Tex Mex Chicken Taco Soup - it's got cream cheese in it yall!!

I'm on a roll yall. I made dinner two nights in a row!! I printed this recipe about 2 years ago, and finally got around to making it. And we loved it! It's creamy and very tastey.

1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 (8-ounce) jar salsa
1 (14-ounce) can kernel corn
1 (14-ounce) can hominy
1 (16-ounce) can ranch style beans
2 (4-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Saute onions, green bell peppers, and garlic in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add chicken, taco seasoning mix, salsa, vegetables, beans, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Adjust liquid to your liking. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Place cream cheese in a separate bowl. Using a measuring cup, take some of the hot liquid from the soup and pour over cream cheese to melt and then add back to the soup. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and grated Monterey jack cheese.
Also, great on the second day over rice.

Mom's Dinner in a Pumpkin

One of my favorite childhood memories is my mom making this dinner in a pumpkin every year around Halloween time. Making this tonight for FHE and smelling the casserole mixture brought back so many warm fuzzy memories. Good thing Jeremy loved this, because we will carry this tradition on.Recipe:
Cut off top of medium sized pumpkin and cut a triangle notch on one side to make replacing lid easier to line up.
Scoop out the inside and wipe out with paper towel. Mark a face on the front with a permanent pen if you would like.
Spoon casserole mixture inside and bake 350 degrees for about one hour (on a cookie sheet) until meat of pumpkin is tender (if you will eat it, otherwise, just so dinner is hot inside).

Casserole Mixture:
Cook 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of ground beef with 1 chopped onion until fully cooked
Add 4 tablespoons soy sauce
Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Add 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Add 1 can cream of chicken soup
Add 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked rice
Simmer 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Spiced & Iced Cookies

Tis the wonderful season of pumpkins! And time for my favorite seasonal cookie recipe. When I first started dating Jeremy, back in the fall of 2004, I was craving a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe and asked Jeremy if his mom had a good recipe. Sure enough it was more than just good... it was excellente! I've handed this recipe out many a times to pumpkin adorers, so here is Leslie Curfew's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (with vanilla glaze) recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (Spice Island Brand)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
15 oz. Libby 100% pure pumpkin
2 cups (12 oz. package) Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Vanilla Glaze: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 to 1 1/2 Tblsp milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl. Mix well.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by the rounded tablespoons onto foiled covered baking sheets.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.
6. Drizzle or spread the vanilla glaze on top of cookies.

(Makes about 4 dozen cookies)

MADE IN TAIWAN

Jeremy's trip to Taiwan for the Education Fair went pretty good. It was a little nerve racking getting ready for it, so I sure am glad he's back home and safe. Here are a few of my favorite pictures that he took there:

I liked this aerial image because the coloring makes it more interesting.Hotel room. pretty funky, but i'm digging the headboard and tall tall sofa.Spa bathroom. You can see the room behind the door is a table/tub type of thing, and the water comes down from the sealing while you lay there. I would have loved that!Jeremy's booth at the Fair.So many scooters everywhere!! Jeremy said he saw a family of 4 riding on one of those things.

Can you BELIEVE all the high rise buildings?!? The thought makes my head spin.Tallest building in the world - Tapei 101.A view from top of Tapei101
Streets of TaiwanJeremy and 2 of his past students- Jason & Owen. Owen was very nice and showed Jeremy all around town.They have eating places EVERYWHERE

I don't know what's going on here... (Some people believe the burning paper is suppose to extract bad things from your head.

Night marketsNight markets

Oatmeal COCONUT Choc Chip

What more could you ask for?! These turned out really chewy and were best when eaten warm. Don't worry if you don't like coconut, there is just a small amount to make it chewy.



INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet
chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, white sugar and brown sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter until well blended. Mix in the oats, coconut and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned (cooking time varies).