Best and QUICKEST chicken taco soup

This month has been a good month for recipes at work. One of the girls I work with brought this and the smell drove me crazy! I had to ask her for the recipe. I only work 2 days a week but since I got the recipe I have brought it to work every Friday. This is one of those deals that you can make in an instant and it is even better when it sits in the fridge a couple of days. I have been freezing single servings and it defrosts GREAT. Lee and Keaton like it all dolled up as shown. I like it just plain or with a dollop of light sour cream.

Chicken Taco Soup

2 or 3 frozen chicken breasts (I use these chicken shreds)

1 pack Taco seasoning (I make my own)

1 pack of Ranch Dressing mix

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can Kidney beans

1 can White beans

1 can Vegetarian baked beans (use the small can or 1/2 of large can)

1 can corn

This is the easy part! Throw it all in the crock pot in the order listed. Do not drain anything just throw it in. Cook on low 6-8 hours if using raw chicken. 1-2 if using shreds.

Voila!

Shrimp Pasta

Oh, can I just tell you how much we love this dinner?!?!? I got this recipe out of Cooking Light years ago (all my real go to favorites are from there). I can make the whole thing start to table in about 15 minutes. Keaton ate 2 servings and wanted me to pack some up.."for his lunch". Try it you will LOVE it.
Angel Hair Shrimp Pasta (you notice I only had thin spaghetti...whatever)
Start your pasta, this whole thing moves pretty fast.
Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray. Add:
2 cups chopped plum tomato
1 1/2 cups chopped green onion
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
2 tsp dry dill (yes dill, odd but great)
2 cloves garlic minced (they say one I do 2 or 3)
Cook 4 minutes or until heated. Add 1 pound shrimp. I do the medium already peeled, cooked ones (Wal-mart always has them for about 5 bucks). Heat through. Combine pasta, sauce, and 1 cup of feta cheese (important). Delish!

White chicken Chili

I tried to do artsy with the broken bread...I know didn't work for me, looks like Keaton ate part of it first. This soup is EASY and good. I got it awhile ago from a recipe swap. I have made so many changes to it that it is a shadow of what I was given :)

White Chicken Chili
1 med onion chopped (I pre-chop my onions and freeze them in 1/2 cup bags)
1tsp garlic powder (or 2 fresh cloves)
1 1/2 cup shredded or cubed cooked chicken (I will give you my take on this later in the week)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 15 oz cans White beans (I cooked a bag of dried beans and froze them in 1 cup bags (I used 2 bags)
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup sour cream (I use light)
1 cup whipping cream (I never put this in but I do add a bit more broth)

Saute onion and garlic till clear. Add everything else except sour cream or whip cream. Bring to a boil simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat stir in sour cream and milk (I just mix a little sour cream in each bowl. It also cools it off a bit).

Barbacoa- 15 minutes

If we are talking easy burritos are an all time favorite. Everyone love Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork. There are tons of recipes floating around there with TONS of ingredients. My sister Meesha and I have one that is a 2 minute fix.
Cook a pork loin, picnic pork, boneless pork ribs (about 3 pounds)...whatever you can get cheap in the crock pot for 8 hours on low. Shred and add 1/2 cup brown sugar and small can of enchilada sauce (you can use my recipe for homemade enchilada sauce if you want extra credit but then you loose the quickness :). Use for burritos, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, taco salad, whatever. This also freezes well for a quick second dinner.

15 minutes prep....the series.

My good friend Lisa asked the other day if I had any quick healthy dinners up my sleeve. I am so glad she asked. When I watch Ms. Ray I often think...who has 30 minutes anymore. This week I will share what I can get on the table in 15 minutes prep. To kick if off I am sharing this great chili recipe. It is from Cooking Light. It was tucked in a corner of their magazine probably 8 years ago. I cannot even find it on their site anymore. Every time I share this recipe it is a hit. I actually ran into a girl the other day in Target that was in my ward probably 4 years ago and she was telling me she was making it again tonight. P.S. I timed myself making this....4 minutes.

Nonstop, no-chop chili

3/4 pound ground round browned (I always have some hamburger pre-browned then rinsed (to get the extra fat off) in my freezer, great time saver)

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups frozen corn (have you tried the Costco frozen corn....WOW)

1 cup bottled salsa

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1 can chili beans undrained

1 can diced no salt added tomatoes, undrained (I used a ziploc sandwich bag full off peeled diced fresh tomatoes I froze from our garden)

* I also added a cup of zucchini I shredded and froze from our garden for some extra veggies (it disappears...no one will know)

Anyway...add it all to a pot and let it simmer until you are ready to go. How easy is that? I also have put it in the crock pot to let it simmer all day! Check back tomorrow!