Monday Meals: Chicken Fajita Soup

We've provided you with tons of great Taco Tuesday recipe ideas:

Carnitas

Mojo Pork

Turkey Tacos

Just to name a few! But one of the things we haven't provided is a delicious soup to complete your Taco Tuesday. Last week the Wisconsin Test Kitchen was feeling festive, so we tried a new Chicken Fajita Soup. After a few modifications to the original recipe, we think we have a winner. It has all the elements you want from fajitas: seasoned chicken, peppers, and onion- combined in a tasty soup form. And, this recipe couldn't be easier to make; it's a simple one pot soup that will have dinner on the table in no time.

Chicken Fajita Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 chicken breasts (1 pound), thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4 oz. can mild green chilies
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 14.5 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth
Grated pepper jack cheese

Melt butter and olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven/soup pot. Add chicken and onions and sauté for 3 minutes.

Add bell peppers, garlic, flour and all seasonings/spices. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Stir in rice, black beans, green chilies, crushed tomatoes and 3 cans chicken broth. 

Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally, for 8-12 minutes or until rice is cooked.*Note: Cooking time may vary depending on how long it takes to bring your soup to a boil so check the rice occasionally until done.

Remove from heat and serve topped with pepper jack cheese. 

This was a Taco Tuesday winner; even the smallest chef in the kitchen took down 2 bowls of soup (with mozzarella cheese, not pepper jack, of course- because she loves being difficult!). Give it a try next time you're short on time, but craving some Mexican food.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Weight Loss Wednesday: Creamy Portobello Mushroom Chicken

Slow cookers are the best invention since sliced bread. They might even be better than sliced bread when you think about it... It takes just a few minutes to slice bread; but in even less time, you can load ingredients into a slow cooker and have dinner prepared for your whole family. It's almost like magic. 

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen harnessed the magic of their slow cooker this past week and tried a new recipe for Weight Loss Wednesday: Creamy Portobello Mushroom Chicken. It was easy to make (only 3 ingredients); everyone cleared their plates, and there was enough for leftovers. WIN!!! And at 355 calories per serving? That's a weight loss win too!

Creamy Portobello Mushroom Chicken

2lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can cream of chicken soup
8oz. portobello mushroom slices, fresh
salt & pepper to season

Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker, top with mushrooms and soup. 

Bake on low for 6 hours, or high for 4 hours. 
We served ours over rice (not included in the calorie count); and with a green salad. It was a filling dinner that didn't feel "diet friendly".

Make sure to leave us a comment and let us know how you're doing on your New Years Resolutions and health goals!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Cook Crew

Meatless Monday: Quinoa Salad

Last month we were talking about the benefits of batch cooking, and how easy it is to roast a chicken and have it for meals all week long: Super Simple Beans & Rice. We now have another recipe to add to your batch cooking collection: Quinoa Salad. 

Last week the Wisconsin Test Kitchen posted the Italian Chicken & Quinoa Vegetable Soup, and had a few cups of quinoa left over. We decided to try making a salad for easy lunches during the week. The yield on this salad was insane! In addition to having it with burgers for dinner one night, we also ended up having it for lunch for the rest of the week. It's a good thing we like quinoa... We had also roasted a chicken earlier in the week, and added diced chicken to the salad for extra protein.

Not that it needs it; quinoa is packed with protein already: it has 8 grams of protein per cup, and it's considered the perfect food: it contains all nine of the essential amino acids, which cannot be made by the body and therefore must come from food. If you're considering going vegetarian; quinoa is one of the best ways to get protein in your diet.

Additionally, quinoa is pretty cheap to buy in bulk. You can get a 2lb bag for $19.85 on Amazon; which yields 32 servings, and at 62 cents per serving; that's pretty good. You can get even better deals at any of the big box retailers. 

 Bam! Put that in your bowl and eat it! 

Quinoa Salad

Recipe courtesy of: One Hundred Dollars a Month

Ingredients

2 cups quinoa
4 cups chicken stock
4 oz Feta cheese crumbles
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can sweet corn, rinsed and drained
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced

Dressing
1/2 cup lime juice {2 Limes}
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place the quinoa and chicken stock in a rice cooker, turn it on and cook. Or, if you don't have a rice cooker, just cook it according to package directions. 

While the rice is cooking mix the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
In a large bowl combined the black beans, corn, spinach and red onion.

When the quinoa is finished cooking and has cooled down, combine it with the black bean mixture, add dressing and toss.

Serve in a nice big fat bowl and dig in!

Sadly, we're out of quinoa, and grocery shopping is still a week away. But, I can guarantee the ingredients for this tasty salad will be on the list again!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Family Friday: Cheesy Pull-apart garlic bread

Cooking isn't really cooking in the Wisconsin Test Kitchen unless there's some kind of music playing. A few weeks ago we went old school with some Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Nothing pairs with red wine quite like a little Dean Martin. But we digress! 

