White Chicken Chili

Here's my sister's recipe for White Chicken Chili.  A few people have asked for the recipe, so I thought I would just post it on the ol' blog!  Enjoy!

White Chicken Chile
2 onions, chopped
2 T olive oil
5 chicken breasts (no skin), cubed
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground or dried oregano
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
2 small cans or 1 large can diced green chiles
1 large jar cooked Great Northern Beans (drained/rinsed)
1-2 cans navy beans (drained/rinsed)
2 cups frozen corn
1 can creamed corn
8 cups chicken broth
20 oz Monterey Jack Cheese (cut into small cubes)


Saute onions in oil until clear. Stir in chicken and garlic and cook until done (about10-15 minutes). Add spices, chiles, beans, corn, and broth and cook 10-15 minutes or until hot and gently bubbling. Add cheese and melt. DO NOT BOIL. Soup should be thick. Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, and cornbread or tortilla chips.

Good Morning + PW's Good Morning Muffins

Good morning!  Today is my first full day alone with the two girls.  


I had plans to go to MOPS this morning {I was so excited to show-off my new little pink bundle}, but unfortunately Callie woke up with a fever of 101.5 so we have to stay home.  So far, things are going better than expected - Callie's not acting too sick, so maybe she will get better soon.  She's eating fine but is just a little tired.  Somehow I managed to get both girls down for a nap at the same time (hence my time to blog)!  


Oh, if you want to see some pics of our Christmas, including a few of us in the hospital on the night Clara was born, click here to see my sister's blog.  Thanks Ki!  


And a friend came over and took some family pictures for us last week.  Here's a little peak of mommy and baby (so nice to have since I can't take pictures very easily of myself)!  Thanks, Annie!  Oh and another friend is making me some awesome birth announcements {see her website here}...I can't wait to see what she comes up with, and I will make sure to share them with y'all.  Thanks so much, Steph.


I have such awesome friends!

And my sweet sister-in-law Elyse {an awesome cook} brought us some muffins for the first morning we were home from the hospital.  They were sooo good, I just have to share the recipe.  They are Pioneer Woman's, and almost tasted like donuts with a subtle orange flavor.  I'm definitely making these soon, and you should too!


Picture and recipe from PW's blog.





Good Morning Muffins

• Muffin Batter
• 4 cups Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• ½ cups Shortening (can Use 1/4 Cup Shortening With 1/4 Cup Butter)
• 2 cups Orange Marmalade
• 1 cup Orange Juice
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten
• _____
• Topping Ingredients
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon (plus 1 Teaspoon) Melted Butter
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Place in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter to mix in shortening (or butter/shortening if desired). Mix marmalade, orange juice, and vanilla in a small bowl. Pour into dry ingredients. Beat eggs and pour into the bowl. Mix all ingredients together gently, using fewer than 10 large strokes.

In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients.

Fill muffin pans with batter. Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of topping ingredients over each muffin.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until done. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Northwoods Chicken Salad

I thought I would share one of my all-time favorite recipes!  It's a chicken salad that has wild rice, Craisins, avocado, and lots of other good things.  It's my good friend Ranya's recipe, who's a seriously fabulous cook, and this salad is always a hit.  In fact, I made it for my MOPS group a few weeks ago and it won the "best dish" award for the week (thanks, Ranya!).  :)

Salad:

1 c wild rice, cooked according to package directions (makes about 4 cups cooked rice)

3 chicken breasts, season, grilled and chopped

1 large avocado, diced

1/2 c Craisins

1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

2 c peapods (sugar snap or snowpeas), cut into thirds

1/3 c slivered almonds, optional

Dressing:
3/4 c oil

1/4 c vinegar

2 T dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook wild rice according to package directions (I use a rice cooker w/ 1 part rice, 3 parts water plus a little oil).  Combine salad ingredients.  Blend all dressing ingredients in food processor until completely smooth (mixture will be white as oil emulsifies).  Pour over salad.  Can be made a day in advance - just add avocado right before serving.  I like to make a double recipe and keep it in the fridge.  :)

Enjoy and hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (think Olive Garden)

Who doesn't love the Olive Garden?  I love their Chicken and Gnocchi soup, and happened to find a recipe that's very similar!  You have to try this...with rotisserie chicken, it actually wasn't very difficult at all!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup with Spinach
1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (or half of a rotisserie chicken)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 qt half and half (or whole milk)
1 14-oz can chicken broth
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese – optional
1 pound potato gnocchi – can buy this in the gourmet section of many supermarkets

Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil, over medium heat when the onion becomes translucent, add the flour, and make a roux, let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding half and half.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.

