White Chunky Chicken Chili

Tags

beans, chicken, chicken chilli, chili, corn, dinner, dinner recipe, food, foodie, hearty meal, lunch, lunch recipe, postaday2011, recipe, soup, white chili

Hubster and I have different views on chili. He likes his very soupy and I like mine thick. He likes his with only a few ingredients, I like more variety. He likes his on top of a baked potato or salad. I like mine over top of rice or a grilled polenta cake. Since I’m the one cooking, I make it how I like it.

White Chunky Chicken Chili – Perfect for the crisp autumn nights!

White Chunky Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 c. cannellini beans, 2 c. garbanzo beans, 2 jalapeños (diced), 2 c. corn, 1 medium onion (minced), 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 bottle of beer (or two if you like soupier chili), 1/2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, 2 Tbsp. ground cumin, 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro, 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt, extra sharp white cheddar cheese (shredded), sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Cut chicken breast into small chunks. Heat onions, garlic and oil in the bottom of soup pot. Add chicken and cook. Add beer and deglaze pan. Add beans, corn, jalapeños, cumin, coriander seeds (crush with muddler or hands), cilantro, peppers, salt & pepper and boil. Mash about 1 c. of the beans in the pot, stir well. Serve hot and top with sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips.

What’s on your dinner table tonight?

Advertisement

Pasta Fagioli

Tags

autumn, beans, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, pasta, pasta e fagioli, postaday2011, recipe, soup, vegetarian

When the stars make you drool, just-a like pasta fagioli, that’s amore…

Maybe I’m just an overly sensitive person, but with the shock of the flooding and the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, it has been an emotionally draining week. With the damp cold clinging to the autumn air and the soggy ground seeping through my shoes, it is soup time in my kitchen. So until the sun decides to finally show its face, the soup will warm my body, mind & soul.

This is not the Olive Garden copy cat recipe, so turn away now if that’s what you’re after. I’m trying for a bit more authentic. I’m pretty sure that this is a traditional peasant dish and therefore wouldn’t have meat in it… After all, the two namesake ingredients, pasta and beans, are the most inexpensive ingredients one could use. Modern recipes do add meat, but today I do not… (maybe when I need to make it a little heartier in the cold winter).

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:
3 c. cannellini beans, 3 c. red kidney beans, 1/2 lb. cooked radiatori, 1 c. diced tomatoes, olive oil, minced onions, garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 grated carrot, 2 stalks of celery, 1″ chunk of pecorino romano, vegetable broth, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper.

Directions:
Warm olive oil in bottom of soup pot. Chop celery into small pieces and add to pot with onions. Saute until tender.  Add broth and cheese and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer. Let stand for 10 minutes and discard bay leaves before serving.

Serve hot with a crisp salad and yeasty bread. Top with fresh grated cheese if desired.

What is warming you up today? 

Black Bean Soup

Tags

beans, black beans, dinner, food, foodie, peppers, postaday2011, recipe, soup, tomatoes, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

I’ve mentioned several times before that Hubster isn’t a soup fan. Since soup was my father’s forte, I just can’t accept Hubster’s dislike. And soup in summer? It just tastes incredibly better with garden fresh veggies. Besides, our nights do get chilly here…

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 qt. vegetable stock, 4 c. cooked black beans, 2 medium tomatoes, ½ c. shredded carrots, ½ red pepper, ½ green pepper, 2 scallions, 1 lime, fresh cilantro, ½ tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. coriander, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Version 1 Directions:
Dice tomatoes and peppers. Chop cilantro and slice scallions. Zest and juice lime. In a large soup pot bring vegetable stock, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, scallions, salt & pepper to a boil. Add beans, tomatoes, carrots and peppers, cover and allow to simmer. Serve hot and garnish with a spring of fresh cilantro.

What’s not to love about fresh garden veggies?

