Chicken Tortilla Soup (Jodi's)

Got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Jodi, when I was having surgery and she made us some freezer meals. It freezes beautifully and it's delicious topped with chips, cheese, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, or whatever you want. Scott really likes this soup (even though he'll tell you that he doesn't like soup).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe Source: Jodi
Serving Size: 12
Categories: Chicken, Crock Pot, Food Storage Recipe, Freezer Recipes, Pasta, Grains, & Legumes, Quick & Easy, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces
Rating: 7 - Very Good (out of 10)

4 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bone
2 - 15 oz Mexican stewed tomatoes
4 ounces green chiles -- chopped
2 - 15 oz black beans -- undrained
1 cup salsa
14 ounces tomato sauce
tortilla chips
cheese

Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in a large slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours. Just before serving remove chicken breasts and slice into bite sized pieces. Stir into soup.

To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips and top with cheese.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
PREPARATION: Place everything except chips and cheese in a labelled freezer bag and freeze flat. (Alternately, you could leave out the canned ingredients and add them when you cook, but it is always good to have at least some liquid in with the meat which helps keep the meat from getting freezer burned.) Or you could even cook the soup and then freeze it.

TO SERVE: Thaw. Follow above cooking instructions.

Serving Ideas : Top with tortilla chips or Fritos, cheese, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.

NOTES : Jen's Notes: Half of this recipe is just the perfect size for my 3.5-quart slow cooker. I don't usually need to cook meals in my slow cooker as long as the recipes call for, so I cook this for about 4 hours.

Pasta with Meat Sauce Bake

I made up this recipe myself. It's really easy and Scott always likes it!

Pasta with Meat Sauce Bake

Recipe By: Jennifer Gabbert
Serving Size: 6
Categories: Casseroles, Food Storage Recipe, Freezer Recipes, Gound Beef or Turkey, Pasta, Grains, & Legumes, Quick & Easy

6 ounces rotini pasta (I love Ronzoni Smart Taste) -- uncooked
18 ounces spaghetti sauce -- to taste
2/3 pound lean ground beef -- cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups warm water (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese -- to taste
3 ounces mozzarella cheese -- shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degreesF. In a bowl, mix sauce, hamburger, water, and parmesan cheese. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Place pasta in the bottom of the pan and pour sauce mixture over the pasta. Mix a little to make sure to coat the pasta, adding more water if pasta is not covered well with sauce. Top with cheese.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degreesF for 50-60 minutes or until pasta is cooked and tender. Cool for 5 minutes, covered.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
ADVANCED PREP: Cook ground beef. Grate cheese.
PREPARATION: Place uncooked pasta in a labelled quart freezer bag. Place sauce, cooked ground beef, and parmesan cheese in a labelled gallon freezer bag; you can also add the water at this point or wait until you cook the casserole. Place the mozzarella cheese in a pint labelled freezer bag. Bag these all together and freeze flat.
TO SERVE: Thaw. Add water to sauce mixture and mix well if you didn't add water when you froze it. Follow the above cooking instructions starting with preheating the oven to 375 degreesF.

Serving Ideas : Serve with a green salad and french bread.

NOTES : Cooking time may vary. Every time you look under the aluminum foil to check to see if it's done, you let all the steam out that cooks the pasta, so don't check it until it is almost done.
Jen's Notes: I usually use All Purpose Ground Meat Mix from the Make-A-Mix cookbook by Eliason, Harward, and Westover.
3/19/08 Made this recipe up and Scott really liked it. Tasted kind of lasagna-ie, but was way easier.

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

These brownies are so good and rich, and they're easy, too. I first found this recipe while I was on a special diet for medical reasons, and I was chomping at the bit for something satisfying. These brownies fit the bill and I had all the ingredients in my pantry.

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

Brooke's Description: "These brownies are the bomb! I've found the perfect combination of ingredients to make the fudgiest brownies yet... Enjoy!"

Servings: 24
Categories: Cookies and Candy, Low Iodine Diet

1 cup butter -- melted
3 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

LOW IODINE DIET DIRECTIONS: Use oil (I use safflower oil) instead of butter. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs. Use non-iodized salt. No chocolate chips.

Source: www.allrecipes.com
Internet Address: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brookes-Best-Bombshell-Brownies/Detail.aspx

NOTES : Received 4.5 stars out of 5, with 235 reviews on allrecipes.com. Some people used some brown sugar instead of granulated.
JEN'S NOTES: 5/06/08 Halved the recipe. Used the LID Directions and they were really good, in fact, so good that I have never tried the original recipe. The top and bottom were crispy with the middle chewy. They were VERY rich and I cut them into brownie bites and froze them - perfect size for a small snack.