Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced (about 1 pound)
1 package taco seasoning
Lettuce (I prefer green leaf for this recipe), 1 decent sized head
Green onion, chopped (around 2/3 cup)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 anaheim pepper, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
Shredded mexican style cheese
1 cup croutons
1 cup tortilla strips
1/2 tsp lime juice
Caesar salad dressing

Directions

To cook sous vide you will need a stock pot, a 1 quart zip up plastic bag, and a reliable cooking thermometer.  You will need to be pretty precise with your temperature.

Fill a stock pot with water and heat it to 149° F.  Place the diced chicken into a 1 quart plastic bag. Add 1-2 tsp olive oil, and the package of taco seasoning.  Mix lightly.  Place the bag into the water making sure to remove bubbles and seal the bag creating a bit of a vacuum.  No water should be allowed into the bag.  Reduce the heat so that the temperature of the water falls to 144°F.  Maintain the water temperature at 144°F and cook the chicken for 1 hour (see note on food safety).

While that is cooking chop up your lettuce, green onion, bell pepper, and anaheim pepper and put them in a serving bowl.  Add shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and croutons.  When the chicken is finished add it to the salad.  Add your lime and caesar dressing and toss well.  The spices from the chicken will mix with the dressing adding the southwest flair to the recipe.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and/or avocado slices.

* A note on food safety – Some of you may balk at cooking chicken in this fashion since the FDA recommends a final temperature of 165°F.  This number however is designed for more typical high heat cooking methods like a grill or oven.  The goal is essentially to pasteurize the chicken, and pasteurization is based on temperature and exposure time.  For example, in order to meet FDA standards for pasteurization, most milk these days is pasteurized using the high-temperature short-time (HTST) method, which heats the milk to 165° for 30 seconds.  However, small “microbrew”-type dairies may not have access to flash pasteurization and they meet FDA legal standards by heating the milk to 145° for 30 minutes.  Cooking sous-vide uses lower temperatures for longer times to maintain food safety.  We have been using this method in our house for about 3 years and have had no issues with it.  Given the amount of salmonella and listeria outbreaks related to produce over the last few years, the lettuce in this recipe presents more of a risk than sous-vide chicken.

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The post Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad appeared first on Create Craft Love.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Winter blues getting you down?

Winter brings a lot of things to us – the holidays, cold weather, visits with family and friends we may not see all that often. It can also bring a bit of melancholy, a touch of the blues … a few extra pounds. I said it.

This soup is magical.

Maybe that’s a stretch … but it won’t feel that way when you take the first bite. It’s rich, creamy, light enough to leave you feeling full and not stuffed, warm and delicious enough that you feel you’re being hugged from the inside. Best part? It takes little to no prep work – WIN.

Ingredients for Creamy Broccoli Soup

• 4c chopped broccoli
• 3.5c vegetable stock (substitute chicken if you like)
• 1c heavy cream
• 1  shredded zucchini
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 5 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

How to Make Homemade Creamy Broccoli Soup

1. Wash broccoli thoroughly, remove heads from stems. Use a knife or whiz in food processor until finely chopped.
2. Place chopped broccoli, shredded zucchini, and stock in large pot over medium heat. Cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
3. Add cream, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic. Raise heat just until it boils.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for ten more minutes to let the flavors romance each other a bit.
5. Remove from heat, stir in cheese until melted.
6. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, and some hot bread on the side. Yum.

There you go! If you try this recipe, let us know what you think! This is a recipe that we enjoy over and over and it’s the first soup that I think of every fall. It’s definitely a comfort food. 

More Comfort Food Recipes

There is definitely something comforting about foods that warm your belly. Here are more of our favorite comfort foods: 

• 13 Cozy Comfort Foods for Fall
• Loaded Slow Cooker Chili
• One Pot Spinach, Bacon and Chicken Risotto
• Easy Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Crock Pot Chicken Chili

Let us know if you try any of these recipes. And hey! Happy Fall, Y’all! 

The post Creamy Broccoli Soup appeared first on Create Craft Love.

Loaded Slow Cooker Chili

Of course, if your recipe deviates the tiniest little bit from your friend’s idea of chili, you may find yourself engaged in fisticuffs before the night is over. As contentious recipes go, chili may have the most variables that can start an argument.

