Baked Chicken Enchilada Macaroni & Cheese

IThis afternoon, I decided I needed to create chicken enchilada macaroni and cheese.  I am so glad I did. I took a tried and true basic baked macaroni and cheese recipe and added to it to make it spectacular. (This is the same basic recipe I use for my buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese that I should blog, and that I want to use for a few other variations I have in mind.) I also doubled the recipe, but here I have one batch. 

As I usually do when I recreate a recipe and add to it, I made way too much. As in two 9x12 pans, an 8 inch round casserole, and a 9 inch round casserole. I always double so I have one to eat freshx one to freeze for later, and one to share. This time, two are for sharing (and sorry, they are already claimed). That said, this will make enough for two- one to eat and one to freeze or share.  Or heck, have a party!

Baked Chicken Enchilada Macaroni & Cheese

(adapted by me from Alton Brown's Baked Mac and Cheese, homemade enchilada sauce courtesy gimmesomeoven)

1/2 pound macaroni

16 ounces shredded cheddar and jack cheeses

1 cup black beans

1 cup corn

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 small or medium  green chile

2 oz sliced black olives

3 cups cubed cooked chicken 

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp mustard

4 cups milk

1/4 c. Diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp. paprika 

1 Tbsp mustard powder

1 egg

12 oz enchilada sauce (more or less to taste) 

Crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook and cube chicken.

(This is actually 8 pounds of chicken (for this recipe and another I'm doing this week.))

In frying pan, sauté chopped green chile with onion and garlic.  Add corn, olives, and tomatoes.  Remove from heat and dump into a big bowl with the chicken.

Rinse black beans, add to the bowl.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and add to the chicken and vegetables and mix well.

In a large pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, paprika, and mustard, keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, and enchilada sauce. Simmer ten minutes.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Pour into the mix and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and crushed chips. Repeat into a second dish.

 Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

You can garnish with sour cream if you'd like.

Here is the recipe I used for the enchilada sauce-

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/

Spinach & Artichoke Soup

I LOVE spinach and artichokes, together, or separate. I love them in dip, on pizza, in salad, in pasta... So... Why not soup?

Today, I decided to create some soup.

Spinach & Artichoke Soup

36 oz. chopped artichoke hearts

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp + 3 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp minced onion

3 teaspoons parsley flakes

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

48 oz. vegetable stock

3 1/4 c. Fat free half & half

3 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 c. Shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 c. Shredded mozzarella cheese 

12 oz. chopped spinach

2 c. cooked, diced potatoes

In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon butter. Add artichokes, minced onion, and garlic. Sautée about five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

In a large pot, heat vegetable stock.

When cooled enough to handle, remove more solid portions of artichokes and add to the stock. Purée remaining artichokes with about 1 3/4 cup half & half until smooth and creamy, in batches if necessary. Add to vegetable stock and stir to incorporate.

In the large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add flour to make a paste. Slowly add about 1 1/2 cup half & half. Add shredded cheese. Stir until melted. Add slowly to the other pot and stir until incorporated. 

Add chopped spinach and potatoes and peppers to taste. Simmer until nice and hot.

I LOVED this soup. I figured I would at least try to get my kids to eat it. My four year old refuses to try most foods, but he did sample the soup. He did not like it.

My two year old possibly would have tried it, but his brother passed him his bowl too, saying he doesn't "like leaf soup." So, he refused to taste.

Because I don't like to waste my hard-work, I ate theirs too.

Baby girl likes it though! I added baby cereal to it to thicken it up and she enjoyed a bowl.

Yup. I'm glad I decided to create this one today! 

Parmesan Bacon Asparagus and Potato Soup

I know.. I haven't created a recipe in over TWO years.

Well... I probably have. But I haven't blogged one.

Today, I created a super yummy soup.

Parmesan Bacon Asparagus & Potato Soup

2 lbs fresh asparagus

2 cups cooked, diced potatoes

32 oz chicken or vegetable broth

3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp sour cream (I used light)

2 cups half & half (I used fat free)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

3 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp seasoned salt

1 Tbsp minced onion

2 Tbsp butter

8 or so slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Blanch asparagus. Reserve about 3 cups liquid from blanching and set aside.

