Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

Thanks to Tiffany for taking the time out of her busy schedule of staring into shiny toasters to submit this magnificent recipe.

You will need:

- 1/2 c. butter
- 1 chopped onion
- 1/2 c. chopped celery
- 1/2 c. sliced carrots
- 1/4 lb.  fresh sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 6 c. room temp chicken broth
- 2 c. cooked wild rice
- 1 lb cubed chicken, cooked
- 1 tsp. toasted curry powder
- 2 c. coconut milk

In a large pot saute onion, celery and carrots in butter over medium heat until almost soft. Add mushrooms and continue sauteing until soft. Add in your flour and mix thoroughly to form a roux. You'll want to cook the roux for a couple minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add broth (its important that it be room temperature so that the mixture doesn't seize) and whisk until no longer chunky. Whisk in the curry powder, coconut milk and drop in the chicken and simmer 1-2 hours.

I'll be honest, I only put in about 4 plain white mushrooms and diced them fairly small since I'm not a fan but they add great flavor.

Enjoy!

Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Pepper

Hearty and filling, these peppers are great served as a single meal with a side of crisped bread.


You will need:


- 4 large bell peppers your choice of color, seeds and ribs removed - reserve top
- 1 cup cooked wild rice - don't measure from uncooked since it will be different
- 1 cup whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 1 8oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 8 slices bacon, cooked until almost done but still soft and slightly pink

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, mix together  rice, corn, beans, 1 cup cheddar, soup, jalapenos, onion and garlic.  Mix thoroughly and stuff each pepper evenly and tightly.  Top each with 1/4 of the reserved cheddar and 2 slices bacon (you can actually wrap bacon around them. Just secure it with toothpicks that have been soaked in water).  Place in a baking dish and tent with foil, baking until pepper can be easily pierced with a fork- approximately 35 - 40 minutes. Remove foil and turn on broiler to crisp bacon (if not already) - leave oven open a crack while doing this.

Allow to cool 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!