Yea Dads Home

Rating: 0 stars

  • Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

    Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

    This chicken tortilla soup is really tasty. It has been a favorite for a long time. It works as an evening meal or a weekend meal when we don’t feel like doing a ton of cooking. The only work is pulling the meat from a deli chicken and sautéing some onions. The soup can either be pulled together in 30 minutes.

    We got the idea from a recipe that I found in Cooking Light. I can’t find the recipe that we started with on their site. Looking at it now I am a bit surprised that I printed the recipe we started with in 2002. Luckily it has been in plastic. Over time we adjusted the spices to our taste, and in this case we actually doubled them compared to the original. That doesn’t mean that our version is overpowering. It is just more interesting.

    This soup is kid compatible in our house. We do give him a bit more sour cream if he wants it.

     

    Notes

    A cooked deli chicken makes about 3 cups of shredded chicken.

    We use a slow cooker that has a a cast aluminum insert. That way we don’t have to use one pan for the onions, the insert just moves from the stove to the slow cooker.

    Print Recipe
     Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
    This easy chicken tortilla soup recipe is really tasty. It is a favorite evening meal, or weekend meal when we don’t feel like doing a ton of cooking.
    easy chicken tortilla soup
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Optional for Heat
    Accompaniments
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Optional for Heat
    Accompaniments
    easy chicken tortilla soup
    Instructions
    1. Heat a pan to medium, add olive oil and sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes
    2. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and simmer for about a minute.
    3. Add chicken stock, chicken, tomatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes.
      slow cooker taking over
    4. Optionally, if you prefer your soup spicy, add chipotle chili powder. Test the flavors and add a quarter teaspoon at a time.
    5. Serve with sour cream, green onions, and tortilla chips
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Cornbread Stuffing

    Cornbread Stuffing

    Print Recipe
     Cornbread Stuffing
    Stuffing is one of the dishes we have experimented with the most. This cornbread stuffing recipe is our favorite. It is based on the Smoke Daddy Restaurant recipe. You can’t go wrong with sausage, bacon, onions, and sage.
    cornbread stuffing-6374-2
    Course Side Dish
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 90 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Corn Bread
    Stuffing
    Course Side Dish
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 90 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Corn Bread
    Stuffing
    cornbread stuffing-6374-2
    Instructions
    Make the Corn Bread
    1. Preheating an oven to 400 F with a 10 inch cast iron skillet in the oven as it heats.
    2. Mix up the dry ingredients including corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
    3. In a separate bowl whisk the milk, butter, and egg.
    4. Stir wet and dry together until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Let set for 10 minutes as oven and skillet heat up.
    5. Carefully remove blazing hot skillet and pour batter into skillet. Return to oven for 20-25 minutes until the cornbread is nicely browned.
    6. Move cornbread to a cutting board. I set the board on the skillet and turn both over. Then cut cornbread into 1 inch pieces.
    7. Dry the cornbread by spreading the pieces on baking sheet in a 200 F oven for 20 minutes.
    Cook Some Bacon
    1. Cook and drain bacon. The simplest way we have found is to arrange bacon on a baking sheet and cook in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes.
      cornbread stuffing-6182
    2. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces.
    Assemble the Stuffing
    1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
    2. Cook sausage with 2 T butter until sausage is browned, about 15 minutes. Remove sausage using a slotted spoon.
    3. Add onion, sage and celery and cook an additional 15 minutes. Celery should still have some crunch.
      cornbread stuffing-6213
    4. In a large bowl, combine bacon, sausage, onions, and celery. Add torn pieces of corn bread, about 1 inch each. Toss with eggs. Pour into a 13×9 baking dish. Pour chicken stock over the mixture. The dish can be refrigerated at this point if you are making it for a big dinner like Thanksgiving.
    5. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
      cornbread stuffing-6374-2
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Sweet Potato Casserole

    Sweet Potato Casserole

    We have tried a lot of sweet potato casserole recipes. This one is our favorite for Thanksgiving. The spices are just right, and we like the carrots and sweet potatoes together. It is based on a Food Network recipe that I scale to fill a 13×9 inch pan and has a pecan topping.

