White Chicken Chile

Seriously so Good! My changes are in red.

1 lb chicken diced (1 use 2 large chicken breasts) *half a pound
1 med onion
1 ½ tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves fresh garlic
1 Tbsp oil
Cook together

Add:
2 c. chicken broth *three cups
1 tsp salt *1 1/2 tsp. chicken bullion
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 cans white beans, drained
1 4oz can diced green chilies

Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Turn off heat and add:
1 c. sour cream *1/2 cup
½ c whipping cream *I used 2% milk

Serve with grated cheese, olives, tortilla chips, avocado, and whatever else.

Sugar Cookies

I haven't tried this recipe myself but my friend made them for me and I asked for the recipe because she said they turned out better then any other recipe she has tried and my sugar cookies never turn out as good as these were.

8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar

1.) Cream the cream cheese and butter until light and smooth. add sugar and vanilla and mix very well. add flour and mix until completely Incorporated.

2.) Refrigerate a couple of hours.

r3.) Roll out using flour to help it getting too sticky to work with. Cut shapes and bake until mostly done. Let sit on cookie sheet for five minutes and then transfer to cooling rack. When completely cooled ice and decorate to your liking.

Split Pea Soup

I had a ton of left over ham after our Christmas dinner and so I made some split pea soup with it. Mainly to prove to my husband that split pea soup is really yummy despite its not so appealing appearance. Stewart dubbed it "Shrek Soup" so they kids would try it and it worked. My kids then thought it was cool and tried it and liked it.

1 pound green split peas

2 smoked ham hocks or left over ham works too :)

2 ribs celery--finely chopped

1 medium onion--finely chopped

1 medium carrot -- finely chopped

2 cubes chicken boullion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt ( I didn't add this and it tasted great)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8-10 cups water

1 bay leaf ( I didn't add this because I didn't have it on hand)

In a large saucepan combine all the ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and leaving mostly covered simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaf. Remove that ham hocks; when cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to the soup and heat through. If you want a smoother texture put half of it in the blender and blend till smooth. Return blended soup to the saucepan and mix well.

Yield:6-8 servings