Q-Pon Cooking: September 2015: Sweet Corn -- Chicken Taco Soup

To wrap up September's Q-Pon Cooking with the popular and delicious THRIVE Sweet Corn, I made some Chicken Taco Soup!  Fall is really starting to be in the air around here and the leaves are turning the beautiful reds, oranges, and browns.  So why not make some soup!?!  I actually developed this recipe on my own, based on a crock pot recipe I used to always make.  The problem with that crock pot recipe is that it used almost all canned ingredients, and my husband always told me that it was too salty.  So after he ate this one and I asked him his opinion, he said it was a lot less salty than usual!  I told him it was because I used all my THRIVE ingredients and made up the recipe myself :)!  I was kind of excited about that!  Truth is, THRIVE has helped me become more adventurous in the kitchen, and I love it!

So here's my chicken taco soup (which I threw in the crock pot at about noon, and it was ready at 1!)  The beauty of this is that you don't even have to use the crock pot!  I simply did, because both kids were down for a nap, so that meant I could get everything in the crock pot and heating and didn't have to worry about it when the kids were both awake!  But it can easily be thrown into a saucepan on the stove and brought to a boil, then reduced to simmer for 20 minutes and it'd be done!

CHICKEN TACO SOUP
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Pinto Beans
1/4 cup THRIVE Sliced Onion
3/4 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans
2 tablespoons THRIVE Green Chilis
3/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
3 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Boullion
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 10-ounce can Rotel
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
5 cups water

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low 4 to 5 hours.  Serve with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips! 

*Alternately, you can add all ingredients to a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

This was awesome, and I will make it again!  It can even be a jar meal!

There are only a couple days left to get the THRIVE Sweet Corn at Q-Pon price!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you're interested in learning more!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Jar Meal: Chicken Tortilla Soup

We have another fun jar meal party coming up on May 5th -- Cinco de Mayo!  And to celebrate, we are making Mexican-inspired soups -- in a jar!

But naturally, I wanted to test out this recipe and see how it looks in the jar and how it tastes in a bowl :)!

So tonight, my family enjoyed Chicken Tortilla Soup!  And all I did when it came time to prep dinner was bring 8 cups of water to a boil, dump in the jar of ingredients and simmer 15 to 20 minutes!  And I definitely love the ease and speed of that!

Pictured is the prepared jar with most of the THRIVE ingredient cans!  I actually didn't have any THRIVE Green Chilies on hand, but my friend Rebekah did, so she dropped some by for me.  But I didn't have the can for the picture ;).  So there's most of the cans at any rate ;).

Just a close-up of the jar.  Very pretty, don't you think!?!  So here are the ingredients in the order I placed them in the jar:

1 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
2/3 cup THRIVE Green Chilies
1/2 cup THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Tomato Powder
2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn

To prepare, add contents of jar to 8 cups boiling water.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  Top with your favorite toppings:  tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, green onions, salsa, etc...  *If you prefer a higher fat content in your soup, you may consider adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the water when bringing it to a boil.

And when you're ready to eat, it tastes delicious and looks like this!

This was as definite win in our household!  I'll be making it -- in a jar for easy meals on busy days! -- again and again!  If you'd like to have one (or more) of this jar meal on hand, join us at my house on May 5th anytime from 7 to 9 p.m.  Just drop on in!  Plus you can sample all these delicious recipes -- and more -- while mingling and visiting with others!  It's sure to be a great time!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com for more information and location!

Or you can order the ingredients and make your own jars at home!  Just visit my website: www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla or contact me to place your order!  Remember, the BIG DEAL Sale is still going on through Monday, so now's a great time to get great prices on these ingredients!

Happy THRIVEing!

Lots of THRIVE!

The other day I used a lot of THRIVE to make dinner and dessert!  It was a lot of fun trying new things :).

Pictured above was dinner, drink, and dessert from that day -- and, being that I don't get super motivated these days until after 2 p.m., that's when I started working on all of this!  Definitely couldn't have done that much without my THRIVE!

First up:  drinks!  The truth is, we are mainly water drinkers in my household.  But every once in a while, a yummy fruity drink sounds really appealing.  So I can understand why experts recommend having some juice mixes as part of your home store.  I have used this THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix for a variety of juices as well as putting it into my smoothies.  I needed the juice for the dessert I'd decided to make, so I went ahead and made up a full batch and enjoyed some of the juice with dinner :).  Simply follow the guidelines on the #10 can (2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach to 1 cup water) and oila!   You have a simple, but yummy juice.  It's a real treat for my toddler when she can have juice with dinner.  And she gulps it down fast.

What I love?  IT HAS NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!  That's such a win, when so many powdered drinks are full of artificial colors!