    Print Recipe
     Sweet Potato Casserole
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 60 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Topping
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 60 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Topping
    Instructions
    1. Place sweet potatoes in a stock pot. fill with water, and boil for 20 minutes.
    2. Add carrots to stock pot and boil for 8 minutes longer.
    3. Drain and then transfer to a stand mixer bowl. Add brown sugar, butter, orange zest and egg. Mix until just combined.
      sweet potato casserole-3565
    4. Pour into a 13×9 baking dish and sprinkle with pecans and optional marshmallows.
      sweet potato casserole recipe
    5. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350F.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Classic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

    Classic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

    Print Recipe
     Cranberry Sauce
    This classic cranberry sauce recipe is a perfect compliment for roasted turkey or baked ham.
    classic cranberry sauce recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    classic cranberry sauce recipe
    Instructions
    1. Rinse cranberries and pull out any that are not firm
    2. Combine the cranberries with the sugar, water and zest in a sauce pan and simmer over medium heat.
    3. As berries pop they will break down. It is ok if they have a few lumps.
    4. Pour into a serving bowl.
      classic cranberry sauce recipe
    5. Cool and then cover with plastic wrap.
    6. Refrigerate over night or for up to a week.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Thanksgiving Turkey

    Thanksgiving Turkey

    Print Recipe
     Thanksgiving Turkey
    This is a thanksgiving turkey recipe that I have used for 10+ years. It is based on Alton Brown’s roasted turkey recipe. I adjusted the spices a bit so they were easier to measure, and I added a method for making a large amount of gravy.
    Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Resting After the Oven
    Prep Time 8 hours
    Cook Time 3 hours
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    The Bird
    Brine
    Aeromatics
    Other
    Prep Time 8 hours
    Cook Time 3 hours
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    The Bird
    Brine
    Aeromatics
    Other
    Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Resting After the Oven
    Instructions
    Brine
    1. Combine salt, sugar, stock, pepper, allspice, and ginger a stockpot and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cool. Then refrigerate until ready to use.
      Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Brine
    2. On the night before Thanksgiving dinner, place the turkey in a clean 5 gallon bucket. Make sure to remove the gizzards that are often placed in the cavity so that the brine can easily soak through the turkey.
    3. Add the brine, ice, and enough water to cover the turkey. Cover with foil and set in a cool place, out of reach of animals, for the night.
      Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe During Brine
    Roasting
    1. Early the next morning, preheat oven to 500 F, remove the turkey from the brine, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, set in a roasting pan, and cover skin with canola oil.
    2. Add the aeromatic ingredients including apple, onion, sage, rosemary, and cinamon with water to a glass bowl, cover, microwave for 5 minutes on high, and then spoon into the cavity of the turkey.
      Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Aeromatics
    3. Tie legs with kitchen twine, fold the wings behind where the neck used to be.
    4. Insert counter top thermometer deep into the turkey breast.
      Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Ready for the Oven
    5. Roast turkey for 30 minutes at 500 F
      Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe-1925
    6. Decrease the oven temperature to 350 F and cover the turkey breast with a double layer of aluminum foil.
    7. If you want to make gravy, add it to the roasting pan as the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 155 F, or about 15 minutes before you will remove the turkey from the oven.
    8. Cook until breast meat is 161 about 2 1/2 – 3 hours for a 20-22 pound turkey.
    9. Remove turkey from oven, cover with foil and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes while you prepare gravy and heat the side dishes.
      pulling liquid from the turkey pan for gravy
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Mashed Potatoes

    Mashed Potatoes

    Print Recipe
     Mashed Potatoes
    We make this mashed potato recipe all year, but only peel the potatoes at Thanksgiving. The mix of potatoes plus sour cream makes them more interesting than other recipes we have tried. It is based on Alton Brown’s masher recipe. We prefer it without garlic that he suggests.
    mashed potatoes
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 25 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Potatoes
    Dairy
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 25 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Potatoes
    Dairy
    mashed potatoes
    Instructions
    1. Add potatoes to a stock pot and fill with enough cold water to cover.
    2. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes. Check a piece to see if it is fully cooked.
    3. Drain the potatoes, and then return them to the cooking pot.
    4. Add the butter, sour cream, milk, and salt.
    5. Mash or if you have peeled the potatoes, you can use a ricer to smooth out the potatoes.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Apple Sauce

    Apple Sauce

    Print Recipe
     Apple Sauce
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 10 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 10 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Instructions
    1. Combine all ingredients in a microwaveable glass container.
    2. Cover but leave a crack for steam to escape. Microwave 10 minutes.
    3. Blend as smooth as you like your applesauce with an immersion blender. Test it out and add a bit more maple syrup if you want to sweeten it up.
    4. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. We like to heat the applesauce for 30 minutes before serving, but it is great cold too.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Thanksgiving Gravy

