Creamed Spinach and Chicken Soup

It's not too often that I make a soup and my husband says, "wow! This is great!" He's kind of a soup nazi... not a fan of the stuff. Well, like a broken record, I've had sick kids AGAIN the past two weeks. So, I felt inclined to make soup. I found this recipe here, but had to do a few modifications to make it gluten free (my mom has celiac disease). Here's what I did:

You will need:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

salt and pepper

3 carrots

long grain rice

1 can of black beans

1 package of frozen spinach

1 package of cream cheese

milk

butter

parmesan cheese

nutmeg

corn starch

1. In a big pot, boil chopped chicken and thinly sliced carrots in water and salt.

2. Meanwhile, start cooking your rice according to the package's instructions.

3. Now for the creamy spinach. In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter and a cup of milk.

Once that is combined, add 1/4 c. of corn starch as a thickener. Whisk.

Add the package of softened cream cheese. Melt mixture together, stirring regularly.

Pop the package of frozen spinach in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up a bit, and toss it into the saucepan, stirring regularly.

Add 1 tsp. of nutmeg, 1 tbs. salt (or garlic salt), and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese.

Stir the mixture until it thickens.

4. Once rice is fully cooked, add it to the chicken, carrots, and water. Add a can of black beans,

followed by the creamy spinach mixture. Let the pot simmer for ten minutes and serve!

Sorry I didn't take pictures. But, I promise this was truly a delightful meal.

Baked Cheese... not grilled

I love grilled cheese sandwiches on a cold day. Dip it in some warm tomato soup and you've got coziness in a bowl. BUT, I hate making them. It's so time consuming making just one grilled cheese at a time in an itty-bitty skillet. OR, I have to whip out my ginormous breakfast grill. So, I improvised my frustration into a new concept. You may have already conjured up this idea. But, it's made my grilled-cheese craving moments much easier. You can make up to six sandwiches at one time! It's beautiful! And, in my opinion, I actually think it tastes better. So, let's get a cookin!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter one side of each piece of bread.

3. Put the buttered side face down onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Slice your cheese and place the cheese onto the unbuttered side of the bread.

5. Put the other half of your sandwich on top of the cheese, the buttered side face up.

6. Sprinkle a SMALL amount of seasoning salt on top.

7. Put in the oven and bake for four minutes.

8. At four minutes, flip the sandwich so it's evenly crispy (my oven may differ from yours. Just make sure it's starting to brown ever so slightly before you flip it).

9. Bake another four minutes.

10. Ding ding ding! Time to eat! This is perfection dipped into hot tomato soup.