Creamy Chicken Taco Soup: Crockpot

I'm sure there are plenty of recipes for this soup, maybe even better ones, but I am proud to say that I made this one up on my own! Yea, creativity!

Ingredients: 

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can white northern beans

1 can whole kernel corn

(first 4 ingredients- all drained)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1 can low fat/ sodium cream of chicken soup

1 block of cream cheese (the REAL thing, or it won't melt properly)

1 packet taco seasoning

4 large, frozen chicken breasts

*crockpot liner (optional- but helpful!)

* Pam cooking spray (optional)

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Directions: Basically, it's a dump-and-go recipe

1. Place crockpot liner in crockpot and spray with Pam

2. Place frozen chicken on the bottom of the crockpot

3. Pour beans, tomatoes, and corn on top of chicken

4. Pour in chicken broth and cream of chicken soup- stir a little

5. Cut up cream cheese into smaller blocks and place around the top

6. Shake taco seasoning on top and give everything another stir

7. Cover and cook! I sat mine for 6 hours, but the timing is up to you.

8. An hour before serving, take out the chicken breasts, shred them, and put them back into the crockpot to keep cooking.  

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I served the soup over Frito chips with shredded cheese on top. 

4/5 people in my house loved it! The only hold-out was my 8 year old who is convinced that, if it's not chicken nuggets or pizza, it must be poison.

I didn't take a fancy picture while it was cooking, or when I served it, but here it is when I went to store it for dinner tomorrow. This recipe made enough to feed my family 2 nights.

Crock pot Apple Cobbler Cake

I found a recipe for a 3 ingredient Apple Dump Cake, and decided to tweak the recipe a little.

1 box yellow cake mix

2 cans apple pie filling 

(or fruit filling of your choice)

1 Cup quick oats

Brown sugar 

(I didn't measure it out. Just a few crumbles)

1 stick of butter *not pictured*

*crock pot liner

*cooking spray

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1. Crock pot liner- spray it down!

2. Empty 1 can of apple filling and spread on the bottom

3. Spread the box of cake mix over the pie filling

4. Empty the second can of apple pie filling- spread

5. Spread 1 cup of quick pats

6. Few sprinkles of brown sugar

7. Place 1 stick of butter on top of it all

8. Cook for 4 hours

No, it's not the prettiest, but it tastes like Heaven! Unfortunately, I didn't have regular vanilla ice cream, but everything tastes good with chocolate marble!

Since it has fruit and oats, I'm planning on passing this off as my breakfast tomorrow. It's legit, right?

Through the Motions

Laura Smith is a writing & linguistics major at Georgia Southern University. She is also my former nanny, the daughter of one of my co-workers, an award winning equestrian, writing tutor, and world traveler (summer program in Madrid). I am proud to say that she can now add "published writer" to her long list of accomplishments! I've read her stories before and they are all gripping, heartwarming, and heartbreaking tales. I am constantly impressed at the worlds Laura creates. 

Her short story can be found in the Bangalore Review, June edition. You can follow the link {HERE}.
p.s. Have tissues ready!

Laura plans on continuing her education to earn a MFA in creative writing. You go, girl!

Blueberry Cobbler

Because we Phat Girls love our fans so much, we want you to have cobbler options! Melissa and I are givers that way. :)
Earlier this week, I posted Cherry Cobbler. It was delish. I enjoyed it immensely.

I decided to tweak the recipe, yet again, just for kicks and grins. I wanted to see if I could make it a little less jiggly. Same basic ingredients, different measurements.

2 cans pie filling (whatever you prefer)

1 cup oats (split into 1/2 cups)

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup brown sugar (plus one small handful)

1 stick butter- melted

bunt pan

cooking spray

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I'm basically constructing it like a cobbler lasagna. :)

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Mix the pie fillings and the 2 cups of Bisquick lightly, just enough to make everything moist

3. Spray the bunt pan liberally with cooking spray.

4. Pour in half of the cobbler mixture into the bunt pan

5. Pour 1/2 cup of oats over the mixture in the pan, sprinkle a small handful of brown sugar on top

6. Pour the rest of the mixture into the  bunt pan

7. Pour the other 1/2 cup of oats on top

8. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top of it all

9. Pour the stick of melted butter on top.

10. Bake at 375 for around 30 min.

Ooooooohhhh.... pretty. 

