White Chicken Chili

Folks here in Georgia are cold…..colder than normal, and over the next couple of days the forecast states we are going to have a short period sleet/freezing rain that will be followed by a dramatic drop in temperatures and high winds. Temperatures are going down, down, down below freezing and are expected to stay there for two to three days.

So…

It’s PERFECT soup weather.

The Mister tried this recipe yesterday. We had it for dinner last night night and again for lunch today.

It’s a keeper!

Ingredients

2 (14.5-ounce) cans white beans

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced

2 medium poblano peppers, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ancho chili powder

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 limes, juiced, plus lime wedges, for serving

1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Sour cream, for topping

Tortilla chips, coarsely crushed, for topping

Directions

Drain and rinse the canned white beans. In a medium bowl, mash half of the beans with a potato masher until chunky. Reserve the beans until needed.

Add the canola oil to a large Dutch oven and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onions, and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt, and pepper, to taste. Add the cumin, coriander, and chili powder and continue to saute for 1 more minute to toast the spices. Stir in the chicken stock, and lime juice and bring to a simmer. Add the beans and continue to simmer for 20 more minutes.

After 20 minutes of simmering, taste for seasoning, and adjust if necessary. Stir in the shredded rotisserie chicken and cilantro and simmer until heated through, about 5 more minutes. Serve the chili in individual bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

A little shredded Monterey Jack added to your bowl or cup is nice, too! 

Serves 4-6

Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. dried onion
2 T. ketchup
1 T. oil
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 t. cornstarch dissolved in 3 T. water
Sesame Seeds

Put chicken in the crock pot.

Combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, and garlic powder. Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on the high setting for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours or till chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken from crock pot leaving the sauce.

Dissolve 2 T. cornstarch in 3 T. water and pour into crock pot.

Stir to combine the water/cornstarch mixture with the sauce. Replace the lid and cook on high for ten minutes or until slightly thickened.

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and return to crock pot.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Great served with Fried Rice and Broccoli!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 T. Olive Oil

2 stalks celery, diced small

2 medium carrots, diced small

1 medium onion, diced small

Salt and Pepper

4 cups chicken broth

1 ¾ pounds  boneless chicken breast

6 ounces vermicelli or angel hair pasta, broken into 1 ½ inch pieces

In a large pot heat oil over medium-high heat add celery, onion and carrots and cook till celery and carrots are crisp tender; about five minutes.

 

Add salt and pepper. Add broth and 4 cups water and bring to boil.

Add chicken, reduce heat to simmer and cover.

Cook until chicken is cooked through, about ten minutes. With tongs remove chicken and chop or shred into bite-size pieces.

Add pasta to pot and cook until tender, about four minutes. 

Stir in chicken pieces and serve.  

Chicken Casserole

Everyone seems to have their own version for a Chicken Casserole and my mom and my mother-in-law were no different when I first married. Each wanted to know that I was using their recipe with some regularity. 

It was a little stressful considering I wanted to put my own mark on the whole thing. After all......it was MY kitchen, right?

So....I combined the two recipes.  Well, actually I combined the parts of both recipes that I liked, and this recipe has seen us through busy school days, nights at the ball field, and serves as a type of comfort food when we need it.

It's one of those things I make with NO recipe.  I just know what it should look like.   So.....I'll try......TRY to get it written down here.

First take one box (16 ounces) of linguine and cook it according to the package.   I salt the water and add a little olive oil.  I sample the noodles while they cook to make sure I don't get them too done......I generally take the pot off the stove once the noodles reaches the al dente stage.   

Drain the noodles.

In the meantime chop one medium size onion.   Throw it in a bowl with 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup.  

Mix in one 8 ounce container Sour Cream, salt and pepper to taste, a small package of slivered almonds.

Add in 2-3 cups of diced, cooked chicken.   I generally buy 2 packages of the diced, cooked chicken at the grocery store to save myself a step.   I stick to breast meat.....

Mix everything well.  

Add the noodles and mix again very well to coat the noodles.   

Pour the noodle/chicken mixture into a glass 13 x 9 baking dish.  

Melt 1 stick butter in a 4-cup glass container.  Once melted mix in 2 cups Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix. Coat the dried breadcrumbs with the butter.

Spoon the breadcrumbs over the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.   

I generally serve this casserole with a nice green salad and rolls.  

The Best Chicken Marinade Ever

The bad news......I had to wait until close to 9 p.m. last night for dinner.   The Mister wanted to grill some chicken, and he was late getting off the golf course. 

