The Gift of a Family Meal

We decided to be a little creative with our Christmas cards this year since we agreed to not buy any gifts for anyone (except Jade, of course). I had the idea of creating little recipe books for everyone out of those flexible 4x6 photo albums. They are usually about a dollar and they have plenty of space.

I picked 10 of our favorite, crowd-pleasing recipes and printed them on a 4x6 recipe card template in MS Word. I decided to add my own little pictures and clip art to each one to make it more personal. I also made a title page with a holiday greeting, a table of contents listing all the recipes, and a closing page wishing everyone a happy new year. I chose some funny food quotes and added them in between some of the recipes, too.

Fortunately, I already own a paper cutter from making my wedding invitations, so I did not have to cut out each 4x6 card with scissors. That might have been too intense considering I made 20 books and each one ended up having 18 separate 4x6 inserts.

All in all, they turned out pretty cute and have been well received. Who doesn't like a new recipe once in a while? I think most people tend to get on rotations of the same 10-15 items. Plus, most of the recipes were pretty simple so even kitchen neophytes should be successful.

Cuddly Soup (a.k.a. White Chili)

This is another one from Simply Recipes (linked above). It is a yummy white chili with chicken. Chris has decided to call it 'cuddly soup' because it is warm and savory and it makes you want to curl up on the couch and be comfy. If you want the "real" version which requires you to soak dry beans for hours you can go here: White Chili. I have opted for the "realistic" version using canned beans and black-eyed peas. It takes about an hour and a half total.

• 3 cans of white northern beans or black-eyed peas (I used 2 cans of black-eyed peas and 1 can of beans)
  
• 6 cups chicken broth (I recommend Better Than Bouillon broth base.)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 white onions, chopped and divided
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 4-ounce cans of chopped green chilies
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp dried oregano
• pinch of ground cloves
• 4 cups of diced cooked chicken

Combine the beans/peas, chicken broth, garlic, and half the onions in a large soup pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to med-low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally.

Saute' the remaining onions in oil until they are tender. Add the chilies and seasonings and mix thoroughly. Add this to the bean and broth mixture and continue simmering for about an hour.

While the soup is simmering prepare the chicken. I generally trim and dice about 4-6 chicken breasts and saute' them in a small amount of olive oil with a little salt and pepper. It takes about 10 minutes to cook thoroughly. (I also prepare chicken this way for quick "grilled" chicken salad on busy week nights.) When the soup has about 10-15 minutes left add the chicken.

Take the soup off the heat and let it cool a little before you serve it. Top it with whatever you like. Here are some ideas: monterey jack cheese, diced avocados, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, diced onions and tomatoes, or chopped green onions. We used some shredded monterey jack and Baked Tostitos Scoops.