Thanksgiving Indeed!

WOW! Boy am I grateful for my THRIVE food today. We took our 5 kiddos to Disneyland for Thanksgiving & 3 hours from our house we had a major car accident & lost our van entirely.

R.I.P. "BIG RED"

After a hectic 4 hours of waiting for a rental van with all our luggage, 5 kids, Christmas presents, etc on the side of the 101 freeway, I started counting my blessings. Nobody got hurt (other than the van) & we were still able to go to Disneyland for 4 days.

HOWEVER, coming home last night to an empty fridge & pantry is NOT fun. Today is the day I normally get groceries, but I don't have a vehicle now. I can't walk 5 kids to the grocery store & come back with $100 worth of food. It would kill everyone involved. ha ha ha.

SO THANK HEAVENS for THRIVE. I am relaxed right now as instant milk is chilling in the fridge, & a pot of chicken creole is simmering on the stovetop. Thank heavens for freeze dried chicken, veggies, & instant rice. What a life saver.

THIS is what THRIVE is for & I'm grateful to be a part of that. Thank you Shelf Reliance for saving my family during the hard times.

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