Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken in creamy, spicy sauce, wrapped in warm tortillas and covered with tomatoes and cheese!

adapted from allrecipes.com

UPDATE: To reheat, whisk together 1/2 can cream of chicken or cream of celery soup with small amount of milk and pour over top of enchiladas in pan. Cover pan with foil and bake at 425 degrees F. for 20 minutes, then remove foil, increase oven temperature to 475 degrees F. and bake for an additional 10 minutes. 


Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 cup sour cream
1 or 2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cup salsa (homemade is best)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or paprika)
1 or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
dash of ground cayenne pepper (optional)  
1 small can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chilies
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 can (10 oz) Ro*Tel® Mexican Diced Tomatoes with Lime Juice & Cilantro, drained
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Cooked rice (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat, saute onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil for a few minutes to soften.

Add in cooked chicken, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, and black pepper. Heat until cheese melts.

Stir in salt, salsa, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, if using, and green chilies. Heat through.

Spoon hot mixture onto tortillas and roll tightly. Use all tortillas.

Place tortillas in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with Ro-Tel tomatoes and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese.

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve over rice, if desired.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Very moist and chocolatey cake topped with creamy frosting.



Chocolate Cupcakes
Paula Deen
(Yield: approximately 30 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
3 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.

Brew one cup of strong coffee and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Add oil, cooled coffee, and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Mix in the sour cream and vanilla.

Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 to 19 minutes.

Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes, and then remove cupcakes from the pans and cool completely.


Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened & 1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar (not Powdered Sugar)

Directions:
In a small or medium saucepan, add milk and whisk in flour over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until mixture is very thick...almost as thick as brownie batter; It must be thick, or the frosting will not set up properly. 

Remove pan from heat. Set aside to cool completely on counter; I place on cool, wet dishtowel. 
Place plastic wrap directly ON top of mixture while cooling. For the next step, the milk/flour mixture must not be warm AT ALL, but if you cool mixture in refrigerator, then bring back to room temperature before proceeding. Once mixture has cooled, add in vanilla extract.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar on low for 2 minutes, then on medium-high speed for 6 minutes.  Add in the cooled milk/flour mixture and continue beating on medium-high for 8 minutes until resembles whipped cream. Frost cake/cupcakes and store in refrigerator (for firmer texture) or at room temperature (for softer texture).

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

The texture of this frosting is similar to whipped cream...luscious.


Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened & 1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar (not Powdered Sugar)

Directions:
In a small or medium saucepan, add milk and whisk in flour over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until mixture is very thick...almost as thick as brownie batter; It must be thick, or the frosting will not set up properly. 

Remove pan from heat. Set aside to cool completely on counter; I place on cool, wet dishtowel. 

Place plastic wrap directly ON top of mixture while cooling. For the next step, the milk/flour mixture must not be warm AT ALL, but if you cool mixture in refrigerator, then bring back to room temperature before proceeding. Once mixture has cooled, add in vanilla extract.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar on low for 2 minutes, then on medium-high speed for 6 minutes.  Add in the cooled milk/flour mixture and continue beating on medium-high for 8 minutes until resembles whipped cream. Frost cake/cupcakes and store in refrigerator (for firmer texture) or at room temperature (for softer texture).

Sausage Potato Chowder

Hearty and filling. I hope you don't wait for cold weather to try this one!

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Sausage Potato Chowder
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com 
(Yield: approximately 6 quarts*)

Ingredients:
20 small red potatoes, leave skins on & cut in chunks
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 (14 ounce) package smoked sausage, sliced
3 to 4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
3 quarts water (12 cups**)
(**note: use 3 cups less than this if using chicken broth or chicken bouillon cubes rather than bouillon paste)
4 Tablespoons chicken bouillon paste
[(or 3 cups chicken broth) (or 3 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 3 cups hot water)]
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Salt, to taste (I use 2 teaspoons)
Pepper, to taste (I use 1 teaspoon)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3/4 cup (approx.) flour
12 ounce can evaporated milk (or milk), slightly warm

Directions:
Combine the potatoes, onions, sausage, carrots, and water in a large stockpot.
Bring to a boil, and then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the chicken bouillon paste (or broth, or bouillon cubes dissolved in water), celery seed, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
In a separate medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
Whisk in flour, a little at a time, and cook, stirring constantly until thick. Slowly whisk in milk.
Continue whisking over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup for 10 minutes on low. Serve.

*use half of all ingredients for 3 quarts

Not-Too-Sweet Peanut Butter Cookies

Satisfy your craving for something sweet with these delicious, one-bowl cookies.


Slightly adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Not-Too-Sweet Peanut Butter Cookies
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com
(makes approximately 24 cookies)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup shortening
1 Tablespoon margarine
1 egg
3/4 cup raw sugar (a.k.a. turbinado sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tablespoon water
1-1/2 cups (3/2) cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, combine shortening, margarine, egg, sugar, vanilla extract, peanut butter, and water. Mix well.
Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on lowest setting just until combined.

Form cookies into a ball with small scoop or by hand, and place 2 inches apart on either greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Flatten each ball with tines of fork making a criss-cross pattern.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10-16 minutes (depending on size of cookie), or until slightly browned on outside edge only.

Note: I baked mine for approximately 15 minutes, as I like them with a slight crunch.
 
 

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Fresh Baked White Sandwich Bread

Soft as bread...crispy as toast...tasty either way!

Adapted from allrecipes.com

White Sandwich Bread
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com
(Yield: 2 loaves)

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (115 degrees, Fahrenheit)
1/3 cup sugar, heaping
1 1/2 [3/2] Tablespoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour (start with 4 cups and add up to 2 cups more while kneading)

Directions:
Add warm water and sugar to a large bowl; stir thoroughly. Add yeast and stir thoroughly.
Let mixture sit for 10 minutes until puffy. If not puffy, either water was too hot or too cold, or yeast is dead.

Add salt and oil to yeast mixture. Stir in flour, one cup at a time, (saving some flour to use while kneading) until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Dump dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (approximately 10 minutes). You may not need all 6 cups of flour. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn dough to coat with oil. 

Cover bowl with clean cloth, and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour. This is the First Rise.

Punch dough down, and dump dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead for several minutes; knead bubbles out of the dough. Divide dough in half. Shape halves into loaves and place in two well-greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover with towel and let rise for approximately 30 minutes, or until risen 1-inch over top of pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes.
How to Tell When Bread is Done