Into the roux add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasonings, simmer until soup is heated through.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Blitz

 Boo....Happy Halloween!  I know if I don't get this posted tonight Halloween will be over, so I'll call this the great pumpkin blitz, and soon you'll see why.  We carved pumpkins this week with Callie...I must start with saying again how much she loves pumpkins and points them out everywhere we go (sounds more like "pa-pa").  So we thought she would love carving one just as much, but ironically she was a little afraid of the pumpkin!  This is about as close as she would get...

  We started out our little "family night" by reading The Pumpkin Patch Parable, and great gift from grandma (my mother-in-law always has the best gift ideas).  It's a good way to tie in a secular holiday with a Christmas perspective.  Reading this book just may become part of our family tradition.  If you're interested in getting one for your family, you can find it here.

So on to the carving...how do you cut the top of the pumpkin?  For some reason I thought if you cut a circle it would fall in the middle.  But my "star design" was pretty difficult to match-up.  Bad idea.

(This drives me crazy...she now has realized she can push a chair up to the counter and help herself.)

Here's our munchkin pumpkin in her costume, all ready to go!  Guess which of the five pumpkins is my favorite?  :)

 The cutest trick-or-treater out there if you want my opinion.  :)  You've gotta love Babylegs!

And of course, the loot.  She got to pick one piece before she went to bed, and she wanted a sucker.  Um, that would have been my last choice.  :)

Speaking of sweets, have you made pumpkin bars yet this year (recipe follows)?

Or have you ever made your own pumpkin puree?  I might try PW's homemade pumpkin puree this week.  It looks like fun and I like the idea of freezing it, just in case we face another pumpkin shortage next year.  :)



And here's the best recipe for the best Pumpkin Bars (thanks again mom!):

2c flour

2t baking powder

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

2t cinnamon

2c sugar

4 eggs

2c pumpkin

1c oil

Combine all ingredients.  Pour into sprayed 10 X 15 jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Cool  Frost with cream cheese frosting (divide recipe in half for a 13 X 9 pan).


Cream Cheese Frosting


1 8oz package cream cheese
1 t vanilla
4-5 cups powdered sugar

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

Pumpkin Butter

Just in case you are in the mood for celebrating fall, or for cooking, or just for making your house smelly yummy, I have the yummiest pumpkin recipe for you...and it's safe to say that I will be making this every year!

Just combine the pumpkin and water and bring to a boil; add remaining ingredients and simmer 1-2 hours on stovetop -or- place in slow cooker for 6-12 hours.  The first time I made this, I did it the long way over the stove...next time I think the slow cooker will be much easier!

Tastes like pumpkin pie...except you can eat it for breakfast!  :)  I found the full recipe here but made a few slight changes. Put it in little jars and give to the neighbors!  

Sorry this is such a short post! To see recent pics of my little munchkin, click here!

Easy Weeknight Dinner

I think the picture is pretty self-explanatory, but tonight I somehow combined some random ingredients to  make a pretty decent weeknight dinner.  Combine 2 cans Progresso Creamy Chicken Wild Rice soup with 1/2 c canned pumpkin, 1/2 c half and half (or cream), and some chopped rotisserie chicken.  Add a little fresh-ground pepper to make it taste "homemade."  What do you get?  Pumpkin Wild Rice soup.  Just thought I would pass it on!  Sandra Lee would be proud.  :)

Pumpkins Galore

We're alive and fall has been keeping us on our toes!  We've been enjoying this gorgeous fall weather while it lasts.  I think living in this part of the country makes you extra thankful for a beautiful fall day, because we know snow could be right around the corner.