After blanching, cut into segments about 1 inch long. I separated stalks from tips but it's not necessary.

Melt butter in a skillet and sauté asparagus, garlic, and minced onion.

With a food processor or blender, purée about half of the asparagus mixture with portions of reserved asparagus stock.

In a large pot, heat chicken or vegetable broth and half and half until boiling. Reduce slightly. Stir in cheeses and sour cream and stir until melted. 

I added the remaining asparagus stock (cooled) with some cornstarch to make I a little thicker at this point.

Add diced, cooked potatoes, , bacon, remaining sautéed asparagus, pepper and seasoned salt to taste.

It was delicious. Even my two-year old loved it!

Best.Soup.Ever. (Nik's Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup)

Soup. Again.

This soup is one I came up with a few weeks ago. It was after two other attempts at a creamy chicken (or turkey) and wild rice soup. They were pretty good, with some room for improvement.

Third time's a charm, right?

The name " Best Soup Ever" is mostly a joke, but a BFF of mine told me that on Facebook, so I thought it a fun title.

Again, when I make soup, I don't use exact measurements, but so I tried really hard to take note of my exact "recipe" in the event that anyone wants to recreate.

Best Soup Ever ( Nik's Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup)

- 2ish pounds shredded chicken
- 6 servings chicken bouillon broth (or so)
- 2 servings beef bouillon broth
- 1.5 cups wild rice blend (cooked to package directions)
- 1 can French cut green beans
- 1 cup or so chopped mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/3 cup chopped carrots
- 1 quart (or pint) half and half
- 1 1/2 cup (or more) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds
- cayenne pepper
- poultry seasoning
- black pepper
- Mrs. Dash
- Old Bay
- minced onion
- minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup flour

I boil and shred two pounds of chicken.

I cook rice according to package (I took a photo of the rice blend I use) except I add a cube of bouillon instead of salt.

In a Dutch oven, I melt the butter and sauté vegetables and almonds for five minutes or so, to get them softened. Then, I add water and bouillon cubes (more or less to taste and for a bit if saltiness) and cooked rice. I cover and simmer while I shred the chicken and add it. Cubed chicken would work too, but I feel liked shredded chicken is more tender.

In a saucepan, I combine half and half (I used a pint once and a quart this time because they were out of pints at the store) and flour and whisk until smooth. I heat it over medium and add cheeses. I like to add as much Parmesan as possible, usually around 2 cups. I add less mozzarella than Parmesan.

When the cheese is melted and its become a thick sauce, I slowly add to the Dutch oven. Stir until combined and then simmer over low a while so the flavors can blend and it can thicken up a bit.

Notes: I boil the chicken in water seasoned wit poultry seasoning and a bit of cayenne pepper. I add a variety of seasonings to the broth before adding cheese sauce, and then taste test once it's incorporated. I add more seasonings and/or bouillon to taste.

Nik's Sausage & Tortellini Soup

I love soup. Especially homemade soup. I find it quite a joy to make it up as I go.

I don't use recipes often. When I find one I tweak it to make it my own. Sometimes I just create as I go.

I made a sausage and tortellini soup a few weeks ago that my husband particularly loved and raved about to his coworker. He asked me to make it again so he could share.

I did today. Here's my recipe, roughly:

- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 jug v8 juice + 1/3 jug water
- 1 bag tortellini of your choice (I usually use tri color three cheese)
- 1 bag frozen Italian blend veggies
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 4 cubes beef bouillon
- 4 cubes chicken bouillon
- minced garlic
- minced onion
- Italian blend seasoning
- cayenne pepper
- Mrs. Dash (I use table blend, tomato basil garlic blend, and original blend)

Brown sausage in Dutch oven with minced garlic, minced onion, and cayenne pepper.

Add v8 plus water, bouillon cubes, and seasonings to taste.

Add vegetables and tortellini. Heat until tortellini is tender.

I like to add a but of mozzarella when I eat it.


