Chicken Tortilla Soup

3-14 oz. cans chicken broth
3 or 4 chicken breasts, poached and meat shredded
2-14 ½ oz. cans regular or fire-roasted diced tomatoes (I really like the fire-roasted)
2-10 oz. cans Rotel tomatoes and diced green chillies
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. cumin (depending on taste preference)
1 tsp. chilli powder
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. parsley
Grated cheddar cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips for serving if desired

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, sauté the onion and the garlic until tender. Add the broth along with the shredded chicken, canned tomatoes (undrained), Rotel, and seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer at least half an hour to blend the flavours.

When ready to serve, place diced avocado (if desired), broken tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle soup over top. Serve.

HONEY-MUSTARD CHICKEN WITH PECANS

14 oz. (2 packages) premium chicken breast, drained
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons yam syrup
2 cups canned yams, sliced, syrup reserved
2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Place yams, chicken and pecans in medium bowl. In large screw top jar, combine honey, mustard, oil, and syrup and shake vigorously. Pour over chicken mixture and toss. Before serving, top with dried cranberries.

Serves 2-4

This is a quick and easy meal, full of protein, made with ingredients that keep easily in your pantry.

1 can corn (drain most of the juice)
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans (with or without meat)
1 can kidney beans (add any beans you want!)
1 can tomatoes
1 lb hamburger (optional, I use bottled)
1 dash of cinnamon (to taste)
1 dash of chili powder (optional)
1 cup red quinoa (cook in a rice cooker or straight from the freezer already pre-cooked)

Wash all the beans in a collander. Put all ingredients in a crock pot just to warm it up for an hour or so. Serve with chips, cheese and sour cream. If you want to go vegetarian, leave out the meat, the quinoa gives it plenty of protein. Add any other grains like amaranth or teff for more fiber and protein.

To make this dish more Mexican style, eliminate the chili beans, add a can of green chiles, can of chicken (I use bottled), can of refried beans and a packet of taco seasoning. If you decide to use fresh chicken, then cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Shred the chicken.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef (I use chicken instead- just cook it ahead of time with a little bit of taco seasoning)
1 large onion, chopped
1 pkg. mild taco seasoning
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. water
1 can each: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans
1 can shoepeg corn and juice
1 jar (16 oz) mild picante sauce

Brown ground beef and onion together. Add other ingredients. Simmer
1 hour. Serve with sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, olives
and tortilla chips.

Changeling Chicken

Chicken breasts for your family (6 or so – if more you may need to add extra liquid)
{place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Works if still frozen!}

1 can coconut milk
1 cup white grape or apple juice
1-2 tbsp curry powder
1 can cream soup (chicken, mushroom, etc)
{combine and pour over chicken}

1 can of peas
1 can of corn
1 can of carrots
1 can of potatoes
{Add these on top in the slow cooker–just throw in whatever you have! Use up the leftovers in the fridge, try some asparagus, be creative! It is always different but always good.You can use the water from a can of veggies if you need more liquid}

Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

1 can of chunk chicken
1 cup of raw white or brown rice
2 cups of reconstituted powdered milk
4 tablespoons of canned butter
2 tablespoons of flour

Cook rice according to package directions. Melt butter in a pan over medium low heat. Stir in flour until you have a roux – sort of paste consistency. Slowly add milk and stir constantly until it thickens. Flake chicken and add to the pot. Heat until warmed through & serve over rice. You can add peas to this if you have them as well.

French Bread Pizza

1 Loaf French Bread, sliced lengthwise
1 Small jar Prego Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb bulk sausage crumbled, fried and drained
or
1 Small pkg sliced pepperoni
1 Med Onion
1 Bell Pepper
1 Small Can Olives (sliced)
2 C Mozarella Cheese
1/2 C Parmesan Cheese
Margarine for spreading on French Bread

Slice onion into rings and pepper into narrow strips; saute veggies in oil until onions are translucent and pepper is wilted but still crisp. Drain on paper towel or paper bag and prepare sausage or lay rings of pepperoni on top of Prego.

Cover cookie sheet with foil, lay both halves of French Bread on cookie sheet. Spread margarine on both halves, then 1/2 jar Prego on each half of loaf. Divide prepared sausage or lay rings of pepperoni atop Prego. Sprinkle 1/2 Mozarella on each half of French Bread, then sprinkle each half generously with Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Serves 4-6 generously.

You can add/subtract whatever your family likes on pizza.

*Note – you must spread the bread with margarine or the sauce will drain down into the bread, olive oil will not do.

This is my own original recipe and you can adjust it to you own taste. You can also re-constitute the veggies from dried food storage as well as use TVP

Place slices of bread/tortillas on a baking sheet, cover each slice with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in 350 oven for a few minutes – until cheese is melted and edges brown. Can place under broiler, but watch carefully as it burns more easily. We have also fixed these in the microwave – nuke for 45 seconds to 1 min. Can also make in pan over stove.
Add a second piece of bread or tortilla and you have quesodillas.

(1 tsp. curry powder can also be added)

Mix together and pour over 2 lbs. of chicken (I figure, in an emergency I will use my canned chicken)

Bake 35 to 40 minutes @ 375°

Serve over rice….Yum!

Clam Chowder
enough dehydrated potato soup to feed your family.
1 or 2 cans clams and their juice
Stir clams and juice into hot soup. Serve with crackers.

The powdered milk and eggs can be premixed with the dry ingredients and add sufficient water to the mixture. Mix and let rise. Punch down and divide into two parts, roll by hand into a bread log, cut into slices for rolls. Place on parchment paper or on greased baking pans. Baked as rolls at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Or bake as a bread at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. (Bread timing has not been tested at this time)

We have used our bread machine – We usually decrease this recipe by a third but keep the two eggs for more protein. I like using the quick bread setting on my machine and take it out when it smells done. Usually 15-20 minutes before the timer goes off for the last cycle. Slice and add butter or peanut butter for a nice snack.
(Next time we are experimenting with peanut butter powder instead of the butter.)

Black Bean Burgers
adapted from Epicurious.com

3 cups black beans, prepared
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp plus 1/2 cup chunky salsa for topping
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

Prepare the beans, if using dry. Drain liquid from cans or prepared beans. Mash beans, add ingredients mixing well together. Form into patties and cook on a skillet over the stove in a little oil, or on the grill. Be careful when flipping so they won’t fall apart. Cook on a grill over low heat for 3 minutes on each side or until they develop the crust you want. Top with salsa or other toppings. Enjoy!

We cheated a little and added grated cheese and sour cream as toppers. They were delish! Even my 14yr old who won’t eat beans liked them.

1 box of Spanish Rice-A-Roni and all the ingredients on the back to make it (I don’t have one with me— sorry)

1 Can of black or pinto beans, drained

4 chicken breast cooked and cubed (we use bottled chicken from out pantry)

6 tortilla’s (you can buy tortilla flour and store it and make these as needed)

Make Rice-A-Roni as instucted on box, add beans and cooked chicken. Heat all together and slap on a tortilla for a tasty burrito! We like them plain, but others like to add cheese and what not.