Don't forget to add some dairy to make it healthier! I prefer my dairy to be the creamy, frozen variety.

Cherry Cobbler

Melissa made a peach cobbler the other night and we had a mini brainstorm on how to change/ improve the recipe. Here's the original recipe for Peach Crunch. 

It was good, but I wasn't a fan of just dumping the dry ingredients and baking it. So, here's my attempt at changing things.

2 cans pie filling (your choice)

1 & 1/2 Cups Bisquick

1 Cup Oats

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Stick melted butter

bunt pan

cooking spray

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1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Spray bunt pan liberally with cooking spray

3. Lightly mix the 2 cans of pie filling with 1&1/2 Cups of Bisquick

4. Lightly mix in 1/2 cup of oats

5. Pour mix into bunt pan, sprinkle another 1/2 Cup of oats on top

6. Sprinkle 1/2 Cup of brown sugar on top

7. Pour 1 stick of melted butter on top

8. Bake at 375 for 30-35 min. Allow to cool.

It's not going to be solid like a cake, it's going to be kind of jiggly. The brown sugar and butter on top make it nice and crunchy.  Next time, I might use 1 whole cup of oats on top, not just a half.

I'm seeing many, many cobblers in my future... peach, apple, blueberry....Yum!

Fruity Muffins

I was feeling adventurous, and my bananas were about to expire, so I decided to make some muffins. Melissa showed me how to make banana bread using just bananas and a cake mix, so I took it a step further.

Fruity Muffins

 1 Orange Supreme cake mix

3 bananas (about to die)

5 strawberries (pureed)

I smooshed the bananas, pureed 5 strawberries, and mixed it together with the cake mix. That's it! No extra oil, eggs or anything!

I put the mix in muffin tins and baked them at 350 for 18 min. 

My kids liked them and my Hubby ate 2 before realizing that they had bananas in them. (He's not a fan of bananas) He did like them though!

Next time, I might bake them just a little longer. I might also try adding nuts or white chocolate chips.

What about you? What might you try?

Product Review: Awesomunch (Munch of Fun)

Welcome back to another Munch of Fun product review! To say that my kids were excited about opening another Special Box would be an understatement. When I told them that the living room had to be clean for them to open the Box, they ran around like crazies to get things clean. (Mostly they threw things on the train table in the corner, as you will see from the pictures)

Last time, my kids reviewed the Munch on Brunch box. You can check out that review {HERE}.

Today we are reviewing the Awesomunch Box. 

Just a reminder- Munch of Fun is dedicated to providing kids with healthy alternatives to typical snack foods. Their products are healthy, travel ready, and kid friendly. Let's get started!
( I didn't have my camera with me today so I used the iPad. Sorry the pics aren't great!)

Chips and Dip

Specialty chips and hummus bean dip

The Kid- liked the chips, but not the dip

The Girl- liked them both!

The Boy- liked them both!

The Mommy- ate the rest of the Kid's chips and dip. :)

Seriously, that hummus is good!

Pear Crisps

The Kid was convinced they were apple crisps, and I didn't want to tell him any different before he ate them. As it turns out, it didn't make a difference!

The Kid- Loved them! He ate his and his sister's!

The Girl- thought they were OK, but willingly let her brother finish them

The Boy- Liked them

Chicken Jerky

When my Hubby takes the kids on baseball trips, he always gets the kids beef jerky sticks. I knew for sure these would be a hit.

The Kid- thought it was OK. 

His sensitive palate required some water after a few bites. :)

The Girl- LOVED it! She ate all of hers and the rest of the Kid's. 

She doesn't believe in having a sensitive palate. 

The Boy- Liked it. He finished all of his, with a glass of water.

Cookies

Just look at this face. Can you feel the excitement?

 The Crew- LOVED IT!

Juice

The Crew- LOVED IT!

*BONUS*

As a token of her appreciation, Kristen sent us some popcorn!! Whoop-whoop!

Thanks, Kristen!

The Kid- loved it! Gobbled it up!

The Girl- thought it was OK

The Boy- ate his and his sister's

 Thanks for joining in to another Munch of Fun product review! Check out the website and see about doing some taste tests of your own! (They are totally worth it!)

Thank you for the card, Kristen! It made the kids feel very important!