Weekends are for Adventures... and Maybe Making Yummy Food

Last week we had a pretty decent amount of snow dumped on us. We didn't get a couple inches, no not even just under a foot. We got just about 30" of snow dumped on us! While I don't love the two snow days it gave us I love that it allowed me to cross country ski and snowshoe on the trails behind my house as well as cross country ski on trails on a neighboring towns trails. I love being in the woods, there is something so peaceful about it but there is something truly special about being in the woods when everything is covered in snow. Everything looks different, smells different, and sounds different...it's so crisp and clean. I love it even more when I get to be the first one to walk on the fresh snow, I almost hate to ruin how perfect it all looks but I get to be the first one to explore and that feeling always wins.

So even though there was a feel like temp of negative 1 on Saturday two of my friends and I, oh and Kona, bundled up and hit the trails in a neighboring town to xc ski on trails in one of their land reserves. It's one of my favorites with a few different well marked trails, a few bridges, a pond, streams, and some fun little hills. We had so much fun xc skiing for three hours. We laughed as we made our way up little hills, talked about anything and everything, and enjoyed the sights around us.

Sunday morning I went xc skiing with Kai and Kona and we explored a new (to us) set of trails behind our house. They belong to a land trust in town. They were fun, pretty, and we can't wait to explore them more. Kona and I again went out with two of my friends and we went snowshoeing on a different set of trails in the woods behind our home. We mainly followed the main trail that I typically run on because a lot of the smaller trees were bent over due to heavy snow on them but it was so much fun and so pretty back there. Kona had a blast playing and rolling in the snow.  The snow was pretty deep for him though and he ended up being one tired puppy and slept through the whole Super Bowl. You should all go and search online to see if your town or the towns around you have nature preserves/reserves, land trusts, or parks with trails. Search for state parks too! You never know, you might have an outdoor adventure waiting for you a lot closer than you thought.

While this past weekend was about being outdoors and having fun it was also a little bit about food. It was really nice to come back from xc skiing Saturday and be able to just pull a bag of Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice soup out of the freezer and heat it up. It didn't take long and was so much better than stopping for a cup of soup or opening up a can of soup. I really like soup, it's one of my favorite things to have for lunch in the fall and winter but this one is one of my favorites, one of my top three. Dinner was equally easy since all I had to do was boil water to make pasta and pull a bag of left over chicken for Chicken Enchilada Pasta. Less than 15 minutes and dinner was on the table! It worked well since I was starving on Saturday! I hope you enjoy the following chicken recipes as much as I do!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (freezes well)

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups of water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 package of Uncle Ben's Chicken and wild rice

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 portobella mushroom caps diced

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups of heavy cream

Directions

Combine the first section of ingredients together in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 6 hours. Take out the two chicken breasts and shred with two forks. Return the chicken to the crockpot. In a bowl add the flour and some of the hot liquid from the crockpot. Mix together until well mixed and add a little more of the hot liquid from the crockpot until smooth. Stir the cream into the mixture and then add it the crockpot.  Cover the crockpot and let it sit (turned off) for 15-20 minutes to thicken.  

Chicken Enchilada Pasta (freezes well without pasta)

Adapted from

Ingredients

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1- 4 oz can diced green chiles
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 batch of homemade enchilada sauce

Pasta

Toppings (optional)

Shredded cheese

Sour Cream

Avocado

Green Onions

Directions

Place the first section of ingredients together in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks.  

Boil water for pasta, cook according to box directions.  Top pasta with chicken mixture, top with favorite toppings, and serve. 

Enchilada Sauce (freezes well)

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable broth 

1- 6 oz can of tomato paste

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cumin

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper

Directions (on stove top)

In a medium sauce pan heat the tomato paste and whisk in the flour. Cook 1 minute while whisking. 

Whisk in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add spices. Cook about 8 minutes or until slightly thickened. 

Directions (for crockpot with Chicken Enchilada Pasta)

Add all ingredients except flour to crockpot with the other ingredients from the Chicken Enchilada Pasta recipe.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours just like the previously stated recipe calls for. After shredding the chicken, remove some of the liquid and whisk in the flour until combined. Add that mixture back to the crockpot and mix. Let it sit (with crockpot turned off) for 10-15 minutes. 

Santa Fe Chicken

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of chicken breasts

2 cups of black  beans (or 1 can if you prefer canned)

2 cups of fresh cut from the cob or frozen corn (1 can if you prefer canned)

2 cups of salsa

1- 8 oz package of cream cheese

Directions

Place the first four ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Pull the chicken with two forks, add the cream cheese, let sit for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted, and mix. Serve over white rice or pasta or inside a wrap.