White Chicken Chili

This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen. They have some excellent recipes; this is one I made recently that I told Mom about and she asked me to put it up on the blog. It's lowfat and tastes fantastic. It took me two hours to make it, but after tasting it was well worth all the time and effort! I LOVE this white chili! By the way, I couldn't find the poblano chiles, so I just made it without them. I also didn't add the last jalapeno at the end. It was still very flavorful and not too spicy.

The Problem: We found a lot of bad recipes for white chili—most bearing a closer resemblance to chicken and bean soup than actual chili.

The Goal: We wanted to create something worthy of the name "chili"—a rich, stew-like chili with moist, tender chicken, perfectly cooked beans, and a complex flavor profile.

The Solution: We found not one but three solutions. To fix bland, watery sauce we pureed some of our sautéed chile-onion mixture and beans with the broth to thicken the base—this approach had the added benefit of ensuring that chile flavor was present in every drop. To avoid floating bits of rubbery chicken, we browned, poached, and shredded bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, which gave our chicken pieces a hearty texture and full flavor. And to solve the problem of insufficient chile flavor, we used a trio of fresh chiles: jalapeño, poblano, and Anaheim.



Adjust the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If Anaheim chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. This dish can also be successfully made by substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, increase the cooking time in step 4 to about 40 minutes. Serve chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

Serves 6 to 8
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves , trimmed of excess fat and skin
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 medium jalapeño chiles
3 poblano chiles (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3 Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2 medium onions , cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 (14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.

2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).

3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.

4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs) on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).

5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

Per Serving:
Cal 370; Fat 6 g; Sat fat 1 g; Chol 115 mg; Carb 25 g; Protein 52 g; Fiber 7 g; Sodium 710 mg

Peach Dreamies

I recently went to a School potluck with Hans at one of his Professor's house. I made a yummy dessert and thought I would pass on the recipe.

Peach Dreamies

Peel and chop 5 fresh peaches(I'm sure you could use frozen as well.)
Add to that:
3Tbsp Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar, or more to taste

Defrost and roll out 2 puff pastry sheets. Cut large circles with a donut cutter. Spoon 1-2 Tbsp of peaches into center of a circle. Brush edges with a little water or milk, and top with another pastry circle. Fork edges to seal. Brush top lightly with milk or egg wash, and sprinkle with very coarse Baker's sugar. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.
Enjoy with a dollup of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Banana Sheet Cake

I remember mom making this frosted sheet cake for us and I've made it a couple of times myself. My kids devour it! Mom got the recipe from Aunt Monna. Enjoy!

Mix
1 C. Skim milk
1 1/2 T. of Vinegar
2 T. Oil
Add enough water so that this milk, venegar, oil mixture totals 1 1/2 Cups. Set aside.

Next mix in a separate bowl
5 Egg whites
2 C. Sugar
1 t. Vanilla
3 medium mashed bananas, slowly mixed in.

In yet another separate bowl mix
3 C. Flour
1/2 t. Salt
1 1/2 t. Baking powder

Now alternate mixing the flour mixture and the milk mixture into the banana mixture. Be sure to start and end with the flour mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.


Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz Cream Cheese (cold)
5 T. Butter (room temperature)
1 t. Vanilla
2 C. Powdered Sugar

Mix and frost cooled Banana Sheet Cake. YUMMY!

Blackberry Ice Cream

adapted from Raspberry Ice Cream in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 cups half-and-half
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
2 cups strained blackberry purée (from about 4 cups whole blackberries)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Warm half-and-half and sugar in medium saucepan. Pour cream into large bowl and set mesh strainer over top. In separate medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over med heat with heatproof spatula, scraping bottom as you stir until mixture thickens and coats spatula. Pour custard through the strainer and stir into cream. Mix in purée and lemon juice then stir until cool over ice bath. Chill thoroughly in fridge and churn ice cream according to ice cream maker’s instructions within 4 hours after making mixture (to preserve the fresh berry taste). Makes 2 quarts before freezing.


Oh my, this has to be one of the best homemade ice cream flavors I have ever made. The custard base made it nice and rich and it came out so smooth and fruity. It was definitely worth the work of straining all of the seeds and pulp to make the purée. I used a 1/2 pint of blackberries that I bought at the farmer's market and a 1 lb. bag of frozen blackberries (defrosted in fridge) from the grocery store to get 2 cups of purée. Even then, it was still a pretty pricey dessert, but so tasty!

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

These cookies are a BIG hit with ANY crowd. Delish!

350 degree oven, 10 minutes cooking time. Makes about 50 cookies.

1 C. Butter or Margarine
1 ¼ C. Sugar (divided)
1 C. Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 t. Vanilla
2 ¼ C. Flour
¾ C. Cocoa Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1 Bag of Rolo Candies unwrapped (For best results, freeze Rolos beforehand.)

In bowl, beat butter, 1 C. of the sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix till batter is smooth.
In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda.
Stir flour mixture into sugar-egg mixture to form soft dough.
Chill dough in fridge at least 1 hour. Place 1 T. dough in palm of hand and press flat. Place a rolo in center of dough and bring up sides of rolo until completely covered. Roll between palms to make a smooth ball, then roll ball in remaining ¼ C. sugar and place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake cookies in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until tops are cracked and firm.
Cool on pan for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Kentucky Hot Brown

1/2 stick butter
6 Tab. flour
3 cups warm milk
6 Tab. grated parmesan cheese
1 beaten egg
1 oz. cream , whipped, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
slices of roast turkey
8-12 slices trimmed toast
extra parmesan cheese, for topping
8-12 strips fried bacon
melt the butter and add enough flour to make a reasonable thick roux, enough to absorb all of the butter.
add milk and parmesan.
add egg to thicken sauce, but do not boil.
remove from heat.
fold in whipped cream.
add salt and pepper.
for each hot brown place two slices toast on a metal or flame proof dish. Cover the toast with a liberal amount of turkey. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and toast. Sprinkle with parmesan. Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, Garnish with bacon. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6
Nancy Powell made this for us when we visited them. Its so good!!!!

Martha's Macaroni salad

1/2 pound of salad macaroni cooked
6 hard boiled eggs chopped in small pieces
1 bunch of green onions sliced thin
1 cup sweet dill pickles (recipe to follow)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese (optional)
1/4 cup chopped black olives sliced (optional)
1 1/2 chopped tomatoes (no seeds)
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 Tab. mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Cook macaroni and drain, add next 6 ingredinents, set aside. Mix mayonnaise and mustard together, add to salad mix. If it seems to dry add alittle more mayonnaise. add salt and pepper to taste. There are two tricks to this salad. Ingredients need to be cut in small pieces, and you have to use sweet dill pickles.

Sweet Dill Pickles
1 qt. Valasic Dill Pickles (drain and sliced)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
Heat vingar, water and sugar to boiling. Pour over sliced pickles. Let stand tell cool. Keep in refrigerator.