There's A Party In My Tummy!

So yummy, so yummy! My husband just loves that song from Yo Gabba Gabba. Right. Anyway, today has been one of those extremely busy, not-a-lot-of-time-to-eat days. Between the baby, schoolwork, unpacking and organizing, lets just say when dinner rolled around I didn't have the time or energy to make something elaborate. So I fell back on this recipe, a family favorite.

Last year when I was pregnant and had kidney stones, I wasn't up for making a lot of meals. Our dear friends Michael and Carolyn came to our rescue, bringing us not one, but two dinners. One of them was the recipe and ingredients for this super easy, frugal, quick 8-Can Chicken Taco Soup. Sounds delish, right? It is. 

See? Yummy is an understatement. And I'm not kidding, this is super easy. You probably have most of the ingredients in your food storage or pantry. You sly dog, you. Enough chatter, here's the recipe!

I dunno who came up with this, so I'll just say the credit goes to my friend Carolyn. This recipe makes about 6-7 servings (assuming each serving is 1 1/2-2 C).

8-Can Chicken Taco Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (15.25 oz) can sweet corn, drained
• 1 (12.5 oz) can white chicken breast, drained
• 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
• 1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
• 1 packet taco seasoning 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot
2. Heat until warm, stirring occasionally
3. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy with your choice of toppings (sour cream, chives, jalapenos, shredded cheese, etc.). 

Bon appetit! 

The Dark Side Has Cookies...Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Today, my sweet tooth decided to suddenly reappear and demand chocolate. So this morning, I put chocolate chips on my Malt-O-Meal. That should be good, right? Wrong! My sweet tooth is a ravenous monster and demanded more. More chocolate?! Well, if you insist. I decided to make cookies. Now, as far as cooking goes I'm at Level 0. But if there's one thing I can do, it's bake a mean snickerdoodle. No! Not a snickerdoodle, my sweet tooth said. Feed me chocolaaaate! (Meanwhile, my leftover baby fat is sobbing uncontrollably and begging for a carrot instead.)

I had originally planned to make chocolate chip cookies (yawn), but then I decided to flip through one of my mom's many cookbooks and found a recipe for Chocolate Crackle Cookies. Uhm, yes, please! The recipe looked simple enough. Measure ingredients, throw in bowl, mix, refrigerate, roll in powdered sugar, bake, eat. Bam. Chocolate craving satisfied. *sigh* if only things always went according to plan. What should have taken about 3 1/2 hours took me almost 7. Why? Because I have a baby, that's why.

My monkey decided to wake up happy, but as soon as I wanted to make cookies he wanted to be held. And fed (you just ate an hour ago!). And held some more. And he didn't want to nap, either. So I made half of these cookies one-handed. I should get bonus points for that.

At first he was an amazing cheerleader. He sat there babbling and serenading me with his two-month-old version of singing. Ah, what a wonderful tune to bake to!

Then I got to the part where you refrigerate the dough, and an hour and a half later baby went down for a nap. Cool, I thought, He'll sleep through baking the first batch. Riiight. Apparently he didn't get that memo, because forty minutes later he was awake again.  I had only rolled half a sheet of cookies. Please, for the love of leavening, if you make these put them back in the fridge if you walk away at this point. 'Cause I didn't and mine turned out looking like reverse dalmatian puddles. Don't worry, they still taste like a delightful cup of cold hot chocolate. They're hot cocoa flavored reverse dalmatian puddles. Yup, that just about sums them up.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup shortening, melted
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350° F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, cocoa, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well, then add walnuts and chocolate chips, if desired (It looks like pudding at this point, but it's not. Try not to eat it like it is.).

Refrigerate dough for 2 to 3 hours or overnight*.

Drop and gently roll dough by tablespoonfuls in powdered sugar, being careful not to overhandle dough (seriously, these suckers need to be stone cold when put in the oven). Place on greased or wax paper-covered cookie sheet 1 1/2-2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Do not overbake (They won't look done, but they are, I promise). Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack. Makes approx. 5 dozen cookies.

*Cookie dough can be stored in fridge for up to 5 days. Well covered and refrigerated cookies will last up to 2 weeks. Baked cookies can also be frozen.

Grab a cool glass of milk and enjoy! I know I did.