Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

This gets 4 1/2 stars.  

I have a cold and couldn't taste it but my 14 yr old and 

my husband really liked it and asked for me to make it again.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs Roma tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup heavy cream

garnish (if desired):
fried basil
goat cheese, crumbled.

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Spread tomato halves onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.  
(I didn't spray my cookie sheet and the tomatoes were stuck 
when they were done roasting.  I'll spray it next time!)
3. Roast tomatoes for about 1 hour.

4. While tomatoes are in the oven, melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
5. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the garlic and thyme and sauté for another 5 minutes.

7. Add crushed tomatoes, basils and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Stir the mixture and reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
9. Pour broth and roasted tomatoes into the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Continue to simmer soup, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

11. Carefully pour soup into a blender and blend until smooth.

12. Pour soup back into the pot and stir in the cream until fully incorporated.
13. Simmer the soup for 3 minutes before ladling into bowls.
14. Top each soup with a sprinkle of goat cheese and fried basil and serve hot.

I found this recipe on http://spoonforkbacon.com/2011/10/creamy-roasted-tomato-basil-soup/  

Chicken Tikka Masala

We love this dish, but it's just not Bombay House.

I'll give it 4 stars.  I wish I could get the Bombay House recipe.

Ingredient list:

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp minced dry minced garlic (2 tsp fresh)

1 tsp Garam Masala (find it as a McCormick Gourmet Collection spice)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional, it you like it hot)

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and lemon juice; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Add all of the spices except red pepper; cook and stir 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes until well mixed.  Stir cream into cornstarch and salt until smooth.  Gradually stir into skillet.   Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low; stirring frequently, simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve with cooked rice and naan bread.

I found this recipe on the McCormick Chicken Tikka Masala spice packet.

Chicken Burritos

We liked this so I'll give it 4 stars.  My 5 year old wouldn't touch it though.  

It was a cheese quesadilla  for him as usual.

I found this recipe on the Crockin Girls site, but modified it a bit.

The link is http://crockingirls.com/recipes/chicken-soft-tacos/

Ingredients list:
Chicken breast (I used about 4 large breasts and it was pretty juicy, I could have used more)
1 Taco seasoning mix packet
1 Cup frozen corn
1 Can black beans, drained
1 Can Rotel (I used Western Family)

Combine corn, black beans, rotel, and taco seasoning.

Spray crock pot with cooking spray and place chicken in crock pot.

Pour mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

After 6 hours remove chicken and shred.  Place back in crock pot and mix.

Let cooks in juice another hour or so.

Serve on warm tortillas with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

It was suggested to try this over rice.  I tried it for lunch the next day.  

I was OK, but I thought it much better in the tortillas.