What brought on the red wine and Dean Martin love fest? 

A loaf of bread. 

No, seriously, a loaf of bread. We found a recipe for cheesy garlic bread on Facebook, and were craving it in a serious way... So serious, we ended up creating an entire meal around the garlic bread. Hey, don't judge- it's better than eating the entire loaf of bread for dinner! 

Pull Apart Cheesy Garlic Bread

2 14-oz cans biscuit dough
16 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded (we used swiss,but mozzarella would work too)
1/4 cup roasted garlic
3/4 cup parsley, minced
3/4 cup basil, minced
1/3 cup canola oil

Combine cheese, garlic, parsley, basil and oil.

 Divide biscuits and cut each in half. Sprinkle cheese mixture on top and stack one slice on top of another.

Transfer to a bread pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

We served these beautiful loaves of bread with some homemade meatballs and marinara sauce. It was a really delicious, hearty, indulgent meal. Literally- just looking at this bread has me humming That's Amore... 

Additionally, the bread kept very well, and we enjoyed it the next morning with scrambled eggs. 

So, cue up some Rat Pack music, pour the wine, and try this garlic bread. We promise you won't be disappointed!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Weight Loss Wednesday: Italian Chicken Quinoa & Vegetable Soup

It's been a while since we posted a Weight Loss Wednesday post; but both Test Kitchens are keeping up with their resolutions to eat cleaner and healthier; and move more. Rebecca and Doug text each other a few times a week with their step counts for the day- seeing who walked more. Thanks to his new job, Doug has been in the lead lately.

Part of our resolution is to break bad habits and replace them with healthier ones. Recently, Rebecca was hosting a girl's night: which usually consists of going out for rich, indulgent food and a few glasses of wine. Instead, she did a girl's night at home; and made a pot of soup and flatbread to enjoy instead. The end result was still the same: lots of good conversation and catching up: and a fraction of the calories normally consumed. Oh, and the soup was pretty delicious too!

Crockpot Italian Chicken Quinoa & Vegetable Soup
Recipe courtesy of: Chelsea's Messy Apron


2 small (12 ounces or about 3/4ths a pound) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 and 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth*
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 - 1 full teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 - 1 full tablespoon dried basil
Salt and pepper, to taste preference
Parmesan Cheese
Optional: fresh rosemary, fresh parsley

Lightly spray a slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Add in the raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped yellow onion, chopped celery, diced carrots, garlic, uncooked quinoa (rinse first if your quinoa isn't pre-rinsed), and un-drained fire-roasted diced tomatoes.

Add in the broth along with all the seasonings -- red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, and dried basil.
Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours (Mine took 4 hours) or until the quinoa has popped and the chicken shreds easily.
Shred the chicken and return it to the crockpot. Add in any more seasonings to taste. Add in fresh rosemary and fresh parsley if desired.
NOTE: the longer this soup "sits" or cooks the more broth that gets absorbed into the quinoa. This makes it heartier and also less brothy. If you want a more brothy soup, watch carefully and remove from the heat of the slow cooker when it is your desired consistency. Alternatively add more broth as desired.
Top each bowl with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Nutrition information: Approximately 6-8 servings, 225 calories per serving. 

This turned out to be a zesty, hearty soup that provided plenty of leftovers, and re-heated well. When the entire house came down with a cold a few days later, this was a great twist on chicken noodle soup. 

How are you doing with your New Years resolutions? Are you closer to your goals? Leave your comments in the notes below!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Monday Meals: Hello Fresh

We all know the Wisconsin Test Kitchen loves trying new food and culinary adventures. We received a coupon for Hello Fresh; and thought we'd mix up our weekly grocery shopping and try something different instead. There are so many meal delivery services; we thought we'd test drive Hello Fresh for our loyal readers!

How it Works
Create an account on their website, and then it's time to pick your box! You have three choices: The Classic Box, The Veggie Box, and The Family Box; designed for 2 or 4 people. All boxes promote flexible subscriptions, delicious recipes designed by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and farm fresh ingredients. We selected The Family Box- which was the least expensive option, and selected 2 meals to start. With our discount, this came out to $45.00 total. 

What Happens Next?
After picking our box and setting a delivery date, we waited patiently for our meals to arrive. Our order showed up bright and early on a Saturday morning; and we were excited to get cooking that weekend. 

Our initial impression when unpacking the boxes was the ingredients looked incredibly fresh; and the ingredients were plentiful- they looked to provide 4 very generous servings per meal. And the recipes had our mouths watering: Thai Beef Satay which came with Jasmine rice and fresh broccoli; and Crispy Chicken Parmigiana Salad. 

