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?

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Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

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barbacue, BBQ, corn, food, foodie, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, recipe, relish, salad, side dishes, vegetarian, zucchini

Summer is unofficially here… Grilling food is the main way to keep temperature cool indoors. Now just add the sun and salad side dishes.  Last year, my sister made a delicious corn salad for our 4th of July picnic. This isn’t the same dish, but it did inspire mine…

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Ingredients:
6 ears of corn (some yellow and some white), 2 zucchini, 1/4 c. fresh parsley, 1 bunch green onions, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. hot sauce, 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Cook corn and slice off ears. Peel and chop zucchini. Chop green onions and parsley. To make dressing, mix together mustard, sugar, cumin, hot sauce, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together and keep chilled.

Next time I think I’ll add some red pepper to the mix.

What’s your favorite corn recipe?

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

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chowder, corn, dinner, easy dinner, easy meal, food, foodie, lunch, one pot meal, one pot recipe, postaday2011, quick dinner, quick meal, recipe, rivels, seafood, shrimp, soup, supper, sweet corn

Every restaurant has a different variation of this recipe, some appease my palate more than others. Hubster doesn’t like  seafood or soup and he’s avoiding creamy foods now, so this was the perfect recipe for me to indulge myself. Afterall, I had some leftover shrimp from New Year’s Eve and some leftover champagne (which I used in place of the white wine). So New Year’s Day, I whipped up a batch, here’s my version of Shrimp & Corn Chowder.

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. shrimp, 2 Tbs. butter, 1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning, 1/4 tsp. celery seed, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 10 oz. sweet corn kernels, 4 c. soup stock, 1 c. white wine, 2 c. heavy cream, 1 tsp. fresh chopped parsley, rivels, 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:
Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat. Saute shrimp and add Old Bay, cook until done. Remove shrimp from pot and add chopped peppers, sauté until softened. Add white wine and simmer. Add stock and corn, bring to a boil. Return shrimp to pot (you can leave them whole, but I prefer them chopped). Add cream and stir throughly. Drop in rivels, boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Mix 2 Tbsp. of the broth with 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch and then return mixture to soup. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

What warms you up on a cold winter night?

Chicken Corn Chowder with Rivels

Tags

chicken, chicken and rivel soup, chicken corn chowder, chicken corn soup, chicken soup, chicken soup with dumplings, corn, dinner, dumplings, food, parsley, potatoes, rivels, soup, sweet corn

I’m Back In The Kitchen
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to cook. With a few weeks of late night packing and now unpacking, I haven’t been in the kitchen much. That is mentally draining on me, since I enjoy preparing food so much. Last weekend I finally got the kitchen unpacked, and got a few frozen things to make quickly. It’s just not the same, but it was better than eating out every night. This weekend was the first I’ve been able to actually go grocery shopping and get fresh ingredients. Despite that I’m feeling very sick today, cooking makes me feel more human. Mix in the cold temperatures (it was sleeting yesterday), my choice was obvious. I made something quick and comforting to eat tonight, chicken corn chowder.

I often see chicken corn soup that looks exactly what I expect chicken noodle to look like.  There are similarities, but the differences should be more complex. So I prefer my chicken corn soup graduated to a chowder, and my chowder with rivals.

Chicken Corn Chowder with Rivels

Ingredients:
whole chicken, water to cover, 3 bay leaves, 1 c. chardonnay, 1/2 shallot minced, 1 handful fresh chopped parsley, 4 c. fresh corn kernels, 4 small red potatoes, 1 pint heavy cream, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, double batch of rivels.

Directions:
Place chicken, bay leaves and chardonnay in stock pot and boil until done. Remove from heat and allow chicken to cool. Discard bay leaves, bones, skin, fat and cartilage. Cut potatoes into small cubes and add to stock pot. Turn heat on and bring to a boil. Once potatoes are soft add minced shallots, chopped parsley, corn, salt and pepper, allow to simmer. Turn heat to low and drop in rivels, simmering 5 minutes. Mix in heavy cream and simmer two minutes. Remove from heat, serve hot.

