Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

I've been wanted to make this recipe from the A Year of Slow Cooking blog for a while now.  I finally got around to it today.  It was really good and really easy.  I soaked the beans overnight and used frozen chicken breast tenderloins, then cooked it on low for about 7 hours.  When I got from work I took the chicken out and cut it into smaller pieces, put some of it back in and used an immersion blender to thicken it up a bit.  The beans still needed about an hour but the chicken was done so I left the rest of the chicken out and added it back in later.

Baden reluctantly tried it but ended up eating all of his.  Paige commented that the sour cream was sour. Hmm.. I remember having the same discussion with my sister when we were little.  "Heather, it's not really sour, it's just CALLED sour cream."  She didn't buy it either.

I'll make this soup again!

Swiss Chard Lasagna

I've been eyeing Time for Dinner for close to a year now... I finally broke down and bought it.  My first recipe was a huge success.  Baden had THIRDS.

We found this little guy on our organic swiss chard.  After two days in the fridge I wasn't sure he was alive but Paige gently removed him and put him outside.  He moved!

Paige was excited to help assemble the layers of our lasagna...

Just out of the oven...

Our plates (before)

and after!

I can't share the recipe here due to copyright laws but I can invite you to dinner... just let me know when you're coming!  Bring wine.

Kale Chips

Another reason I love Baden's new school - organic fruits and vegetables from Dragon Organics!  We picked up our first order today.  How convenient, pick up your veggies while you're picking up your kid.

Our haul this week: lettuce, carrots, strawberries, kale, swiss chard, beets, broccoli and oranges.

I was so excited that as soon as we got home I searched for kale recipes.  Immediately I came up with several for kale chips.  I had to try it right away.

It looks like salad... but it is baked kale chips. I'm glad I took a picture because we devoured them.  

I will make this again (probably this weekend).  Next time I'll be more adventurous and try some other seasonings but this time I just used olive oil and Maldon sea salt.

Here's what I did:  Wash and dry kale.  Coat with olive oil and salt.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes in a single layer.  I turned them at about 10 minutes.

(Almost) Guilt-free chips - I'm sold!

Red Lentil Soup

I love this soup from Orangette.  Easy and delicious.  The lemon juice and cilantro add a wonderful fresh flavor.

Chicken Drumstick - Rice Bake

This was easy easy easy and the kids ate ate ate it.  I'll definitely make this recipe from Cooks.com again.  I used organic chicken (on sale at Henry's) and baked for 2 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.  It was delicious.
I made 10 drumsticks - all we had left was this little bit (perfect for Andrew's lunch tomorrow):

We also had broccoli and Easter eggs.  Here's our little kitty cat all smiles.

Butternut Squash Soup

Baden requested this soup tonight. I've made it a few times - it's easy to make, delicious, and looks pretty.

Plus I get to use the immersion blender!

Before:                                                                              After:

The recipe can be found here on a blog I read regularly, Pancakes and French Fries. It's not a cooking blog but this soup is good!

Chili

Super Bowl Sunday.... chili seemed like a good idea.  And it was!

Simple Chili from 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker
Ground beef (browned) with onion, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green chilies, garlic, kidney beans, a bit of water and seasonings.  Not too spicy but can easily be doctored with your favorite hot sauce.  I used Frank's Red Hot.