Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

Today, I'm excited to share this very easy and very delicious soup that is perfect for the "chilly" temps that are coming, or if you live in the plains, will warm you up after you dig out of 3 feet of snow.

It was a perfectly fall day here in Texas on Sunday, so we "celebrated" by wearing sweatshirts, and eating a yummy potato soup, which I promise you will love.  

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (cubed)

20 oz. (or so) of low-sodium chicken broth

1 block of neufchatel (could use cream cheese too, but I like to cut corners)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

6 or so strips of bacon, fried, dried and crumbled

1 tsp. cajun seasoning (Or be scientific like me and do a few shakes in)

3 green onions, chopped for garnish

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish/stirring in to make it even better

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Get that crockpot out and put the hash browns, chicken broth, cream cheese, and cream of chicken soup in and give it a stir.  Add in the bacon crumbles and cajun seasoning and stir again.  Let is go on low for about 6 hours or so, stirring occasionally if you can.  If not, just stir it when you get home and let it go again for the cream cheese to blend in.  

2.  When it's ready, spoon into bowls and garnish with green onion and cheese, then stir in that goodness and enjoy!

Boom. Done.  So easy and delicious.  What's your go-to crock pot fall soup or recipe?

Nom :: Cashew Chicken

And today, the recipe for cashew chicken.  Like I said yesterday, this is a pinterest recipe--and it comes from the blog of MommaChelle.  When I wrote it down, I must have auto-adapted it slightly, so what you'll read here is a slightly adapted version.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (we had a little under a pound)
2 tbl. low-sodium soy sauce (really, use low-sodium.  there is a lot of soy in this recipe and it would definitely be salty if you used regular)
1/4 c. oil.  (I used more like 2 tbl. and a few spritzes from my Misto sprayer)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
3 green onions diced (I used the top, more green parts, and I just cut about 1/4 down on the whole bunch)
2 cloves of garlic (we both agreed 3 would maybe be tastier)
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 c. cashews, unsalted or lightly salted

Sauce:
4 tbl. low-sodium soy
1 1/2 tbl. cornstarch
4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. white vinegar

Steps:

1.  Cut chicken into small pieces and toss in the 2 tbl. of soy in a small bowl.  Let it marinade a bit while prepping other ingredients.

2.  Whisk the sauce ingredients together and slice up green onions if you haven't done so yet.  Heat your oil in a wok and add tin the red pepper flakes and garlic.  Saute for about 1 minute and then add in the chicken.

3.  Cook the chicken until it is just done, and then add the cashews and remove it from the heat.  Then pour in the sauce mixture and coat the chicken and cashews.  Finish by sprinkling sesame seeds and green onions on top. Enjoy over rice, quinoa or whatever you choose!

the sauce thickened a little more after this