    Thanksgiving Gravy

    Print Recipe
     Thanksgiving Gravy Recipe
    This is the Thanksgiving gravy recipe that I make to go with our turkey and mashed potatoes. My trick is to pour chicken stock into the turkey roasting pan about 15 minutes before I take the turkey out of the oven. That way we get all the turkey flavors.
    turkey gravy
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    people
    Ingredients
    turkey gravy
    Instructions
    1. Pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the turkey roasting pan about a fifteen minutes before you expect to take it out of the oven.
    2. As you move the turkey out of the oven to rest (ours rests for 30 minutes), pull the liquid from the roasting pan and into a fat separator. We use a turkey baster to pull the liquid out.
      pulling liquid from the turkey pan for gravy
    3. Melt the butter with the flour in a 1.5 quart pan over medium low heat. Whisk the mixture together as the butter is melted.
      thanksgiving gravy
    4. Whisk in the garlic, rosemary, and thyme, and cook until the house smells amazing. About 5 minutes.
      thanksgiving gravy
    5. Continue to whisk until the mixture bubbles. It has to bubble to thicken the gravy.
    6. Slowly whisk the chicken stock (and not too much of the fat) with the flour and spices.
      thanksgiving gravy
    7. Simmer the gravy until it is as thick as you like, usually about 15 minutes.
    8. Add pepper and more thyme or rosemary to suit your taste.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Easy Homemade Granola Bars

    Easy Homemade Granola Bars

    Print Recipe
     Easy Homemade Granola Bars
    These easy homemade granola bars are quick to put together and can be adjusted to your personal taste. We made chocolate almond, and cranberry, but any combination of dried fruit, seed, or chocolate chip.
    easy homemade granola bars
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    bars
    Ingredients
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    bars
    Ingredients
    easy homemade granola bars
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350F. We used convection at 325F.
    2. Generously grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
      greasing the baking dish
    3. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. For ours that was oats, flour, ground flax seed, brown sugar, cinnamon,cranberries, almonds, and salt
      mixing granola bar dry ingredients
    4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. For ours that included vegetable oil, honey, egg, and vanilla, and mix everything together.
      adding granola bar wet ingredients
    5. Pat mixture evenly into the greased pan.
      granola bars ready to bake
    6. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn mid way through. Bars will begin to turn golden at the edges.
    7. Cool 5 minutes, then cut the bars while they are still warm. We cut ours about 2 inches by 3 inches in size.
      easy homemade granola bars
    8. Store for up to a week.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Fettuccine Alfredo

    Fettuccine Alfredo

    Print Recipe
     Fettuccine Alfredo
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Servings
    Ingredients
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Servings
    Ingredients
    Instructions
    1. Boil water, cook fettuccine noodles to al dente, and drain.
    2. Combine cream and butter in a sauce pan. Heat over medium low until butter is melted.
    3. Add cheese. Stir to combine. Add pepper to taste.
    4. Toss noodles with sauce.
    5. Plate noodles and sprinkle each with a pinch with nutmeg.
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Christmas Wreath Cookies

    Christmas Wreath Cookies

    Print Recipe
     Christmas Wreath Cookies
    Christmas wreath cookies
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    cookies
    Ingredients
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings
    cookies
    Ingredients
    Christmas wreath cookies
    Instructions
    1. Melt butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan.
    2. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and food coloring. Stir to combine.
    3. Gently fold in cornflakes.
    4. While warm, shape into cookies. Place on wax paper, and add two or three red M&Ms to each.
    5. Allow to cool for an hour before moving to a storage container or cookie plate.
      Christmas wreath cookies
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe
  • Sugar Cookies

    Sugar Cookies

    Print Recipe
     Sugar Cookies
    sugar cookies
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 8 minutes
    Passive Time 120 minutes
    Servings
    cookies
    Ingredients
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 8 minutes
    Passive Time 120 minutes
    Servings
    cookies
    Ingredients
    sugar cookies
    Instructions
    1. Add butter and sugar to a bowl, and mix until thoroughly combined. A stand mixer is the easiest, but a potato masher works too.
      sugar cookies-6757
    2. Lightly beat the egg and milk. Then add to the bowl and mix until combined.
    3. In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
      sugar cookies-6775
    4. Slowly combine flour mixture with the butter mixture
    5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
    6. Preheat Oven to 400 F.
    7. Add a dusting of powdered sugar to your counter and roll dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.
    8. Cut your favorite shapes from the dough.
      sugar cookies-6867
    9. Place shapes 1 inch apart on a lightly greased or silpat lined baking sheet.
      sugar cookies-6881
    10. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges will just start to brown. Then rest on a cooling rack, and then decorate with your favorite icing or frosting.
      sugar cookies
    Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe