Bacon Swiss Poppy Seed Salad

INGREDIENTS
1/2 tsp grated fresh onion
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce

2 cups grated Swiss cheese

3/4 lbs crispy-cooked, and crumbled bacon

DIRECTIONS

Combine grated fresh onion, mustard, sugar, rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, and poppy seeds in a container. I plopped them in a blender bottle, shook it like a polaroid picture.

Chop your heads of green and red leaf lettuce- into fork manageable pieces. Top lettuce with Swiss cheese, bacon, and poppy seed dressing. Then toss to combine, and enjoy!

This recipe is EASILY doubled, and will go fast in a crowd. Even in a crowd of non-green salad loving Mormons. In fact, the original recipe I was given was doubled, and filled a GIANT bowl. however, this recipe fit nicely into a casserole dish for our Christmas Dinner for six, with no leftovers-  I took one for the team and finished it off. You will NOT regret making this salad.

Tortilla Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS
1tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, small dice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 23-oz box chicken stock
2 cups water
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn
1.5 lbs shredded chicken*
1 16-oz tub of sour cream
Shredded colby-jack cheese
Crushed tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

Sauté diced onion in canola oil over medium high until fragrant, add minced garlic and continue to sauté until onions are translucent. Add crushed tomatoes, and spices. Stir continuously while cooking for at least a minute. Add chicken stock, water, black beans, corn and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil for one minute, then turn heat down allowing soup to simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, add sour cream, and stir until sour cream is fully blended into the soup.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips and colby-jack cheese, and enjoy!

For my shredded chicken, I cooked up some boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a tiny bit of canola oil in the pot I was going to cook the soup in. Threw them into my KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment and shredded the cooked chicken at the #2 setting. Perfectly shredded chicken without having the sit with a couple of forks shredding for forever!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Cheesy Croutons

adapted from Kitchen Confidence by Kelsey Nixon

INGREDIENTS
SOUP
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 ounce) can San Marzano whole plum tomatoes
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
CROUTONS
1 loaf of day old french bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS
SOUP
In a large sauce pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, and sugar. Use a potato masher to crush the tomatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Purée soup with either an immersion blender or in batches using a blender. Stir in the cream. Bring soup to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

CROUTONS
Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Toss bread cubes in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Spread evenly onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until croutons start to become light golden brown.

After ten minutes, sprinkle cheese over croutons, and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven.

Serve soup with croutons, and enjoy!

Grilled Salsa

INGREDIENTS
7 tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 large white onion, cut into quarters
2 jalapeños, sliced in half, remove tops and bottom
4 cloves garlic
1 lime, juice
small handful of cilantro
salt, pepper, cumin to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Toss tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños in a large bowl with vegetable oil.
Sprinkle with salt, peper, and cumin.
Heat grill to medium heat, and grill the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños until you get a nice char on them.
Squeeze excess water out of the tomatoes, because no one likes runny salsa.
Purée each ingredient separately, until you get the consistency you like. I puréed my cilantro with some of the tomatoes, because I hate chopping herbs. Then I grated in the garlic raw, because I like that bite.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, then salt and pepper to taste.

I've been thinking of making my own salsa for awhile now, store bought salsa just doesn't cut it.
I'm not a fan of raw salsas, or chunks, I'm also not a fan of that kind of weird can taste you get from canned tomatoes. So, I decided to use all fresh ingredients, and grill them, because you can't go wrong when you grill something. I used two good sized jalapeños, and left the seeds and ribs in, because I am pretty hard core, and love me some heat! But you lightweights out there can definitely cut down on the amount of jalapeño, and even remove the seeds and ribs to make it even more mild.