walmart Moms and from the Walmart website.

The recent cold weather here in Texas makes me crave hot soup and one of the most flavorful, authentic Mexican soups out there is Pozole.  This is a Spanish soup that has a staple that we use in so many things, corn and in this case, hominy.  And by simply removing the meat in it, you could have a wonderful vegetarian dish.

The smell of this Pozole Soup is amazing and will have your neighbors knockin’ at your door asking for a taste!  5 star rating from everyone! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lbs of pork shoulder or meat for carnitas (carnitas means small meat)
• 1 whole head of garlic (cut the tip off the point end of garlic)
• 1 large or 2 medium onions
• 1 approx 108 oz can of hominy ( rinsed very well)
• 4 dried chili cascabel (guajillo) peppers (deseed) (approx ¾ oz)
• ½ tsp. Cumin
• 1 small bay leaf
• Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Put the chili peppers in a saucepan with water and gently boil until soft. Put the meat, garlic and onion in a LARGE stockpot and fill about 2/3 full with water. Boil 1 to 2 hours…or until the meat is very tender. Remove the meat and let cool a little so you can pick through for fat and remove anything unwanted. (I’m very picky) Discard the bay leaf. Scoop out the onion and garlic and place in a blender. Drain the peppers and add them to the onion and garlic. Be sure to squeeze the garlic out of its’ skin. Add about 1 cup of stock and blend very well. (Add more if necessary because you might need to strain it if the blender doesn’t chop up the skin of the pepper finely enough) You don’t have to but I strained my stock. Add the cumin along with the pepper onion mixture, the rinsed hominy and the meat back in. Let it simmer for ½ hour to 1 hour. The longer the better.

Note: I would probably use leaner meat next time.  Fat adds flavor but I would still prefer less of it.

I’ve made Chicken and Dumplings from scratch before but to be honest, it’s not worth the extra time in my opinion. In fact, check out this post on an attempt to make them from scratch and you’ll see exactly why go the quick route!  I learned how to take a shortcut a long time ago and it’s the only way I make them now. This is one of those perfect meals for Winter time and a great filler–perfect for when you are on rations. I’ve noticed a trend in my recipes. They are fit for anyone struggling to get through to the next payday. I guess that’s because we had more struggling years than I’d like to remember. While I tend to make this meal very basic, I know several folks who add a can of cream of chicken to the boiling water, after you take the chicken out. I don’t do it but it’s good either way.

INGREDIENTS

• 10-12 chicken thighs
• 4-8 cans of cheap biscuits (depending on how many dumplings you prefer)
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Rinse your chicken thighs and boil in water for 1 hour or until done.  Remove from water and place on cookie sheet.  While chicken is cooling, tear the canned biscuits into small pieces-about the size of a nickel and toss into water making sure to stir occasionally. While your dumplings are cooking, shred the chicken off the bone and place into dumpling soup.  Your dumplings are done when they no longer float–about 15 or 20 minutes. Add your salt and pepper and your done.

Alternatives: If you want to add flavor, try using chicken broth or cream of chicken after you take your chicken out.

Boil the heck out of the chicken!

Let it cool off!

Toss in your biscuit pieces…see how they’re floating?  NOT done.

While dumplings are cooking, tear that chicken up!

The shredded chicken….

Throwing the chicken in the dumpling soup. See how there are no dumplings floating?? That’s because they are done.

Hi, I’m Lisa from Stop and Smell the Chocolates. I’m a married mom of one amusing son and I love chocolate! Take a little chocolate break during your stressful day – come by and you might find a yummy recipe, a funny story, a cup of tea, a household tip, a lovely picture, or a new friend. I look forward to meeting you and sharing some chocolate!

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, you may be looking for a nice chocolate dessert to make (’cause every mom I know loves chocolate). This recipe is rich and delicious. The presentation is nice too. All chocolate fans will love it!

The recipe was from a magazine and sat around my house for a couple of years. I happened to have some mini liqueurs in my cupboard (either one could be used in the recipe) because I liked the bottles. I never really thought to get them all together and try it out until I had a blog full of chocolate! I’m so glad I did. Enjoy! It will be hard to share, but I highly recommend it.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 oz. baking chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons Frangelico or Godiva chocolate liqueur

Garnish:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts or almonds
• 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together cream, sugar, and vanilla. Simmer, stirring several times, until reduced by a third, about 40 minutes.

2. Stir in chopped chocolates until well-blended.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in liqueur. Can be refrigerated up to 2 days ahead (gently reheat to serve).

