Southwest Chicken Chili Mac

I spotted this recipe over at Picky Palate, and I knew I wanted to make it this fall. It was such a comforting, delicious meal on a cool fall night. I'm definitely adding it to my recipe box. It's funny because it calls for wagon wheel pasta (probably to please picky kid eaters), but I decided to live a little and get the wagon wheel pasta, too. It entertained this adult :) Here's the recipe:

8 ounces wagon wheel pasta noodles

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped white onion
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1o ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, mild
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup corn, drained
1/2 cup white beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry Ranch seasoning from packet
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cool water. Heat oil in 9 inch deep cast iron skillet (or a regular skillet if you don't have one). Add onions and peppers, cook stirring about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken, tomatoes, broth, corn, beans, wagon wheel pasta, chili powder, cumin, Ranch seasoning and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Monkey Bread

Hello blog! I'm sorry I've neglected you lately :) I'm finally done with all of my orthodontic residency interviews, and I'm trying to get my life back to normal. This weekend, all that is on the agenda is RELAXATION. Woo hoo! Here's a recipe I've been meaning to post for a while:

I was hanging out with a few of my classmates the other day, and the subject of monkey bread came up. They looked at me like I was crazy, and I was astonished that they had never experienced the delectable treat. So I decided to whip some up for them, and it turned out great.

**Notice Jonathan holding the platter for me. He wasn't too happy that I was taking away the deliciousness to give it away at school :)

4 pack of 7.5 oz refrigerated biscuit dough
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, but in my opinion, so not optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease one bundt pan.

Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using pecans, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.

Bake at 350˚F for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

Source: Pennies on a Platter

Traditional Mashed Potatoes

I LOVE mashed potatoes. Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved the comfort of homemade mashed potatoes (I could give or take the gravy). Here's a recipe for mashed potatoes that came from the cookbook Jonathan got me for my birthday in July. I added blue cheese to spice it up a bit, because that is Jonathan's favorite!


1.5 lbs. russet potatoes
2 Tbsp. real butter
2 Tbsp. (plus more if needed) milk
Salt and black pepper

Cut the potatoes into uniform 1/2 inch pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once water boils, add potatoes and cook until very tender (test this with a fork; you want to pierce the biggest piece and have it crumble).

Drain and place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer until butter is melted and incorporated (electric mixer gives a creamy result). Slowly add in milk, until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Source: Our Best Bites cookbook

Whirlwind

Lots of exciting things have been happening lately. I really enjoyed my Iowa interview, and I flew back home on Saturday, then headed to Auburn Saturday afternoon for the Auburn v. Florida game.

We won! Here's us and my fabulous in-laws celebrating :)

We got back home at midnight Saturday night, and I basically slept the day away on Sunday. I also found out I passed by National Boards Part 2 that I took a couple of weeks ago. Hooray! It feels good to have that over with.

Tomorrow is my UAB interview, and I can't wait. I promise to post some recipes soon!

Hello Iowa!

Just enjoying a nice hot tea in picturesque and charming downtown Iowa City.

Chuy's Jalapeno Dip

It's a big week for us this coming week. I'm flying to Iowa for my first orthodontic interview on Thursday (hooray!), flying back home on Saturday morning, then heading straight to Auburn for the Auburn v. Florida game. I know...I must be crazy, but my hubby really wants me there, so I'm going to drag my exhausted self down to Auburn and cheer on my Tigers. I think it'll be fun; I just hope I'm not the wet blanket that has no energy :)

This weekend was really nice and relaxing. We just hung around the house and had some friends over to watch the Auburn game on Saturday. There's a new Tex-Mex restaurant here in town called Chuy's, and they have a jalapeno dip that is to-die-for. It's not as spicy as you'd think. It's more of a ranch flavor. I found a website where a lady tried to recreate it, so I made it for our football party. It's not exactly like the restaurant's, but it is still so tasty. I'm actually snacking on some now as I type this post! What's even cooler is that I discovered the lady whose blog I found it on is a huge Auburn fan...small world!

(Sorry for the bad lighting--the dip is a light green color in real life)

16 ounces Light Sour Cream
1 package (1 Oz.) Ranch Dip Mix
1 1/2 whole large jalapenos, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 whole lime, juiced
2-4 Tbsp milk

Combine roughly chopped jalapenos, cilantro and garlic in the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add lime juice, sour cream and ranch mix. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired thickness. Pour into serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

Source: Plain Chicken

Our New Toy

It's time to celebrate!! I'm finally done with my boards, and it feels SO good not to be studying every spare minute. I took the exam on Friday and Saturday, so today has been really relaxing. In other news, we got a new tv before football season this year. The thing is, Jonathan has been wanting one of those fancy LED televisions for some time now, and my deal was, if he got the new tv, I wanted a nice new entertainment center to put it on. Our old one was a rickety Target special from college that had seen better days. So, as a reward for all of Jonathan's hard work, here's the new toy:

Pictures don't do it justice. We have really enjoyed it so far. Football games look fantastic on it...it's like you're actually there at the stadium! Don't you want to come watch a game with us :)