We've been drawing lots and lots of pumpkins, talking about pumpkins, and eating pumpkin too (recipe follows).  We even got a pumpkin delivered to our house from grandma and grandpa!  :)

We also visited some chickens at the farm.

I could hardly tear her off the swing (her new favorite place) to go see the chickens, but when I finally convinced her, she loved the chickens!

{Did I mention Callie got a new pair of Nike's, and they are her FAVORITE pair of shoes; she never wants to take them off and wants to wear them around the house!  Must be a little more comfortable than her fancy ones.}

We fed the chickens some grass, and they also eat corn cobs and, you guess it, pumpkins!

 Yes, we've been eating our fair share of pumpkins too. Like pumpkin muffins.

Callie's such a big mess help in the kitchen, it's fun to teach her how to "cook."  I think a toddler's apron should be officially added to her Christmas list.  :)  Anyone know where to find cute ones?

We made some pumpkin-carrot-bran muffins, including blended-up carrots.

Recipe taken from my mom's famous cookbook.  The recipe is called "big batch," and let's just say that was no understatement.  We will be eating these for a long time...and we may even be bringing you some too.  :)

 

 Big Batch Pumpkin Carrot Bran Muffins

1 large carrot, shredded

1 16-oz can pumpkin

2 c milk

1 1/2 c oil

3 eggs

4 c flour

2 1/4 c oat bran (I use oats)

1 1/4 c sugar

3/4 c unprocessed wheat bran

3 T baking soda

1 1/2 t salt

Combine first 5 ingredients and stir.  Add remaining ingredients and stir utnil just blended.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until done.  Cool on wire rack.  Makes about 3 dozen muffins.  

I like to add flax seeds and some cinnamon.  

* * *

Coming soon?  The yummiest pumpkin recipe EVER.  It's definitely a keeper so make sure to check back again soon!

Yum, Nutella Pumpkin Bread

You don't have to read this blog for long to discover that I love Nutella.  So when a friend sent me the link for this recipe, I knew it was something I would be making.  What happens when you combine pumpkin bread with Nutella? Mmm...

Happy fall, everyone!  You can find the recipe here at Two Peas and Their Pod.  Oh, is anyone else having a hard time finding canned pumpkin???  

Make-Your-Own Instant Oatmeal

Oatmeal is such a comforting fall food, isn't it?  Now I realize it's only August, but around here we eat oatmeal year 'round.  Maybe that has something to do with it being easy, or healthy, or probably just because Callie licks her bowl clean.  


I used to buy the packaged instant oatmeal packets.  And then I realized how much sugar they have, not to mention they're really not that cheap.  And then I started making plain oats, which is much healthier and more cost effective, but it still needs a little something.  Then I was at a friend's house last year and someone had made them homemade instant oatmeal that we ate for breakfast.  What a great idea!  


So I set out to make a batch of homemade instant oatmeal.  There couldn't be an easier thing in the world to make - no baking required.  Just a bowl and a spoon (okay, maybe a few measuring cups too if you want to get all precise).  


Here's the kind we made this month.  And I've come up with a few other recipe ideas too (see below).  All you need?  Instant oats, spices, your choice of dried fruit, and maybe some nuts.  And don't forget a little salt because it really brings out the flavor.  I like to add flax seed and ground flax because it's healthy and you can hardly detect it's there.  :)  And because I love adding brown sugar on the top after it's cooked, I made this batch without sugar. But you definitely could add some if you like it sweet.

Here's everything measured and dumped into our container (my recipe below).

And then all mixed together!

To make a bowl, simply add 1 part oatmeal to 2 parts water; microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. Another way you can make oatmeal for multiple people is to measure it out in a crockpot the night before, and set the crockpot to low all night.  And ta-da!  You have Good Morning Oatmeal!  :)  

Top with desired ingredients (milk and brown sugar are what we like).  Would this be cute all packaged up as a Christmas gift when everyone else is bringing cookies?