It's super simple really!

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Lately, I am obsessed with buffalo chicken meals. I guess I have been for quite some time.


If you know me well, you would likely know that I am also somewhat obsessed with soup. I found a canned buffalo chicken soup at the store about a month ago and I had to try it. It disappointed me. Hardcore.

So, I made my own. I based it off a recipe I found online, but changed it up. Quite a bit. That one seemed bland, too.


Buffalo Chicken Soup
1 large can chicken broth
5 cups chicken bouillon broth
1 cup milk
1/2 c. Chopped celery
1/2 c. Chopped carrots
1 can diced potatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. Whole kernel corn
4 or more tablespoons buffalo sauce
2.5 pounds cooked, shredded chicken
3/4 c. Shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. Shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. Shredded Parmesan cheese
5 oz. crumbled blue cheese
2/3 c. Flour
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced onion


Sauté the minced onion, celery and carrots in the butter and garlic in a Dutch oven or soup pot.

Add liquids, heat thoroughly. I use the canned broth plus broth from bouillon to add some salt.

Toss flour and cheeses together in a bowl. Add gradually to the hot liquids.

Add buffalo sauce. I usually just dump some in at this point.

Stir and continue heating until cheese is melted. It takes a while. Stir frequently.

Add drained cans of potatoes and tomatoes and the corn.

Add shredded chicken. Add more sauce and milk or broth if its too thick for your liking.

Heat thoroughly and enjoy!


I took the photo of the completed soup prematurely. I needed to sample a bowl to make room for the rest of the chicken so it wasn't thick as I usually have it and the cheese wasn't completely melted yet. Whoops.

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies with Almonds

Credit for this recipe goes to Recipe Girl.

I am guilty of being a Starbucks addict. Recovering, maybe, because I have forced myself to not stop there three or four times a week to buy coffee and/or a pastry, but every once in a while, I do find myself there, and probably once a day, I find myself wishing I was.

Especially around the holidays. They have exceptional seasonal drinks (like caramel brulee latte) and my favorite pastry... the Cranberry Bliss Bar.

I found a recipe that was described to rival those bars, so naturally... I had to make it. Today, I went and purchased the rest of the chocolate (because I didn't have enough, sad day), and came home and made these.

I just tried one. It's DELICIOUS. I added almonds to the top (which is not in the recipe) and a little orange extract to the chocolate drizzle for extra... flavor, I guess. Guh! I can't wait for my mom to try one (she's coming over to babysit in a while). I think she'll love them!

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies:

Blondie Layer:

3/4 c. salted butter

1 1/2 c. light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. dried cranberries

6 ounces white baking chocolate (I used Ghiradelli white chocolate chips (I bought one bag total)

Frosting:

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

6 oz. white baking chocolate, melted (see above) and halved

1/2 c. dried cranberries, chopped

1/4 c. cut almonds (I forget what the cut style is called, but they're slivered, sort of, but whole?)

1/8 tsp. orange extract (optional)

For Blondies:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Spray a 9x13 pan, or line it with parchment paper (that's what I did).
• In a medium bowl, melt butter, then stir in brown sugar. Let cool to room temperature and transfer to a larger bowl.
• Using a mixer, beat in eggs and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients.
• Stir in cranberries and chocolate (I used half a bag of the chips). The batter will be very thick, like clay, almost.
• Spread the batter into the pan.
• Bake 18-21 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake.
• Cool on a wire rack.

For Frosting:

• In a medium bowl, use a mixer to beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well-blended. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate (so 1/4 bag melted chips), beat until blended.
• Frost blondies.
• Sprinkle with cranberries.
• Sprinkle with almonds.
• Melt the last portion of chocolate. I added 1/8 tsp. Orange Extract to it.
• Drizzle over the blondies. (Try not to make a giant mess... haha.)
• Cut the bars, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Of course, I ate one right away and then boasted to my mom via text message how delicious they are. Now, I should go put them in the fridge!

I have friends who work at Starbucks in various positions... and I hope they don't hate me for posting a "rip off" version of their pastry. Just sayin'.