The recipes looked easy to follow, and we liked the fact they included nutritional information. Bonus: all recipes were relatively low-calorie. 

Cooking Time! 
The first recipe we tried was the Thai Beef Satay. We loved how all the ingredients were in bags or cartons that were easy to open. 

The recipe was easy to follow, and we had dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes. 

At one point, SB wandered into the kitchen to see what we were making for dinner. She's a good eater, but not always adventurous. We told her we were having steak kabobs, broccoli, and rice. 

"Oh, sounds good!" she told us before leaving to go play outside. And true to her word, she devoured an entire plate of food. The thing we enjoyed most, was we might not have been motivated to make a homemade Thai peanut sauce, or grilled beef skewers. It was a new recipe, and a welcome change of pace from our normal dinner routine.

The next night we made the Crispy Chicken Parmigiana Salad. It was one of the first times we were able to convince Sawyer to try meat and cheese mixed together-nothing short of a miracle in our house! It's one of her strange food quirks we respect as best we can...The meal consisted of a parmesan crusted chicken breast served over a salad of spinach and roasted potatoes in a sour cream, lemon dressing. It was easy enough to prepare, and really delicious.

Final Verdict?
We really enjoyed the service! The ingredients were fresh, the recipes were easy to follow, and the end result was delicious. We were provided with recipes we might not normally try, and it was a nice break from the same recipes we make week after week. 

However, our only drawback was the price of the service. Going forward, the price for 2 Family Boxes is $80.00. We budget pretty tightly, and this is our entire weekly grocery budget. Based on the produce we already have delivered every week, it doesn't make sense for us. But, we think it would be ideal for families that don't have a lot of time to meal plan or grocery shop. This takes the hassle and stress out of dinnertime. Additionally, we also thought this would be great for new cooks, looking to try new ingredients in a safe way. 

Are you curious enough to want to try Hello Fresh? Use our Cool Dad's Code: N8GCRX and receive $40 off your first delivery. Give it a try and let us know what you think! Also, email us if you have any questions on how the service works- we'd love to answer them for you.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Kids in the Kitchen Wednesday: Fizzy Fruit

SB in the Wisconsin Test Kitchen loves few things more than science. She loves experiments and finding out why things work the way they do. We enjoy fostering this love of learning; and are always on the lookout for some teachable moments. While we're not a homeschooling family; we do find her best learning happens at home in a hands-on environment. 

A few weeks ago, Kevin's co-workers at Angelic Bakehouse (shout out to AJ!) told him about a fun food experiment involving dry ice and fruit. Here's a link to the website if you want to learn more: Fizzy Fruit

The gist of the experiment is the dry ice turns from a solid to a gas inside a cooler overnight; and carbonates your fruit- making it fizzy (think, pop rocks). This is an awesome learning experience that teaches your kids about states of matter: solids to liquids, liquids to gasses, etc. If you're looking for a helpful video to further explain matter, we highly recommend our friend Bill Nye!

Phases of Matter

Word of warning before proceeding with Fizzy Fruit: you need to wear proper protective equipment while working with the dry ice! This means warm gloves. 

Fizzy Fruit

1 block dry ice
Fruit of your choice (we went with strawberries, grapes, kiwi, oranges, blueberries and grapefruit)
1 medium sized cooler- cleaned out
Plastic wrap

Wrap the dry ice inside a towel, and place it in a corner of the cooler. 

Place your fruit inside the cooler (we found fruit that wasn't in plastic bag or cartons received more carbonation than the fruit that was).  

Wrap the cooler in plastic wrap to prevent too much of the dry ice from leaking out. You don't want to secure the cooler too tightly (duct tape would be too much); but rubber band the plastic wrap to the cooler to create a firm seal. 

Let the fruit sit inside the cooler for 12-15 hours. We did this after dinner on a Friday night; so we could have Fizzy Fruit for breakfast on Saturday. 

After 12-15 hours, remove the plastic wrap from the cooler and take your fruit out. Be careful: there might still be some dry ice inside your cooler, and you don't want to burn yourself. 

Enjoy the Fizzy Fruit!! We found the grapefruit, orange and kiwi were our favorites: they all had a slight fizzy quality to them that was extremely enjoyable! Fizzy Fruit would be the perfect dessert or snack to enjoy on a hot summer day. We were talking about how amazing fizzy watermelon would be! 

It was a fun experiment to try, and the end result was really delicious. Try fizzy fruit if you're looking for an edible science project to try with your kids. SB loved it, and is already asking for more Fizzy Fruit. Give it a try, and let us know what your favorite fruit was!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew