Chicken Chili Chowder

This is another family favorite in our house. I've had this recipe for so many years that I don't even remember where I got it. I've added things to it over the years & it is now the soup my kids request on cold days. And you want to know the best part? Now I don't have to run to the store if I'm out of veggies because I can just pull them from out of my food storage. Wahoo! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. (You can substitute fresh or canned for any of these ingredients)

Chicken Chili Chowder:

1 pound Turkey Bacon, diced (or use 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Bacon TVP)

1 cup THRIVE Carrots

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Onions

1 can of diced Green Chilies

1 Serrano Pepper, seeded & diced

1 teaspoon Cumin

3 cloves of Garlic, pressed

4 cups Chicken Broth (4 cups water + 4 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon)

3 cups THRIVE Potato Chunks (or 5 fresh potatoes peeled & diced)

THRIVE Iodized Salt to taste

4 Chicken Breasts, diced & cooked (or 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Chicken)

1/4 cup THRIVE White Flour

2 1/2 cups Milk (or 2 1/2 cups water + 1/3 cup THRIVE Instant Milk)

2 cups THRIVE Cheddar Cheese

2/3 cup Green Onions, sliced

First thing you want to do is cook your chicken (if you're using fresh.) Sprinkle it with some salt & pepper & saute it in a frying pan with a little bit of oil. If using our wonderful Freeze Dried Chicken, just soak it in water for 10 minutes & drain. Season with salt & pepper & Voila! you're done! Set aside.

Next cook that bacon until it's nice & crispy in your soup pot. Then set it aside with your chicken. I love the Bacon TVP, but I'm just a total sucker for fresh turkey bacon. I can't get enough of it & if you've never tried it, GO OUT & BUY SOME! You'll never go back to the other stuff. It's better for you & has a LOT more flavor! If you're using the Bacon TVP, just set aside because it doesn't need to cook. EASY!

Now get your veggies ready! When using our veggies, there's no peeling or chopping at all! Simply measure & pour. (Cooking doesn't get much easier than this!) If you're using fresh, peel & cut up all your veggies for the soup.

A small warning about Serrano Peppers. You may want to wear gloves when seeding & chopping these puppies. They may be small, but they have a punch! I wasn't wearing gloves & I wound up wiping my poor little 2 year old boy's dirty mouth with my finger & he started screaming because it burned him. I never even thought about it. The rest of my kids got a kick out of licking my fingers to see who could keep a straight face the longest without getting a drink of water. They're hilarious. These add just the right spice to the soup.

Start off by stir frying your onions, carrots, chilies, peppers, garlic, & cumin in the leftover bacon grease. Cook for about 5 minutes or until your onions are translucent. Add your chicken broth & deglaze your pot.

Add your potatoes & salt, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, & simmer for 15 minutes.

Add your chicken & cook an additional 10 minutes. Combine flour & milk to make a smooth paste. Add it to the soup mixture & stir until thick (about 5 minutes.) Remove from heat. Stir in bacon & cheese until melted.

When you finish you want to see if a wooden spoon will stand straight up in your chowder. I like my chowders THICK & YUMMY. If your spoon stands up by itself, you know it's going to be DELICIOUS!

Serve hot with sliced green onions on top. Enjoy!

If you are interested in purchasing any of the ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Sloppy Joe Pizza

This is another family favorite at our house. This is one I just put together myself one day using whatever I had in the pantry. It's funny how it's THOSE recipes that become our favorites. Plus, it's even EASIER when you use THRIVE food.

Since it wasn't a real recipe my kids named it Sloppy Joe Pizza because it looks like sloppy joe meat on a pizza crust. This is one of those recipes that you could add & subtract all sorts of fun ingredients (like veggies) to make it to your liking. This is the way the Potter's like it:

Sloppy Joe Pizza

2 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Ground Beef (you can also use the THRIVE Beef TVP)

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Corn

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce

3/4 cup green onions, sliced

1 cup shredded cheese or THRIVE Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese

THRIVE Iodized Salt (to taste)

1 loaf of Bread. . . we like the Italian Loaves

Rehydrate the corn & beef in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain. In a pan stir the Ground Beef, Corn, BBQ Sauce, Onions, & Salt. Heat through.

Slice your bread & place the bread slices on a baking sheet.

Top each slice of bread with the meat mixture until it's heaping with yumminess.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese (just like a pizza). Normally I use the Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese, but my little chick-a-dees ate my ENTIRE #10 CAN without me knowing. Little imps. (I guess that tells you how GOOD the cheese is). So I used just everyday shredded cheese.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is golden. You're kids will LOVE this. And don't forget to sneak in some veggies. I've done spinach, peppers, broccoli, & others. I make it differently every time, but THIS recipe is the family favorite.

If you would like to purchase any of these ingredients leave a comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Cheese Crackers

I'm always looking for healthy snack ideas for my kids. They are addicted to Cheese-its (which I HATE) so I've been looking for a good recipe for homemade cheese crackers WITHOUT all the sodium, sugar, & preservatives. The THRIVE Cookbook had a recipe for Cheese Crackers in it so I thought I'd try it out. It was good, but my taste buds craved a little more flavor, so I took their recipe & tweaked it to my liking. So here is MY version of cheese crackers;

I hope you like it!

1 1/4 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (to add just a little kick of flavor)

1/2 cup THRIVE Cheese Blend

1/4 cup THRIVE (FD) Cheddar Cheese, prepared

3 tablespoons THRIVE Butter Powder, prepared

water (a little less than 1/2 cup)

#1: Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, & cheese blend.

#2: Prepare the cheddar cheese by mixing the FD cheese with a little water & soak for 10 minutes. Drain & pat dry. (It's alright to leave it a little squishy for this recipe).

#3: Prepare the butter by mixing the butter powder with little bits of water until you reach the consistency of fresh butter. (you want 3 tablespoons prepared).

#4: Add the cheese & butter to the sifted dry ingredients & mix until the batter is crumbly.

#5: Add water one tablespoon at a time until a ball of dough forms. Roll dough on a floured piece of parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick. Flip the rolled dough & PARCHMENT paper onto a greased cookie sheet. Remove the Parchment paper & you have your perfectly rolled dough on your pan.

#6: Cut with a pizza cutter into little squares. My kids made triangles, squares, hearts, etc. My oldest even put some SpongeBob faces on some of her squares. Poke a hold with a toothpick in each piece (to make it look like a cheese-it), & sprinkle with a little salt.

#7: Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cook less for cookie like crackers & longer for crispy crackers. It's up to you & what your family likes. ENJOY!

I promise your kids will eat them right up & THEY ARE HEALTHY!!!! Hooray for healthy recipes!

If you would like to order any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Mini Taco Bites

This is the recipe that came with this month's Q-pon & I have to admit . . . it's WONDERFUL. The kids LOVE IT! I think it makes a fun snack or appetizer for any party.

To give credit where credit is due - this recipe was created by the talented people at Shelf Reliance. They do a great job at creating wonderful new recipes for us to enjoy!

Mini Taco Bites:

1 cup THRIVE Taco TVP

1 cup THRIVE Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 cup THRIVE Sour Cream

1 bag Tostito Scoops

Salsa

Olives for garnish

#1: Place the THRIVE Taco TVP in a saucepan adding 1 1/4 cups hot water. Simmer the taco mixture until the water is absorbed (DO NOT DRAIN because you want to maintain that great taco flavor). Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry.

#2: Add approximately 1/2 cup of water & THRIVE Sour Cream, stir to desired consistency, & then set it aside in the fridge to get it nice & cold. Fill each "scoop" with the taco mixture, a dab of sour cream, & sprinkle with a little THRIVE Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Add salsa & an olive if desired.

Enjoy!

This makes a TON of bites so feel free to cut the recipe in half (or even 4ths) depending on who you are feeding.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these products at a discounted price or would like to host a Shelf Reliance Party to earn some free product, visit my website or leave a comment below.

dani.shelfreliance.com