Basic Oatmeal Recipe

5 cups instant oats

1/3 t salt

3 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

5 T granulated sugar or brown sugar, optional

♥ Berry-Flax (add the follow to the Basic Oatmeal Recipe)

1 package mixed berries (or blueberries)

5 T flax seeds and/or ground flax 

♥ Christmas Morning Spice (add the follow to the Basic Oatmeal Recipe)

1 package dried or freeze-dried apples

1/2 c Craisins

1/2 c chopped pecans

extra 1 t cinnamon

1/4 t cloves

♥ Banana Nut (add the follow to the Basic Oatmeal Recipe)

1 package freeze-dried bananas

1/2 c chopped walnuts

extra 1 t cinnamon

top with sliced banana 

And again, what's a Bambina Babe post without a picture of Callie?

We're still on the hunt for baby names.  We're narrowing it down and have a list of about 3 names we like, but we're not sure if we've found "the one" yet or not. Hmmm... Such a big decision! With Callie it was easier because we both agreed right away and I guess you could say we knew it was right. But this time it's different.  I just don't want to have to bring our baby name books with me to the hospital!  ;)    

Oh, I'm making a little more progress on our house.  Now that I'm in that 2nd trimester and have a little more energy, I'm trying to nail down more house projects.  Like the girls' bathroom.  My mom came up and helped me make a shower curtain with this fabric by Amy Butler.

I actually got a little grommet kit and we put in our own grommets on the shower curtain!  It's pretty cool...I'll show you some pics of our little bathroom soon.  And I've still not decided about the big girl bed decision, 

On a more serious note, please continue praying for dear Savannah.  Her weight is continuing to drop and her open-heart surgery is scheduled for Thursday.  It will be a long week for her parents.  Your prayers are really appreciated.  

Ringlets & Fresh Spring Rolls

Do you see what I see?

Yes, it's true, she's finally getting some hair!  Isn't it so pretty?  It's kind of a light-brown/dark-blonde, depending on the light.  She's just getting so big!  She's definitely getting ready to be a big sister.  She's so much fun - she talks, babbles, and sings all the time.  Some of her latest {cute} words are:  nooo-oooo (with attitude), toothbrush, pottie, mess (we say this word quite frequently to her), and whoa.  Her favorite songs are "ABC's" and "Jesus Loves Me" {which she sings/hums all the time}, "Twinkle Twinkle," "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider"   {she loves doing the actions for the last two songs, too}. 

So back to the hair...the best part is in the back...little ringlets!

Oh, I must mention that she told her first lie.  I used to ask her if she's poopy, and she would always say "yes" if she was {which sounded more like "uh"}.  But now, when I ask if she's poopy, she says, "nooo-ooooo."  Are you telling me that my little angle is capable of telling lies (and disobeying her mommy and daddy)?!?!  Hard to believer, I know.  :)

So on another note, I made some Fresh Spring Rolls.  They are Vietnamese/Thai, and we had our first ones at a Vietnamese restaurant while we were living in the Philippines. The waiter brought out what we thought would be more like fried egg-rolls, and to our surprise, they were they sticky, noodle-consistency rolls. And they were cold, not hot.  But wow, I didn't know what I was missing.  They have similar ingredients and flavors as Pad Thai, so if you like Pad Thai, you will love these.  I made them with my Perfect Peanut Sauce {kids love this dipping sauce, too}. 

You can find spring roll wrappers at Asian grocery stores (I've also seen they in regular grocery stores in the international section). 

Before they are cooked, they have the consistency of a brittle, thin sheet of noodle.  You just follow the directions and soak them in warm water for a few minutes (one at a time) until they are soft. 

And don't forget to chop up some vegetables, meat, and fresh herbs.  I used matchstick carrots, cucumbers, peapods, and fresh basil because that's what I had on hand.  As well as some chicken I baked with curry powder, salt, and pepper and then shredded.  Some other popular ingredients are vermicelli noodles, cilantro, shrimp, and lettuce.  Just throw in whatever you like.  See what I mean when I say they have similar ingredients as Pad Thai?

You just put the filling in the middle of the cooked wrapper, and tightly roll it up (will be in the shape of an egg roll). 

It looks like this. 

And here's the finished product! 

If you haven't had these, you should order some next time you're in a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant.  You won't be disappointed!  :)