The good news....it was worth the wait.   Seriously.    I've decided our chicken should be marinaded using this recipe from now on......it's THAT good.

Recipe source:    The little old website you will find here.

Put the amount of chicken you want to grill in the bottom of a big bowl. 

In another bowl combine the following using a whisk:

1 cup vegetable oil

1 (10 oz) bottle Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

3 T. Italian Seasoning

1 T. Salt 

1 T. White Pepper

Pour the mixture over the chicken, and refrigerate overnight, or for 4-5 hours...at least.

Remove chicken from the marinade to grill......Enjoy!!!!

Chicken and Tortellini Salad

I saw this in a Southern Living magazine and it looked intriguing.  

I mean seriously…..chicken, and tortellini?   You can’t go wrong.

….and I didn’t.  It was good.  Very good, except for the flat leaf parsley.   Very attractive in the salad, and perhaps I’m just becoming a little old lady, but the texture of the parsley was a little difficult to eat.  

I’m thinking next time I’ll cut the amount of parsley down…..and perhaps add in some salad greens such as arugula or romaine.

Try it for yourself and see what you think….

2 (8 oz.) packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
½ cup olive oil
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare tortellini according to package directions.  

Process olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth. 

Toss olive oil mixture with tortellini, chicken, and next 3 ingredients.  

Add salt and pepper to taste.

12 to 15 appetizer servings.

Suddenly......When You Need a Little Salad

So….it’s been a long and hot day full of lots to do, and the time approaches to prepare dinner.

What do you do?

Sometimes I rely on one of those boxed pasta meals like Suddenly Salad to help me along. I add some fresh veggies and a little chicken. Dinner is then just a pot of boiling water away.

First, I prepare the pasta per the box directions. While it’s cooking I slice up a green and red pepper.



I open a can of diced tomatoes and dump them into a colander. I rinse them well, and let them drain. I chop half an onion, slice a bunch of green onions and then I add a teaspoon of minced garlic.



I dump in the diced tomatoes and chop up some fresh broccoli and cauliflower.



I stir the veggies up with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and by this time the pasta is done. I drain it……and rinse it with cool water.



I dump the pasta in with the veggies along with some chopped chicken. I use the bagged chicken you can find at the store from Tyson or Perdue.



Stir well. Pair with some Tuscan Garlic bread toast and a nice glass of white wine and you have an instant dinner without getting the kitchen too hot!

Chicken Dijon.....Version Two

This recipe is different from my other recipe in that it uses chicken broth as the base for the sauce and includes the pepper and one. I think I like it better. :)

6 skinned and boned chicken breast (about 2 lbs.)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
3 T. butter
1 medium-size red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium-size sweet onion, diced
1 (14 ½ oz) can chicken broth
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 T. Dijon mustard

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet; add bell pepper and onion, and cook, stirring often, 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return chicken to skillet.

Whisk together broth and next 2 ingredients and pour over chicken

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes until chicken is done.

Sweet and Spicey Chicken Wings

These are so fantastic the recipe should be a bit more difficult. This was the main attraction (besides the commercials) for this year’s Super Bowl game. We served them up with various other frozen appetizer type things…….

1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
¼ cup Honey
½ tsp. ground ginger
12 chicken wings (tips removed) or 24 chicken drummettes


Stir the picante sauce, honey and ginger in a large bowl.

Cut the wings in half at the joints to make 24 pieces. Toss the wings with the with the Picante sauce mixture. Place them in a foil-lined baking pan.

Bake at 400 degrees…for 55 minutes or until they are glazed and cooked through, turning and brushing often with the sauce during the last 30 minutes of baking time. Discard any remaining sauce.

Note…….they like to stick to the aluminum foil. Next time a glass baking dish or baking stone will be in order…..

Tomato Chicken Stack Salad

12-15 fresh basil leaves (rinsed)

4-5 fresh Italian parsley sprigs (rinsed)

1 small shallot (rinsed)

4 large red and yellow (or heirloom) tomatoes (rinsed)

1 chilled rotisserie chicken plain or flavored

2 T white balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or avocado) oil

½ t. dried Italian Seasoning

¼ t pepper

½ cup crumbled feta, goat, or blue cheese

Slice basil into thin strips; set aside. Chop parsley coarsely and shallot finely. Cut tomatoes into ¼ inch thick slices

Remove meat of chicken from bones (discard skin and bones). Chop chicken coarsely (wash hands); measure 2 cups (reserve remaining chicken for another use.)

