White Chicken Chili

The weather in our neck of the woods has turned chilly today. It's a beautiful, breezy fall day that calls for hearty chilis and soups on the menu. In honor of the blustery day, I'm posting one of my favorite recipes.

2 T. oil
1 onion chopped
4 oz. chopped green chili
2 t. garlic
2 t. salt (or less)
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. ground oregano
2 t. ground coriander (optional)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
3 (16 oz) cans great northern beans (drained)
2 (10.75 oz) cans chicken broth
2 (5 oz) cans chicken (drained)
2 c. cream of chicken soup

In small saucepan, saute onion in oil. Place onion and all other ingredients in crockpot. Cook until heated through and flavors blend.

This can also be cooked on the stovetop. Cook until heated through and flavors blended.

And of course, home stewed chicken is always a great substitute for the canned chicken.

The photos of the beautiful tree were taken last fall. For more pictures of it, click here.

Enrobed (and sprinkled) Marshmallows

During our summer vacation to Myrtle Beach, we saw these yummy looking treats at a candy shop:


I thought they looked like great treats to serve at children's birthday parties, so I took a picture to help me remember them.

When I was recently asked to supply a snack for the children's choir rehearsal at church, I remembered these treats, and decided to make my own version of them.

I took lollipop sticks (found in the cake/candy section of craft department at WalMart) and placed 2 large marshmallows on each one.


Then I covered them in melted chocolate candy coating and sprinkled them with fall candy sprinkles. I hope the kiddos in the choir have fun eating these tasty, chocolaty treats!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring water and sugar to a boil, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in cocoa and salt and simmer, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, then cool (syrup will continue to thicken as it cools).

**Thanks to Andrea Howard for this recipe**

Spicy Potato Soup

1 lb ground beef
4 c. cubed, peeled potatoes (1 1/2" cubes)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cans (8oz ea.) tomato sauce
4 c. water
2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. pepper
1/2 to 1 t. hot pepper sauce

In Dutch oven or large kettle, brown ground beef. Drain. Add potatoes, onion and tomato sauce. Stir in water, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender and soup has thickened.

Yield: 2 quarts (6-8 servings)

**VERY yummy soup; perfect for fall and winter evenings!**

Glorious Morning Muffins

2 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. applesauce
1 1/2 c. shredded carrots
1 1/2 c. apples, peeled and shredded
3/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. raisins
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine carrot, apple, coconut, raisins, and pecans. Stir in beaten eggs, applesauce and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Grease and flour muffin tin and spoon batter in. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. (Store in refrigerator and warm before serving.)

Yields 18 regular size or 12 larger ones

WW – 3 points

Thanks, Judy for this awesome tasting and diet friendly muffin!

Sensational Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

4 oz. cream cheese
1 c. plus 1 T. milk
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 c. cool whip
1 lg. pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 (16 oz) pumpkin pie filling
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
1 graham cracker pie crust

Mix cream cheese, 1 T. milk and sugar until smooth. Stir in cool whip by hand. Spread on bottom of crust.

Pour 1 c. milk into mixing bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat until well blended. Add pumpkin and spices. Mix well. Spread over cream cheese layer.

Add a little cool whip on top and refrigerate.

serves 8

Moose Munch!

During a recent visit to Harry and David while on vacation, my children were introduced to "Moose Munch." This is Harry and David's name for a yummy concoction of popcorn, nuts, chocolate and more. Rather than buy them a bag of "Moose Munch", I decided to try to copy it. The results of my endeavor are recorded here.

I started by making caramel popcorn. You can use plain microwave popcorn for your recipe, but I had fun making it the way I remember my Mother doing it: on the stove!


You need 1 to 2 gallons of prepared popcorn. Put the popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.

In a sauce pan combine 2 c. brown sugar, 1 c. butter and 1/2 c. corn or maple syrup.

Bring to a boil and allow to slow boil for 5 minutes without stirring.


After 5 minutes, remove from heat and add 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt, and 1 t. vanilla.

Pour this ooey-gooey brew over the popcorn and toss. Then, lay the coated popcorn on a greased cookie sheet (or the cooking world's greatest invention: The DeMarle Silpat).


Doesn't that ooey-gooey golden glow just make you salivate? Go start popping your popcorn now and you can have some of your own in about an hour!

Place in a 250 degree oven and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.



Set aside your caramel popcorn for now and compile the rest of your Moose Munch ingredients. You can really add in whatever you want here. I chose mini marshmallows, peanuts, and chocolate chips. I imagine that you can also use pieces of graham crackers, almonds, pecans, butterscotch chips, m&ms, and pretzels.

Spread half of the caramel popcorn in a single layer on waxed paper (or the cooking world's greatest invention: The DeMarle Silpat). Add the nuts, pretzels, and whatever else you prefer to the popcorn.

Melt chocolate coating (or almond bark or chocolate chips or any other thing your creative self wants to melt) and pour over the popcorn. My kiddos and I grouped the popcorn, nuts, etc. into clumps which I then coated with chocolate.





However, I think next time (and there WILL be a next time), I will just pour the chocolate over the entire layer.

After the chocolate coating hardens, break it apart in to bite size pieces. Combine it with the other half of the caramel popcorn and store in large storage bags.



This very yummy and addictive snack is a big hit with the kiddos and would be great for class parties, fall festivals and more!

One other note: I think I've decided to leave out the mini marshmallows next time. After a couple of days of storage, they seem to make the other ingredients soft and stale. I like snacks like this on the crunchy side!