“Chili must have meat.”
“Chili has no meat, that’s chili con carne you luddite!”
“Chili has beans.”
“Wrong, only hippies put beans in chili.  Go cut your hair!”
“Chili is the perfect spaghetti topper.”
“… Don’t trust a city that once elected Jerry Springer as mayor.”

Instead of taking a hard line stance on chili, I prefer to take my cues from our revolutionary brothers and sisters from the Indian subcontinent (in your face Queen of England). Curry, that quintessential Indian dish, is very similar to chili. You have the primary food, meat or vegetables, then a liquid base, be it tomato or yogurt. Finally you throw in a heap of different herbs and spices. This mixture of spices (what the British came to call curry powder) varies widely region to region and even family to family.  Customization of the curry to your own tastes is encouraged which results in significantly less drunken brawls.

With that in mind, I have developed my own unique recipe over the years. Orthodox chili enthusiasts beware, this recipe might make you angry.

Ingredients for Loaded Crockpot Chili

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 16 oz. can of black beans
• 16 oz. can of red beans
• 16 oz. can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 anaheim pepper
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, diced
• ½ of a yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 baby portabella mushrooms, diced
• 3.8 oz. can of sliced black olives
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin, ground
• 1 tsp. oregano, ground
• 1 tsp. paprika, ground
• 1 tsp. thyme, ground
• 1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

How to Make Loaded Slowcooker Chili

1. In a medium skillet drop two tablespoons olive or canola oil and set on medium high.
2. Mix the spices in with the minced garlic to create a paste.
3. Cook the spice paste in the oil until the popping and crackling slow down, about 3-4 minutes.

(This is called “blooming” the spices, or “tempering” in India.  Most herbs and spices get their flavor from aromatic hydrocarbons which are fat soluble.  This process essentially increases the amount of flavor that is extracted.)

4. Place the ground beef in the skillet and cook until browned.
5. Take out your slow cooker and set to high temperature. Add the ground beef to the slow cooker.
6. Add the beans, water and all.
7. Dice the peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, olives and baby portabella. Chop the cilantro. Place all of this into the slow cooker.
8. Once it is warm, it is ready to eat.

Notes

• The potatoes, mushrooms, and olives can be considered optional. I think they add nicely to the complexity of the flavor and texture, but some people have issues with them.
• This makes a fairly thick chili. You can add water or subtract to suit your preference
• This is intentionally fairly low on the “spicy” scale. If you want “Defcon 5 – Thermonuclear chili” you’ll have to upgrade the peppers to spicier varieties and/or add chili powder.
• This chili stands alone quite well, but there are lots of ways to garnish chili. A little cheddar cheese on top and served with “scoop”-style corn chips is my favorite.  Some add a dollop of sour cream to the top.  Some serve with bread or crackers.

More Delicious Comfort Foods You Will Love 

• Creamy Broccoli Soup
• One Pot Spinach, Bacon and Chicken Risotto
• Instant Pot Brown Sugar Glazed Chicken
• Sweet Potato Soup with Leeks and Bacon
• Ñoquis Recipe (Gnocchi in Italian)

Let us know if you try any of these delicious recipes, we think you’ll love them all!

The post Loaded Slow Cooker Chili appeared first on Create Craft Love.

As always, please show these bloggers some love and pin from the original source!

Orange Sweet Rolls from The First Year Blog

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup from Kleinworth and Co.

Chicken Bisque Soup from Will Cook for Smiles

Verde Chicken Enchiladas from Life with the Crust Cut Off

Pumpkin Butter Donuts from Kleinworth and Co.

Slow Cooker Cajun Turkey Breast from This Silly Girl’s Life

Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodle Bread from Annie’s Noms

Halloween Oreo Cookie Butter Popcorn from Kleinworth and Co.

Cheesecake Brownie Bites from The First Year Blog

Crock Pot Soup Recipes from The Seasoned Homemaker

Frosted Candy Corn Cookie Bars from Posed Perfection

Halloween Pretzel Spider Webs from One Little Project

Onion Rolls from BeBetsy

My mouth is watering and my tummy is growling after pulling this post together!  Better get your pinning fingers ready!

Happy Trick or Treating!!

The post 13 Cozy Comfort Foods for Fall appeared first on Create Craft Love.