Prepare dressing by combining in medium bowl, vinegar, oil, Italian Seasoning, pepper, parsley and shallots; whisk until well blended.

Arrange salad on serving plates, alternating tomato slices, chicken, basil strips, and crumbled cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Chicken Divan

I love a good Chicken Divan casserole, but some of the folks at my house don’t like the broccoli, so I took this recipe and prepared it leaving the broccoli out. We had it on the steamed on the side drizzled with olive oil and minced garlic.

I boiled some chicken tenders, chopped them up and set them aside. I also prepared 4-6 cups of rice and set that aside as well.

To make the sauce I melted ¼ cup butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat until melted. I stirred in ¼ cup all purpose flour and 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg. Stir constantly until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.

I added 1 ½ cups chicken stock and 2 T. of white wine heating the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. I turned off the heat and added ½ cup to 1 cup shredded swiss cheese. In a chilled bowl I whipped ½ cup heavy cream until stiff. I then folded the cheese mixture into the whipped cream and stirred until fully mixed.

Add the chicken pieces and broccoli (optional) to the cheese sauce.

Serve the sauce over cooked rice.

Variation: Layer cooked rice in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole. Spread chicken, broccoli and cheese sauce over rice and top with additional shredded cheese. Bake until bubbly at 350.
Serves 6

Chicken Dijon

Melt 1 stick butter/margarine in sauté pan. Saute 4 boneless skinless chicken breast that have have been prepared with garlic powder, pepper and paprika till done.

Remove chicken, set aside

Add 1 cup Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing, 1/3 cup Dijon style mustard, and 1/3 cup dry white wine to the skillet and heat up.

Cook 1 pkg fettucine noodles, according to directions

Serve chicken over noodles topped with sauce.

Hot Chicken Salad

4-6 cups cooked/cubed chicken

½ cup slivered almonds

½ cup chopped celery

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cheese nip crackers, crushed

3 cans cream of chicken soup

4 Tablespoons grated onion

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup mayonnaise

1 large can mushrooms, chopped

Worcestershire Sauce…..dash

Mix very well and pour into lightly greased casserole. Bake about 45 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

Hot Chicken Dip

1 package(8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 cans (9.75 oz) chunk chicken breast, drained

½ cup hot sauce

½ cup blue cheese salad dressing

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Assorted fresh vegetables or crackers

Stir cream cheese into deep baking dish until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Stir. Serve with fresh vegetables or crackers.

Chicken Bryan....Carabbas Style

1 T. minced garlic

1 T. minced yellow onion

2 T. butter

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup cold butter……sliced

1 ½ cup sun dried tomatos

¼ cup chopped basil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

6 boned, skinned chicken breast

Extra olive oil

Salt – Pepper

8 oz. caprino or other Goat Cheese

Saute garlic and onion in 2 T. butter over medium heat till tender. Stir in wine and lemon juice into skillet.

Increase heat to medium high and simmer to reduce by half. Reduce heat to low and stir in cold butter, one slice at a time.

Stir in tomatos, basil, salt, white pepper. Remove from heat, set aside.

Brush chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Grill.

Place equal amounts of cheese on chicken…..Spoon sauce over each breast to serve.

Parmesan Chicken

I prepared this chicken recipe for dinner one night. It was easy to prepare and I loved the fact that the ingredients were minimal. I served the chicken with buttered egg noodles and green peas.

A very basic meal.

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
¼ cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
¼ cup Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place all ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with remaining ingredients. Lay flat so chicken does not overlap.

Refrigerate chicken 30 minutes to marinate. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade. Arrange chicken on a foil-covered baking sheet. Bake chicken 20 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees).

You can also freeze the uncooked chicken mixture up to 3 months. When you are ready to cook remove the chicken from the bag and place on a foil lined baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chicken 1 hour or until cooked through (165 degrees)

4 servings

Chicken Pie

I made this Chicken Pie one afternoon before my son headed back to college. By the time he was gone there was very little of the casserole left. I served it with a green salad. It was all we needed since the recipe makes a nice cakelike crust.

3 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 (10 ¾ oz.) can mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, potatos),drained
1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2 T. cornstarch
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup butter, melted

Place chopped chicken in a lightly greased 12 x 8 inch baking dish. Whisk together soup, drained vegetables, broth, and cornstarch; pour mixture evenly over chicken.

Whisk together flour, buttermilk, and butter; spoon batter evenly over chicken mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

8 servings