Next up:  dinner!  It was one of those "what am I going to make for dinner?" days...  I mean, I had my menu list all planned out -- like I do most pay periods.  But I flat out forgot to pull meat out to thaw.  And this is one of the reasons I love my THRIVE meats.  They are ready to use, even at the last minute.  So I found a recipe on the THRIVE Life website for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  You can follow that link and get the original recipe.  You can even make this as a jar meal.  Here's how I did it (with what I had on hand):

CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO
1 heaping cup shell macaroni
1/2 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
1 cup THRIVE Broccoli
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese*

Place all ingredients except Parmesan Cheese in a saucepan with 4 1/2 cups water.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in Parmesan Cheese until melted and incorporated.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So the things I loved about this dish: 
1.  It was all in one pot.
2.  It was easy to throw together.
3.  I didn't have to worry about thawing meat, etc.

But I have to be honest...  I personally didn't especially like this meal.  I think it was the Italian Seasoning.  Granted, I don't have THRIVE Italian Seasoning, so maybe that makes a difference.  But I just didn't enjoy that flavor.  My toddler really didn't like it.  My husband, however, said he didn't think it was bad.  So I guess it's all in personal preference.  But I have to share my true feelings, and those are that I don't plan to make this again.

For some reason, anytime I make pasta, I feel like I need bread to go with it.  Clearly, I did not start my meal-making in time to do a yeast bread.  And even throwing together scratch biscuits seemed like a lot of effort (lazy, huh?).  But then it occurred to me I could do the next best thing!  Sort of scratch biscuits!  I grabbed my Honey Whole Wheat Mix and decided to try making biscuits with it!  A quick glance at the ingredients told me it already had shortening in the mix, along with flour and salt...  Basically I just had to add a leavening agent.  And that was simple enough with baking powder!  So here's my recipe:

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT DROP BICUITS
2 cups THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/4 cups milk*

Place the dough mix into a medium bowl and add baking powder.  Stir well to combine.  Add milk and mix.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.  (I got 9 biscuits.)

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

You can add less milk if you want to make "cut out" biscuits.  But I like the drop biscuits, because they are fast.

And finally...  What I did for dessert ;).  Which was just a random idea I had, so I ran with it.  And it's also a pretty decent snack for a toddler!  I'm calling them Strawberry Peach Jiggly Squares :).

STRAWBERRY-PEACH JIGGLY SQUARES
4 cups THRIVE Simply Peach, prepared (this is 4 cups water plus 8 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix)
4 packets unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup coarsely chopped THRIVE Strawberry Slices

Bring 3 cups of prepared juice to a boil.  Place one cup of prepared juice in a large bowl.  Sprinkle all 4 packets of gelatin over juice. Allow to sit for a minute.  Pour hot juice into the bowl and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in THRIVE Strawberry Slices.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I usually spray with cooking spray for even easier release later!).  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

Again, one thing I really love about this is that there are no artificial colors!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not great at staying away from all the artificial colors.  And who doesn't love Jell-o Jigglers?  But if I can come up with something just as fun and kid-friendly without the fake stuff?  I'm totally in!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing around and trying new things.  And I just really love how THRIVE Life has often come to the rescue on those days when I am not as prepared as I could be to make dinner ;)!

Happy THRIVEing!  And, as always, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order to help your meal-times not be a conundrum when you forget to thaw the meat ;)!!!

Cooking with the Q-Pon (March 2015): Chicken Divan

This dish is one of my family's go-to favorites!  And I'm loving how much easier it has gotten with THRIVE Life!

This was my first time using THRIVE Broccoli, and let me say:  I am in love!!  I can see many uses for this fabulous and time-saving ingredient!  I love broccoli in a lot of my meals, so I am excited!  I especially love that these are all washed and chopped -- and just the florets!  I have never enjoyed the thick stems of broccoli, and I would always buy the florets only from the frozen section.  Well, now I don't have to!  I have my THRIVE Broccoli!

And, as a side note, I am still loving the THRIVE Sour Cream Powder!  As usual, it hadn't even occurred to me to buy fresh sour cream for this recipe.  I don't know why, but I always forget it calls for sour cream until I start making it!  But now I no longer have to care that I forgot to buy it on grocery shopping day!  Because I always have it in my home store thanks to THRIVE Life!  And I think that is beyond awesome.

So here goes the recipe -- as I made it (the original recipe calls for the sauce to be doubled with a can of cream of chicken in addition to the can of cream of mushroom...  That was too much for us, so we always cut the sauce recipe in half as follows):

CHICKEN DIVAN
3 cups white rice, cooked*
1 1/2 cups THRIVE Broccoli
1 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese*
Sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup THRIVE Sour Cream Powder (+ 2 tablespoons water)
1/2 teaspoon curry (you can adjust this to your taste -- we like the curry flavor)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, rehydrate the chicken and broccoli with water (5 to 10 minutes).  Drain excess water, if necessary.  In a large bowl, make the THRIVE Sour Cream by rehydrating with water.  Add other sauce ingredients and mix until well blended.