*The corn was picked from my neighbor’s garden this summer, I had a few extra ears to cut down and freeze the kernels. Using fresh corn instead of canned or store frozen make a magnitude of difference.

*Get the recipe and directions for my rivels in this post.

What was for dinner at your house tonight?

Chicken Pot Pie

Tags

carrot, celery, chicken, chicken breast, chicken stew, corn, crust, dinner, dinner recipe, dough, lunch, lunch recipe, pie crust, pot pie, potato, recipe, rosemary, rosemary pie crust, savory pie crust, wheat germ

Yesterday, I had my nieces help me with dinner. I forgot how much longer it can take to make something, when you have kids doing it for the first time. While I made the filling, I talked them through making the dough. They each made enough dough for several pot pies, measuring, mixing and rolling it out. These are not exact measurements, I definitely estimated for the filling. The dough had more precise measurements.

Chicken Pot Pie

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. chicken breasts, 2 large potatoes, 2 carrots, 3 stalked celery, 2 c. corn, 2 Tbsp. minced onions, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 2 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. celery seed, 3 Tbsp. butter, 3 Tbsp. flour, 3 c. water, cooking wine, 2 bay leaves,  2 c. milk, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper.

Filling Directions:
Cube chicken. Over medium heat melt butter, added cumin, paprika and minced onions. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan. Chop celery, carrots and potatoes. Add vegetables, water, wine, celery seeds and bay leaves to frying pan, cover and reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves. Return chicken to pan, add milk, flour, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Dough Ingredients:
3 c. flour, 1/2 c. wheat germ, 1 c. butter, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp. rosemary, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. water.

Dough Directions:
Mix ingredients together. Chill for two hours. Roll dough on a floured surface. Cut six smaller circles for the top crust and 6 larger circles for the bottom crusts.

Pot Pie Directions:
Preheat oven 350°F. Press large dough circle to bottom and sides of each dish. Scoop filling into dish and place smaller dough circle on top. Press seams together. Beat an egg and brush egg over top crust, cut a small slit in top of the crust. Bake on a tray for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

My nieces worked really well in the kitchen, I am impressed with their developing culinary skills (they seemed to enjoy getting their hands messy in the dough).

*I didn’t have any cooking wine on hand, I used the only open bottle of wine I had, Hazlitt’s Red Cat.

This recipe would work well with beef as well. Any combination of you favorite vegetables would work well.

What do you do with teens in the kitchen?

Grilled Corn on the Cob Discs

Tags

appetizers, barbacue appetizers, basil, basil lemon, BBQ appetizers, cilantro, cilantro lime, corn, corn on the cob, dill, dill orange, Father's Day Menu, grill, grill recipe, grilling, lemon, lemon basil, lime, lime cilantro, orange, orange dill, summer grill, summer recipe

Summer Grilling
June is here and summer is around the corner (my summer vacation starts Friday!)… These corn discs are great for parties, everyone can have as little or as much as they like. Their tiny size makes them perfect for kids or as appetizers. Great idea for a Father’s Day Menu!

Grilled Corn Discs

Ingredients:
corn, butter, fresh chopped cilantro, fresh ground sea salt, fresh ground pepper, lime juice, lime zest

Directions:
Husk corn and throw away husk and silk. Slice cob into 2″ thick discs. Soak in water with a splash of lime juice (or lemon juice). Grill discs over medium heat, turning a few times. Mist discs with lime juice as they grill. Remove from heat and brush or rub with butter to your liking, toss in cilantro, sea salt, pepper and zest. Serve hot.

*Play around with combinations of lime, orange and lemon juice and zest for the corn. Change it to use and match your favorite fresh herbs.

My Favorite Combinations: Lime Cilantro, Lemon Basil, Orange Dill