Flu-Fighting Soup

A lot of times the content I produce for this blog and my segments is food that I don’t eat as a meal. Let’s face it, you’ve seen a lot of cookies and cupcakes around here. And contrary to popular belief, I don’t just go and eat those treats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That’s why it’s extra special when my recipe becomes my meals for the week, as was the case this week for this flu-fighting soup.

To be completely honest, I was shocked by how wonderful this soup tasted. I expected it to be good, but I couldn’t believe how much the individual flavor profiles within the soup stood out. You can really taste the ginger and the lime and the cilantro, but it all blends so well together.

I’ve eaten this every single day for the past week now, and I haven’t gotten tired of it.

What really makes this soup so special is the fact that I created it using ingredients known to fight off flu and colds. Those ingredients include ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric, and mushrooms. If you google search “What to eat to get rid of flu,” those are the ingredients that repeatedly appear, so I really recommend making this soup at the first sign of a cold.

Flu-Fighting Soup
Yield: Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients

• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms (I used canned, whole mushrooms, but it’s your preference)
• 6 scallions (or about 1/2 bunch), chopped
• 2 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons), minced
• 3 Tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded
• 1 (8 ounce) box brown rice noodles
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• Optional: Avocado, limes, or more cilantro for serving

Directions

1. Heat large soup pot to medium heat with a little bit of oil; add carrots and sauté until soft, or about 5 minutes
2. Add red pepper and mushrooms, and sauté for another two minutes
3. Add scallions, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for one minute
4. Add red curry paste and turmeric and sauté for 30 more seconds
5. Pour in chicken broth, coconut milk, and lime juice; bring to boil then reduce to simmer
6. Add chicken and noodles and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until noodles are al dente
7. Right before serving, stir in cilantro
8. Serve soup with sliced avocado, lime wedges, or more cilantro

Slow Cooker Version

If you want to adapt this recipe for a slow cooker, simply dump all ingredients except chicken, noodles, and cilantro in slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours. You may want to microwave your carrots for about a minute first just to make sure they're soft enough.

Once the 6 hours is up, add chicken and noodles and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes in the slow cooker, or until the noodles are al dente. Right before serving, stir in the cilantro.

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Deluxe Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I’m a sucker for a good sandwich. In my opinion, texture, flavor and color are key. And even though grilled cheese sandwiches can be as basic as you want them to be (think Kraft Singles and Wonder Bread), I think they deserve the same love that every other sandwich receives.

Bread

So let’s first discuss the bread. It should be thick enough to securely hold all of your toppings, but it shouldn’t taste like you’re just eating a mouthful of bread.

My favorite bread to use for grilled cheese is sourdough. It’s just the right thickness and it doesn’t have a very strong taste, which is great because we want the flavor of the cheese to stand out.

Butter or Mayonnaise?

In the past week I’ve learned that some people prefer to spread mayonnaise instead of butter on the outside of the bread before cooking it in the pan. Apparently, it’s supposed to make the outside of the bread crispier.

I tried it, and I don’t like it. I say butter all the way! I always use Challenge butter in the pan beforehand in addition to spreading it on the bread. Challenge butter is 100% real cream butter without any hormones, additives, or fillers, and I think it makes a big difference in the taste.

Cheese

Cheese is obviously the most important part of the grilled cheese sandwich. I don’t recommend using more than two types of cheese at once because you don’t want the flavors to overpower one another. If you do use more than one type of cheese, make sure they complement each other and pair well before you stick them on a sandwich.

If you’re stuck in a rut and you’re looking to try something new, Kareen Stephens, Brand Manager at Schuman Cheese, shared some advice on her favorite cheeses for grilled cheese sandwiches.

She says soft cheeses work really well and offer a fabulous melt.

“Our Cello Fontal has a smooth, creamy texture with a mild flavor that offers an amazingly gooey melt. Asiago is also great for melting and has a nice sweet and balanced flavor. One cheese that is sure to upgrade any grilled cheese recipe is Tallegio, which has a strong pungent exterior that reveals a delicious buttery soft cheese inside,” Stephens said.

Since a lot of the soft cheeses have a mild flavor, she recommends pairing them with cheese that has a sharper flavor like Copper Kettle Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Toppings

I don’t think you should go “over-the-top” with toppings because like I said earlier, you want the cheese to be the main focus.

Bacon and prosciutto are always good choices. I also love adding fried egg with a nice runny yolk to dip it in. And I love the texture of avocado on a sandwich.