Spread the cooked rice in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Spread the chicken and broccoli mixture over the rice.  Spread the sauce mixture over the broccoli and chicken.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly on the side and cheese is all melted.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

Even the leftovers are amazing with this dish!

The broccoli is the Q-Pon item this month, so if you'd love to get some at this great discounted price, add it to your Q if you're a Q Club member.  If not, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll get it ordered for you!

Arroz Con Pollo Con THRIVE (Panamanian Chicken and Rice)

Well, I've been experimenting again...  And tonight I tried Arroz con Pollo (Panamanian Chicken and Rice) using a ton of THRIVE Life ingredients!

I grew up on this dish.  It has a little special place in my heart.  And it occurred to me I could make it with my THRIVE!  And save myself lots of time by so doing.  Tonight, I had this dish simmering after 20 minutes (including my toddler's "help").  No joke.  When I make it the traditional way -- without THRIVE -- I'm in the kitchen anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.

Here's how THRIVE Life saved me that much time:

1.  I didn't use raw chicken.  This means I didn't have to clean the chicken or disinfect the counters when I was done.  My THRIVE Chopped Chicken was ready for me to use, already cooked!
2.  I didn't have to wash or chop my vegetables.  This included celery, onion, cilantro, and bell pepper.  Saved me 5 to 10 minutes right there!
3.  I was able to skip the browning chicken step -- as well as the shredding chicken step.  This is another 5 to 10 minutes, typically.
4.  Though this didn't technically save me time in the kitchen (since I could be out of the kitchen while it was happening), it did save on how long it took to get dinner to the table:  I didn't have to boil and cook the chicken.

In fact, this was ready in about 55 minutes (but only 20 of that was hands-on -- the rest was just letting the rice cook).  When I make this dish for dinner without THRIVE, I plan for starting dinner 2 hours before I want to eat it.  And even then, sometimes it takes longer.

So here's the recipe how I made it.

ARROZ CON POLLO/PANAMANIAN CHICKEN AND RICE
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onions (freeze dried)
1/3 cup THRIVE Celery
1/3 cup THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers
1 tablespoon THRIVE Cilantro
4 tablespoons THRIVE Tomato Powder
1 teaspoon salt*
6 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
1/2 teaspoon oregano*
1 1/2 cups white rice*
1/3 cup THRIVE Green Peas
1/3 cup THRIVE Carrot Dices (optional)
1/2 cup sliced green olives (optional)

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and give a quick stir.  Toss in THRIVE Chopped Onions, THRIVE Celery, THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers and THRIVE Cilantro.  Give everything a little stir, then add 2 1/2 cups water.  Stir in THRIVE Tomato Powder and salt.  Add additional 4 cups of water, THRIVE Chopped Chicken, white rice, THRIVE Green Peas, and THRIVE Carrot Dices.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook until water is absorbed and rice is done.  Stir in green olives, if desired.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So I'll be the first to admit this isn't exactly like the original traditional takes-a-long-time recipe.  But it's close, and it saves me so much time!  I'm excited to have found a way to make one of my favorite dishes more quickly and easily!  It means I can put it on our dinner menu more frequently :).

A couple notes:  you could add more chicken if you wanted.  We just cut back on our meat consumption a lot, so that was plenty for us.  If you do increase the chicken, you may want to increase the water a little bit too.  And, as it is often difficult to "make up" a recipe (at least for me...), I learned that I needed to increase the water (I wrote the recipe the way it needs to be, not the way I made it.  I had 1 less cup of water in mine and not all the rice got all the way cooked).  And I forgot to include my THRIVE Cilantro in the picture.  Grrr...  Oh well ;).  It's in the recipe, so that's what really counts!

Cooking with the Q-Pon: Instant Milk: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

This month, the Q-Pon item is THRIVE Instant Milk!  I have to say, it's not very challenging to find ways to use the Q-Pon item this month ;).  But I have been able to use it several times in a variety of ways.  Today I'll share two recipes -- the second one is a bonus because I forgot to take a picture :/.

So today, my munchkin and I enjoyed a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie as a mid-morning snack :).  And it was delicious!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 cup frozen banana, sliced
1 cup water
3 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Enjoy!

The bonus recipe is a little twist on Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.  I didn't have Swiss cheese, so I switched it to Cheddar, and I thought it was great.  As it happened...  I did have regular milk in the refrigerator when I was making this, but only whole milk -- and only enough for my munchkin to get through Sunday (and we weren't going to go to the store before Monday...).  So I turned to my THRIVE Instant Milk powder!!!  Very convenient to have on hand for the 2 cups called for in the recipe!