To Serve:
Whip the cream until frothy. Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip until the cream holds soft peaks. Fold in chopped nuts and chocolate bits. Place a large scoop of the whipped cream in the center of each serving bowl and pour the warm chocolate soup around the whipped cream.

Makes 4-6 servings

This guest post is brought to you by my mom who told me not to tell you that she submitted this recipe but I am ’cause that’s how I roll.  Here’s my Mom’s Tortellini Soup!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 lb cooked hamburger or Italian sausage crumbled
• 1 can Italian recipe stewed tomatoes (ie..Del Monte)
• 1 can (14 oz) beef broth
• 1 package tortellini, cooked al dente
• 1 can Italian green beans
• 2 green onions, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Combine hamburger, tomatoes, broth and 1 3/4 cups water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; stir in tortellini, green beans and onions.  Gently cook until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan Cheese if desired.

Makes 4 servings (about 2 1/2 cups each)

TIP: If you don’t have Italian stewed tomatoes…I use regular stewed or just diced tomatoes in a can and add some Italian seasoning.

Just because I have time to cook all day, doesn’t mean I want to.  Or maybe we need a meal ASAP before we head out the door.  This has got to be one of the coolest pans ever!  Meet the Fissler Blue Point Pressure Pan Set.   You can grill, sear, saute, steam and pressure cook in this one pan.  Whew, that’s a mouthful! It’s no lightweight either!  Very heavy pan obviously built to last.  Fissler is some high quality, German Cookware that is making it’s way to the good ol’ USA with a punch!

This time around, I decided to use the pressure cooker feature.  I read in the manual that when you are releasing steam, it’s not hot.  It was right!  I was leery but I stuck my hand in front of the steam (but please don’t do this at home people) and it’s wasn’t hot at all.  Now that’s a SAFE pressure cooker for sure!

This is a 4.2 quart size skillet and I must say, my Beef Stew recipe was enough to feed 8 so I had no problems fitting it all into this pan whatsoever.  For those of you who don’t know this; pressure cookers not only cook faster, they keep your food’s flavors, minerals, and vitamins where they belong,…in the food! And with the basket for the steamer, you can also cook healthy.  So cool!

Okay, to the recipe!

30-Minute Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5lbs stew meat
• carrots
• potatoes
• Tomato Sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Since my stew meat was thawed and in small pieces right out of the package, I threw all ingredients in together. Yep, ALL of them.  If you have round steak that you are cutting up or even using a little frozen, I recommend you cook the meat, carrots and sauce together first for about 20 minutes and then throw in the potatoes for the final cooking minutes.

I cooked mine for 30 minutes!  No shorter, no longer.  The thing about beef stew, is that it creates it’s own flavors and by using the pressure cooker, even more natural flavor was there.

That’s got to be the easiest meal ever!  The pressure cooker worked like a charm and the release valve worked perfectly and cleaning up was easy as pie.  I couldn’t ask for an easier recipe with a better pan! 

Do you pressure cook?  Would a pan like this fit into your cooking lifestyle and what feature would you use the most?  Steamer, fryer, searer, or pressure cooker?

This is a guest post by belhoste.

I fell in love with chilled soup at a French restaurant many, many years ago. I didn’t want to have to travel out of state every time I had a craving for it, so I started trying out my own versions. Honestly, a few of them turned out more like smoothies than soup, but I kept on trying. I know it sounds strange to call this a soup when it is cold, but it would sound even more weird to call it a smoothie in a bowl.

For the record, there are versions of this out there that you cook and then chill. I prefer to go the easy route and avoid the need to cook anything (especially in the summer – which is when this tastes best).

If you serve this to other people, you will want to warn them that it is a cold soup. Otherwise, they will think that you forgot to cook it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 pound small peaches (peeled, pitted and sliced – set aside some small slices for garnish)
• 1 1/2 cups ripe pears (diced)
• 1 cup apricot nectar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chilled blush champagne or sparkling juice

PREPARATION:

In a blender combine peaches, pears, nectar, yogurt, and lemon juice until smooth. Add more nectar and lemon juice as needed. Chill at least one hour before serving. Immediately before serving stir in chilled champagne/sparking juice (do not use a blender to do this or you will make it flat).

This is best served with a warm honey glazed croissant and a glass of champagne.

*Tip: This can be made up to one day in advance – just make sure to keep refrigerated and mix well before serving.

Prep time: 25 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Cook time: none

Makes 4 servings