Deluxe Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yield: 1 sandwich

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 slices sourdough bread
• 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 2 slices gouda cheese

Directions

1. Add 1 Tablespoon butter to a skillet on medium heat. Once melted, add an egg and cook for two minutes on one side before flipping it to cook on the other side. Cook one minute longer, and remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add another Tablespoon of butter to skillet and let melt. Use 1 Tablespoon to butter one side of a single slice of bread and stick butter side down in skillet.
3. Add 2 slices of cheddar cheese, bacon, avocado, fried egg, and 2 slices of gouda cheese.
4. Spread 1 Tablespoon of butter on second slice of bread and add it to top of sandwich, butter side up.
5. Cook sandwich for about 4 minutes on medium heat and then use a spatula to flip it to the other side. Cook an additional 3 minutes on the other side and serve immediately. 

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How to pack healthy lunches every single day and save money in the process

Ever since I posted a photo of my organized refrigerator a few months ago, I’ve received numerous questions about how I meal prep and plan healthy lunches for the week.

I decided to write this blog post to share my method of packing lunch and share some tips to help motivate you to pack lunch!

So why do I pack my lunch?

I work in the news industry, and when I enter the station I work non-stop until I leave. There is absolutely no time in the day for me to leave to buy lunch. Heck, some days I’m so busy I don’t even have time to heat my food up in the microwave. So personally, packing a lunch is absolutely crucial to me eating that day.

I understand most people aren’t in the same boat, and they get an hour to leave the office and eat lunch. So in that case, why bother packing lunch?

Packing your lunch has a long list of benefits, but in this blog post I’m just going to focus on the two most significant benefits: eating healthier and saving money.

If you bring your lunch to work, you won’t be tempted to order a pizza from the Hot Box down the street and you don’t have to worry about that bag of corn chips and package of mini donuts from the vending machine becoming your next meal.

If health benefits aren’t enough to motivate you to pack your lunch, maybe extra cash in your pocket will.

Packing your lunch probably costs about $5 per day at the most. Compare that dollar amount to what you spend eating out (probably around 10 bucks, right?) and the savings are really pretty shocking!

Now that I’ve covered WHY you should pack your lunch, let’s focus on HOW to pack a healthy lunch!

I would say without a doubt, the key to packing a healthy lunch is planning ahead.

So I’m going to share what I pack for lunch and how I pack it so that it stays fresh several days later.

This is what my lunch looks like just about every single day – turkey sandwich, salad, grapes, clementine, carrots, nuts, and SkinnyPop popcorn.

On Sunday, I prepare all of my turkey sandwiches for the week. I use sandwich thins for the bread, and I’ve never had any issues with it becoming soggy. I wrap each sandwich in Saran Wrap to keep it fresh and also store it in a plastic container to keep it from getting squished in my refrigerator.

For my salads, I put the spinach and cherry tomatoes at the bottom of a Tupperware container, and then I wrap the veggies that get soggy (cucumber and red peppers) in little Saran Wrap packs so they stay fresh. I also put a paper towel on top to collect any extra moisture. I’m not kidding you, this method keeps your salads fresh for like a week and a half.

By Sunday night, I make sure my grapes are cleaned, taken off the vine, and placed into individual snack bags. I divide my carrots into individual snack bags as well. For me, I know that if I don’t do this before Monday morning, I’ll be too lazy to bother doing it later, and they’ll go to waste.

I like to pack a small pack of nuts because the protein helps keep me full and gives me a little boost of energy in the middle of the workday.

Also, I love packing 100-calorie bags of SkinnyPop. My favorite things about SkinnyPop are the fact that you get a lot of popcorn for 100 calories so you can munch on it for a while, and also the flavor is incredible—it tastes freshly popped like it’s homemade.

The only downside with this style of meal prepping is that I end up eating the same thing just about every day for lunch. Personally, that doesn’t bother me one bit! But I can understand where some people may be turned off by that. If that is the case, my suggestion is to swap out the sandwich with dinner leftovers or make something like Mexican Chicken or Lasagna that reheats well.

I realize this looks like a lot of food, but it’s all pretty healthy and the calorie and fat content aren’t very high—especially when you compare it to a greasy fast food lunch. Also, since I’m going back to school, I’m gone from home for about 13 hours, so I need to fuel up when possible because otherwise I’m famished by the time I get home to eat dinner around 9:30 p.m.

I hope these meal prepping and lunch packing tips helped! Let me know if you have any questions!

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Jalapeño Popper Hot Dogs

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Hot dogs are the epitome of a classic, all-American meal! Most people don’t go to a baseball game without eating one, and hot dogs are the stars of backyard barbecues.

But I have to be completely honest with you all – I’m not the biggest hot dog fan. I know, shame on me! It’s not that I don’t like them. If we’re being honest, there probably isn’t a food I dislike (Oops, double negative! I hope my English teacher isn’t reading this!)