Cannellini & Spinach Soup

Tags

beans, cannellini, cannellini beans, carrots, food, foodie, postaday2011, recipe, soup, spinach, vegan, vegetarian, white kidney beans

Normally this time of year, my grill gets used daily and soup is an after thought of winter. This year, the sunny warm days of April have been sparse… the beginning of May is looking the same. Tonight is my night to grab a bowl of hot soup and curl up on the couch with a blanket, book and Rory (my kitty).

Cannellini & Spinach Soup

Ingredients:
3 c. cooked cannellini beans, 1 minced shallot, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, 1 c. of shredded carrots, extra virgin olive oil, homemade vegetable stock, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Warm EVOO in bottom of stock pot, brown shallots. Add spinach until wilted, then toss in carrots and beans. Pour enough vegetable stock to cover vegetables and bring to a boil. Salt & pepper to taste.

Hubster’s Variations:
I serve Hubster’s over orzo with very little broth. I add turkey sausage and turkey bacon (crumbled) to Hubster’s. And garnish with freshly grated pecorino romano.

Do you eat soup through the spring? What about summer?

Tequila Chicken Crêpes

Tags

beans, cheddar, cheddar cheese, chicken, cilantro, crêpes, dinner, food, foodie, garbanzo, lunch, postaday2011, recipe, tequila

Crêpes… I love crêpes. I always keep a stack of them in the freezer. So tonight, when I pulled them out to thaw for dinner, I looked in the freezer to see what I could throw into them. Chicken breasts, garbanzo beans, summer sun ripened tomatoes I had diced and frozen… mmm. Then I looked in the fridge and pulled out some leftover diced green chilies, fresh cilantro, heavy cream and cheddar cheese…

Tequila Chicken Crêpes

Ingredients:
6 -8 crêpes, 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 Tbsp. minced onions, 1/4 tequila, 1 c. diced green chilies, 2 c. diced tomatoes, 2 c. garbanzo beans, 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro, 2 c. cheddar cheese, 1 c. heavy cream

Directions:
Warm oil in skillet and add onions. Brown chicken and cook until no longer pink on inside. Add tequilla and chilies and simmer. Add tomatoes and garbanzos and simmer. Drain liquid and reserve, keep chicken mixture warm. In a small sauce pot, add 2 c. liquid, heavy cream, cilantro and cheddar cheese. Heat over medium low heat stirring constantly until well combined. Fill crêpes with chicken mixture and top with cheddar sauce. Serve hot.

What meals do you make from freezer ingredients?

Beans & BPAs?

Tags

bean recipe, beans, bulk beans, canned beans vs. dried beans, chick peas, dried beans, dried beans vs. canned beans, Garbanzo beans, how to cook dried beans, kidney beans, recipe

Canned Bean Convenience for Dried Bean Benefits
My mother always cooked dried beans for her recipes. They taste better than the ones that come in a can and they have no added sodium. The canned beans are very easy and practical and when I make a recipe (with calls for beans) on a whim, canned were easier. Until Melissa d’Arabian gave a great tip: Cook the beans when you get home from the supermarket and freeze them in zipper bags, you can divide them into portion sizes you prefer (I think 2 cups = one can). The beans are then already cooked and ready to pop into your favorite recipes. Apparently my mom and my sister already knew this, but no one filled me in on the trick.

Dried Beans

My first attempt to cook beans was a mess, the package instructions must have been jumbled during the English translation. Now, I think I got the hang of it.

How to Cook Dried Beans:
Rinse and sort dried beans. Cover with several inches of water. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak for about 3 hours. Drain and rinse beans. Add fresh water (about 2 inches above beans), 2 bay leaves, minced garlic or minced onions to beans and bring to a boil. Cook beans on a slow boil for about 2 hours. Drain beans and prepare for recipe.

Five Reasons to go Dry

1. Better flavor

2. Less sodium

3. No preservatives

4. No BPAs       So we all know that plastic water bottles and such contain BPAs, so it’s best to get a BPA free reusable bottle. Until recently I didn’t know that tin cans have a lot of BPAs in them.

5. Save money

What is your favorite bean recipe?

How about Ham & Three Bean Soup, Chick Pea Curry, or White Bean Brownies.