So here's the recipe

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE (SORT OF)
3 cups egg noodles (or elbow macaroni*), uncooked
2 cups milk (2 cups water + 6 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk powder)
1 pound chopped cooked chicken*
1 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chopped, cooked ham*
1 cup Cheddar cheese*, shredded (recipe calls for Swiss, but I only had Cheddar)

Spread noodles evenly in a 9x13 pan.  Pour milk and water over noodles.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread chicken, soup, ham, and cheese over noodles.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE Life.

This recipe can also be made ahead and frozen after you cover tightly with foil :).  A great make-ahead meal!

I only wish I'd remembered to take a picture.  Boo!

Cooking With the Q-Pon: 10 Grain Pancake Mix: Ultimate Chicken Fingers

I have made these chicken fingers for many years now.  The original recipe can be found here.  My friend Donna shared that recipe with me back in 2004 or 2005, and it's definitely yummy!

So today, I decided to try it out with my THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix! 

Definitely yummy -- and healthier, because I got 10 Grains!  (And so did my husband and toddler :)).

I love the versatility of this 10 Grain Pancake Mix!

These chicken fingers are always tasty and moist.  I've made them many times and have never been disappointed.  Today I just thought I'd try them out with my THRIVE!  I was pleased with the results :).

So here's the recipe as I made it today:

ULTIMATE CHICKEN FINGERS (a la THRIVE)
2/3 cup THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt or garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 pounds chicken breasts sliced into strips (or use chicken tenderloins)
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Mix THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix, cheese, salt and paprika in a large bowl. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix mixture and coat.  Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.  (I usually cook mine a little longer, because I'm obsessive about cooked chicken!)

We served this up with a salad and mashed sweet potatoes!

If you want to grab your THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix at the awesome Q price, you only have a week left!  So contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to place your order today!

Happy THRIVEing! 

Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Skillet Meal

Since I've successfully made pasta salads using the THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips, I wanted to try them in a different way!  I decided to try them in a stove-top skillet meal -- one of our family's favorites!

Once again, I found the chicken strips to be a convenient way to add the chicken to a delicious meal!  And they blended in really well with the dish!  These chicken strips are definitely already among my favorite THRIVE foods!  They save me time and effort in so many ways.

So, without further ado, I'll post the recipe :).

1 to 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 can cream of chicken soup + 2 cans full of water
black pepper to taste
1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pour cream of chicken soup and water into a large skillet.  Warm over medium-high heat.  Throw in the chicken strips.  Add all other ingredients, except cheese.  Stir together.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until pasta is tender.  (Checking to make sure there is enough water at about 15 minutes.)  Stir in cheese until melted and combine.  Allow to heat 2 more minutes.  Serve.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

When it's hot outside, I don't like to use the oven and heat up my house.  I live in Washington, and since it only gets uncomfortably hot about 1 month (total) out of the year, air conditioning isn't standard.  So no sense in making the house less comfortable by using the oven, right?


So I turn to stove-top dishes for my meals!  And one of my favorite things to make in the summer is pasta salad.  Of all sorts of varieties.

I happened upon this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad via Pinterest.  It sounded yummy, easy, and I had all the ingredients.  And then it got even better.  Because I had recently received a can of THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips!  I knew I wanted to try them out -- and what better chance than this pasta salad!?!

I was very pleased with the results.  And not just for the fact that it tasted great.  Here's why I'm loving the THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips:

1. I didn't have to mess with raw chicken and worry about the salmonella germies all over my hands and counter (because I am a bit OCD when it comes to cleaning my chicken and getting rid of all the fat!).
2. I didn't have to spend time cleaning the chicken (see note in #1...). This saved me about 5 minutes.
3. I didn't have to do my extra-special counter clean-up (which I do anytime I have raw meat out on the counter unpackaged).
4. I didn't have to wait for the chicken to thaw to cook or to cool for shredding or cutting -- this saved me at least 15 minutes (would have saved me more time, but I still had to cook macaroni, so I did still have some of the cook time). (Of course, the thawing takes a long time, but since I would have been boiling the chicken, I probably could have put it in the pot frozen...)
5.  No canned-chicken taste from using canned chicken.

So here's the recipe, with my substitution of THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips:

BUFFALO CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained, and cooled
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices, rehydrated (requires 1/3 cup warm water)
1/4 to 1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons Frank's hot sauce (can use more to your taste)

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Then mix in the next two. Chill at least one hour before serving. It's delicious! (I didn't give any of the finished product to the munchkin, because it did have a kick... She did get the components of it, though, just without the sauce. Bummer for her, because the sauce is what makes it!)

Happy THRIVEing!