It’s just that most of the time I would prefer something else. So when I was asked to do a segment for National Hot Dog Day, it was a little bit of a challenge because I wanted to come up with something that I would actually choose to eat!

As I was thinking about it, for some reason I couldn’t get jalapeño poppers off of my mind. I have no idea why considering I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a jalapeño popper. Maybe it’s because I planted jalapeños in my garden for the first time this year. Who knows! But anyway, it was at that moment that I knew I wanted to use that as the foundation for my hot dog treat.

What I ended up making was a cross between a cross between jalapeño poppers and pigs in a blanket. And just like everything I make, it is super easy!

You start by making a mixture with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and a little cumin and garlic powder. I use Challenge cream cheese because it’s definitely creamier than all other cream cheeses and I know there are no hormones in the product.

Then you just open up a can of refrigerated crescent rolls (probably the trickiest part of the recipe), spread the cream cheese mixture on top, and layer on sliced jalapeños. I generally use about half a jalapeño per crescent roll, but you can add more or less depending on your taste preferences. Stick half a hot dog on top of that, roll it up, and pop it in the oven! If you’re feeling really bold, you can serve it with jalapeño mustard, recently I even saw jalapeño ketchup!

Jalapeño Popper Hot Dogs

Servings: 12 jalapeño popper hot dogs

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (8 ounce) package crescent roll dough
• 4 jalapeños, sliced
• 4 hot dogs, cut in half

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cumin, and garlic powder in bowl
3. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray
4. Remove crescent roll dough from packaging and lay out the 8 dough triangles on the baking sheet
5. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture on each crescent roll.
6. Layer jalapeño slices on cream cheese mixture
7. Stick hot dog on top and roll up crescent roll dough
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown
9. Serve hot with ketchup and mustard

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Four surprising foods you can make with a waffle iron

Most likely, your waffle iron is significantly underused. Sure, we all know waffle irons get a workout during breakfast, but did you know it’s a great tool for making savory lunch and dinner dishes too?  In fact, I’d go as far to say that you can make just about anything in a waffle iron!

So today I’m going to help jumpstart your creativity by sharing a four of my favorite waffle iron recipes!

Also, in case you're curious, this is the waffle iron I own. It is the best waffle iron ever! Nothing sticks to it, and I LOVE that the plates are removable so I can just stick them in the dishwasher. (This is my own personal opinion not influenced by any outside company.)

1. Pizza

One of the greatest things about waffles irons is they’re quick. For example, a homemade pizza would probably take a half hour to make, but in a waffle iron it only takes a few minutes! So just about anything that starts out as dough or batter works well in a waffle iron.

The most important thing to remember while making pizza waffles is to never leave any part of the center exposed because then pizza sauce will leak out and you’ll have a mess on your hands.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a 13.8 ounce can of refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 6 pepperoni slices

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lay pizza dough over waffle iron. Spread pizza sauce on top of pizza dough.
3. Sprinkle half of mozzarella cheese over pizza sauce, and add pepperoni slices on top of cheese.
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of pepperoni.
5. Fold pizza dough hanging over edge of waffle iron to center of pizza so the center of the pizza is not exposed (you don't want the sauce to leak out).
6. Close waffle iron and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
7. Serve with marinara dipping sauce.

2. Quesadilla

Your waffle iron essentially acts as a Panini press when making quesadillas. The center gets nice and gooey while the edges get a little crisp.

Ingredients

• 2 tortillas
• 1/2 cup cheese
• Peppers, onions, any other ingredients per your preference

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place tortilla on waffle iron and sprinkle 1/2 of cheese on top.
3. Add any other ingredients you want on top of cheese and cover with remaining cheese.
4. Place second tortilla on top of cheese and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa, or guacamole.

3. Omelet

Now this is awesome!  Waffle irons are a foolproof way to cook omelets. You don’t have to worry about a too-runny center or a messy flip because everything is evenly cooked and timed out in the waffle iron.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, beaten
• Crumbled bacon, peppers, mushrooms, any other ingredients per your preference
• 1/4 cup cheese

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pour eggs into waffle iron.
3. Sprinkle bacon, peppers, etc. on top of eggs.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with a sprinkle of cracked pepper.

4. Cinnamon rolls

I have a whole post dedicated to cinnamon roll waffles because they’re a family favorite! And it’s the easiest thing ever to make. All you do is buy a pack of refrigerated cinnamon rolls and stick one in the center. It’s a good idea when you’re cooking cinnamon rolls for a small group because you can just cook a few of them and refrigerate the rest of the dough for another time.

Ingredients

• 1 (12.4 ounce) tube refrigerated cinnamon roll dough

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place one cinnamon roll in the center of the waffle iron.
3. Cook on high for about 1 minuted.
4. Serve with cream cheese icing that comes in tube.

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