White Bean and Chicken Chili

I'm trying to stretch the food that I have left in the house until payday (grocery day) on Friday. With that in mind, I took a package of chicken breasts out of the freezer and began to contemplate what to do with them.

After rummaging in my pantry, I decided I'd concoct a "white" chili of sorts. It's a little bit Mexican and definitely belly filling. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
(2) 15 oz cans white kidney (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
2 large Vidalia Onions, chopped
4-5 large cloves of garlic
3-3.5 cups chicken stock
2 limes, juiced
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 stick unsalted butter
(1) 8 oz bar sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c AP Flour
Spices and Seasonings: (To taste. The amounts I used are a rough estimate based on my family's likes)

1 TBSP Chili Powder
1 TBSP Cumin
4-5 dashes Hot Sauce (like Tabasco)
Salt
Black Pepper
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped finely

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. On a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up) place your Poblano pepper and garlic cloves. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.

While your pepper and garlic are roasting, drizzle about 1 TBSP of Olive Oil and add 1 TBSP of butter to a 6 qt pot and heat on medium.

Season your chicken pieces well with some of the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper then place it in your pot.

Cook until nicely browned on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.

Next, add another 2 TBSP of butter directly into the pot you just cooked the chicken in and once it's melted, add the onions. Cook until they are soft and begin to caramelize slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining butter into the pot with the onions and when it is melted, sprinkle in the flour to create a roux. Whisk the butter/flour/onion combination constantly for 2-3 minutes then add the chicken stock and lime juice, continuing to stir. It should create a thick, bubbly base for your chili.

Once the base is ready, slide it off the burner while you get your pepper and garlic from the oven. While the veggies cool, use your hands and shred up the now cooled chicken into bite size pieces.

When the pepper is cool enough to handle, gently peel off the skin and discard.

Chop the pepper, removing seeds and stem and add it to your chili base. Next, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins directly into the pot. Add the hot sauce, remaining chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Whisk all the ingredients together.

Next add the chicken and beans to the pot and then the shredded cheese. Whisk gently until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated.

Simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool slightly, which will allow the chili to thicken up a bit more. Whisk in the sour cream and cilantro, serve with tortilla chips.

Linking up to

Read more...

Saturday Night Dinner- Loaded Nachos with Turkey Chili Topping

Chili Ingredients:

1 package of ground turkey meat (usually a little over a pound)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 15.5 oz cans of bean, drained (red kidney, canellini, black beans, chick peas will all work)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup chicken broth, reserve 1/4 cup
1 tsp jarred minced garlic or 2 cloves, minced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 packet of chili seasoning mix
1 TBSP flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cumin

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add in the ground turkey meat and cook until browned, 7-8 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes, chili seasoning packet,
salt, sugar and cumin and stir to combine.

Pour in 3/4 cup of chicken broth. In a seperate bowl take reserved 1/4 cup of broth and flour and whisk together. Pour this mixture into the chili to thicken.

Add your beans (I switched from red kidney to cannellini)
Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.


Nachos Ingredients: (this will make two batches)

1 family size bag of your favorite nacho chips
shredded iceburg lettuce (about 1/4 head)
two large roma tomatoes, diced
1 small red bell pepper
1 bundle of green onions, chopped
1 8 oz bag shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Per batch: spread half the nacho chips evenly onto a foil lined baking sheet. Top with half the turkey chili, tomatoes, red pepper and cheese.
Bake 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from oven and garnish with lettuce and green onion before serving.

Optional side toppings: sour cream, guacamole and salsa

Kid tested

And approved!

Read more...

Hearty Chili and Cornbread Bake

A warm and cozy meal for a wintery Saturday evening at home with the kiddos!

Chili:
2 lbs stew beef, cubed small
2 16 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I chose red and white)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, rough chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
8 oz your favorite beer (I chose Sam Adams because the lager flavor goes well with the chili spices)
1 cup shredded cheese
2 packets chili seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP olive oil

Cornbread:
2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup + 2 TBSP milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1 jalepeno pepper, diced small

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prep a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I also line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil in case of bubble-over and slide it under my dish.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in onion and red pepper, cook until onion begins to become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute, then add your beef and cook until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and beans. Stir well to combine then add your seasoning packets, cumin, sugar and beer.





Stir well and cook until it begins to bubble, about 3-4 minutes.

In a seperate bowl, take a few spoonfuls of the chili liquid from the pot and combine with cornstarch. Pour this mixture back into the chili and stir. Remove from heat, until chili begins to thicken, 5-6 minutes.


While chili is thickening, add all your cornbread ingredients together into a bowl and mix until well combined.



Pour the chili into the baking dish and sprinkle with a cup of shredded cheese.
Top with the cornbread mixture and spread with a spatula to cover it evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Mmmmmm, was this ever good!

Read more...