White Chicken Chili

With snow storms approaching, it's time for a good winter dish! 

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 Tb oil
Cook until tender.

4 cups chicken broth
2 cans (white, pinto, or northern) beans  (not rinsed helps it thicken)
2 Tb fresh cilantro or parsley
1 Tb lime juice
1 tsp cumin
Bring to a boil and simmer 10 mins.

2 Tb cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Mix until smooth and stir into chili.

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
Bring to a boil, cook & stir 2 minutes or until thickend. 

I also added 1/2 tsp coriander & 1 tsp chili powder.  
I never really got it to thicken, but it has a good flavor served with some wheat toast! One bowl will fill you up! 

Apple Porkchops (w/ overnight marinade)

This is more of a fall recipe, so I'll give you 2 ways to do this...

Overnight, Marinade porkchops in 2:1 Applejuice to Soy sauce (this combines the Sweet & salty & keeps the porkchops moist.) Sometimes I'll just marinade for 2 hours.

Cook porkchops in skillet for 5-6 minutes.

1) The healthier way:  cook porkchops and top with a bottle of apple pie filling. 

2) The fresh apple, caramel way:  cook porkchops, then
In a small bowl combine:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
8 Tbls. melted butter
2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Add mixture to skillet with porkchops.  Cover and cook until apples are barely tender. 
The recipe says to remove the apples and porkchops and thicken the sauce, but I just go ahead and serve it, making sure to spoon sauce over. 
This is actually pretty filling just the porkchop and apples, so pick something light to serve with it!

Tangy Peach Chicken

I know the flavors together sound questionable, but it turns out great!
One of the easiest recipes ever!  

Grill, bake, broil, however you want to cook 4 chicken breasts. 
2 cups salsa & 2 cups jam (I use Nectarine or peach- and one day I promise to post my husband's salsa recipe.  For now, use whatever brand you like.)

Mix the salsa & jam and pour over chicken.  Heat throughly. 

I served it over bowtie pasta and just let the sauce flavor the pasta a little.

Potato Bar w/ cheese sauce

Definitely a comfort food in our house! 
4 Baked potatoes
1 cup diced ham (I like to cook it a little)
2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
Diced onion

Top with Cheese Sauce: 
4 TB butter melted
4 TB flour
Whisk until smooth.
Add 2 tsp Chicken bullion granules
Add 2 cups milk. 
Microwave 1-2 minutes at a time, stirring often to keep it smooth.  
* Make sure you use a big enough bowl, if you're not watching it will boil over. 
When thickened, add:
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

I usually serve it with some slices of French Bread.

Ribbon Boards

Supplies:

* 12 Tacks (plus extra - if they bend easily)

* 4 pieces of ribbon 20" long

* 4 pieces of ribbon 10" long

* 1 piece of plywood - 12"X16" (We used 3/8" thick- because it was cheap)

* batting to put on top of the wood

* Material to cover board around to the back

* Staple gun (faster than waiting for the glue to dry)

* Hot glue

* Hammers (to get the tacks in flat)

These boards were great for our 8-11 year old girls to make at Activity Days.  

We were able to get 24 boards out of a sheet of plywood ($12).  I cut batting to fit the top of the boards.  We used scrap material that we collected from neighborhood quilters.  The girls loved picking out their own fabric & ribbons.   Plain material works best and they can add color by varying their ribbons.  Put the material on and pull the edges to the back and staple in place.   Cut ribbon- we even used Ric-rac and I love how it looks!  Lay out ribbon and tack ($8) where the ribbon crosses each other.  Use hammers to get them in all the way.  Hot glue the ribbon ends to the back of the board.  We plan to use these for the girls to have a place to put handouts throughout the year.  

(Total cost:  $20 for 24 boards - but we had the batting, material, and ribbon donated.)

Tips: 

* Buy extra thumb tacks- we bent a TON! 

* Buy the tacks from an office supply store - the cheap ones at All-a-dollar wouldn't even go in. 

**** Test the boards - there is one side that is easier to push the pins into -  MARK IT so you can put the fabric on correctly and won't bend as many tacks. 

* If you can't find sturdy enough tacks, you can buy really thin cork board to place on top of the wood (found at office supply stores & craft stores)- I found the tacks went in a lot easier, however, it's expensive!  At each office supply store I would ask if the tacks would go into plywood.  At both stores I was told if they didn't, I could just keep the packaging and my receipt and return them.  

* Lay ribbon out before tacking so you're sure the ribbon ends will reach the back. 

* We did this as a First activity of the year -kick-off and had the parents attend - it was nice to have the extra help getting the tacks in.