Chicken and Kale Soup

I altered yesterday's meal a bit after picking up some kale this week. I decided to try adding it to a chicken vegetable soup. I really liked the results.

8 cups chicken stock or broth (I make my own and freeze it)
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2T olive oil
2 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
40z. mushrooms, diced
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked diced chicken breast
1 cup corn
1 head of kale, washed, dried, and chopped into small pieces
1t herbes de provence

In large pot on stove, heat 2T olive oil. Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic and mushrooms, and saute for about 4 minutes. Salt and pepper lightly. Add broth and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add chicken, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Add kale, corn and herbes de provence, and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes, until kale is tender. Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread and a salad.

I just had a bowl of this today and it's even better reheated!

BTW...

I apologize in advance if any of my photos look a little goofy....I got a new app on my iPhone I'm playing with...I think I like it....but when I decide for sure I'll share...in the meantime, if something looks off, it's because I'm playing. LOL

This is my 7yo with his best friend done in pencil effect and I just LOVE it.

First Steps to Spring!

Amazing the little things I get excited about. Here are my first seed purchases for this summer's garden. This weekend I start setting up shop in the basement, and getting my little seed babies up and running for the things I can transplant. So exciting!

Girl Scout Cookie Names...

Good thing I managed to lose a bit of weight over the past week. I'm bound to gain it back. Our 3rd grade neighbor and resident girl scout brought our order over today.

I laugh whenever we get Girl Scout cookies here in Omaha. We're from Missouri, and most of the cookies are the same, but NONE of the names are. And we find differences in what gets sold here versus home. My friend's daughter sells cookies in St. Louis and the list was quite different.

So left to right, we got the Thanks-a-lot, which is a shortbread cookie dipped in chocolate. Then the Peanut Butter Patties, in St. Louis known as the Tagalong, the Lemonades, which are shortbread cookies with a lemon icing, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, also known as the Do-Si-Do.

What cookies did you get in your area and what do they call them? What's your favorite?

Chicken and Red Bean Enchiladas

I made a small variation to my normal Chicken Enchiladas recipe tonight so as to sneak some beans into the boys meal. They like beans, but tend to eat them better if they're in something, rather than a standalone side. I had thought about making rice tonight but decided not to, so I put the beans straight into the enchiladas.

10 flour tortillas
2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
1t onion powder
2 cups cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In small bowl, mix soup, sour cream and salsa. In large bowl, mix together chicken, beans, half of the soup mixture, onion powder and 1 cup cheese. Heat tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds so they are flexible. Fill each tortilla with 2-3T filling and place seam down in a greased casserole dish. Pour remaining soup mixture over enchiladas, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake for 30 at 350 until golden and bubbly.

We served with additional sour cream and salsa, lime, corn, and salad with a honey lime chipotle vinaigrette.

This recipe has been linked to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.