chili

Loving Lately ?

This week’s Loving Lately is a no-brainer: Soup!

First to give credit where credit is due, the gorgeous featured image is the Legendary French Onion Soup from one of my favorite food photographers and bloggers, Stéphane of MyFrenchHeaven.com. Oh, how I wish I had a bowl of it right now.

Although I do eat soup all year long, my current fondness of the liquid gratification has everything to do with the fact that the temperatures are dropping. There is nothing like a hearty hot bowl of soup to comfort yourself on a blustery evening. It also has a lot to do with this ridiculous cold/flu/whatever-you-are-go-away that has run amuck in our house. Following a late Sunday afternoon nap of fever and chills, I woke up craving the Pioneer Woman’s Sherried Tomato Soup and a grilled cheese. True story.

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The next night my husband came home from work with Chicken Noodle Soup. Be still my beating heart. This Chicken Noodle Soup from Tyler Florence got 5 stars out of 350 reviews… Umm, I’d say it’s worth giving a shot, huh?

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A day later I was well enough to drive the kids and myself through the Panera drive-thru to get a warm cup of broccoli cheddar soup, because nothing else would do. Here’s a copycat recipe from The Recipe Critic that looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

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And I’m not tired of it yet, because on the evening I am writing this I could really go for some chili. My goodness how I love a good chili! How Sweet Eat’s posted a Game Day Beer Chili this week that I’d like to try- this very minute.

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Of course I wouldn’t turn down a Yogurt Chicken Chili with spicy bites of tender chicken and Cannelloni beans either. Yum.

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Next on my “to try” list is this Cauliflower & Za’atar Soup by Dishing Up the Dirt. I ❤️ crispy kale!

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Get your spoons my little macaroons, because soup season has begun!

Yogurt Chicken Chili

The Super Bowl is two days away! And if you’re looking for a something to feed your home team that’s full of flavor and won’t bog them down, I’ve got the perfect idea. This chili is healthy and hearty, light and appetizing. It’s a crowd pleaser for sports fanatics, athletes, moms and kids alike. So regardless of the Game Day outcome, you’ll be a winner. Trust me on this.

As organic as possible

1 1/2 lbs boneless Chicken

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 yellow Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, minced

4 cups Chicken broth

1 Tbsp Cumin

2 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tbsp dried Basil

1 1/2 – 2 tsp salt (to taste!)

1 tsp freshly ground Black pepper

2 15.5 oz cans Cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt, (Organic or Chobani) divided, plus more for serving (optional)

1 Scallion, sliced for garnish (optional)

 

In a large pot boil the chicken in water until cooked and tender. I used organic chicken tenders (which are cut thin) and took about 10 minutes. If you are using halved breasts, it could take 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile in another pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and let sauté for 2-3 minutes until starting to turn soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Pour the chicken stock into the onion and garlic, and stir. Add the cumin, chili powder, basil, salt, pepper, and beans. Stir and let sit over medium heat, bringing to simmer. Reduce heat to low (keeping at a nice low simmer).

Using a slotted spoon or tongs carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle I like to tear the chicken into rustic bite-size pieces. However, you can shred with a fork or chop with a knife if you prefer. Place the chicken into the pot of simmering broth, and stir. Allow the flavors to combine for at least 20-25 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the Chobani Greek yogurt into the chicken chili and stir. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly. Allow flavors to meld for at least another 15 minutes. Top the chili with the remaining quarter cup of plain greek yogurt and scallions for serving. If desired, set bowls of the yogurt and additional sliced scallions for guests (or family) to dress their individual bowls. #madewithchobani

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Caroling Chili

Everyone can use a great ‘chili for a crowd’ recipe this time of year! This recipe is delicious and plentiful, perfect for holiday gatherings, football bowl game parties, inviting the kids sports teams over, etc. Aunt Leann has been making it for years and has it down to a science. So get those invitations out, you got this.

Preferably cooked in a roaster, but a large stock pot works too.

Serves 40

5 lbs Turkey Burger (such as 93/7 Turkey Store Brand)

1 – 48 oz bottle of V-8 Tomato Juice

4 – 30.5 oz cans of Brooks Chili Beans (Hot or Mild depending on your taste, 2 of each suggested)

3 packets of McCormicks chili seasoning packets

2 – 15.5 cans Great Northern Beans

2 – 15.25 oz cans Black Beans

2 – 15.5 oz cans Light Red Kidney Beans

2 – 28 oz cans Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 – 20 oz can Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

2 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp onion powder

1/8 cup of Chili powder

 

Brown the 5 lbs of turkey burger in a frying pan, and cook down until all liquid evaporates, using a potato masher to break the meat into small pieces.

Pour the container of V-8 into the roaster. Add the browned turkey and all 3 packets of seasoning. Stir. Add all four cans of Brook’s Chili beans, DO NOT drain and stir to combine. Gently mix in the petite diced tomatoes and Rotel tomatoes with chillies.

Open all Great Northern, Black and Kidney beans. Pour beans into a colander and lightly rinse. Pour beans into roaster and gently combine with meat mixture. Sprinkle mixture with garlic, onion and chili powder. Stir.

Cook 3-4 hours on medium low heat with lid off, stirring periodically. Be careful not to boil.

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, crackers and diced onion… And enjoy your party!

 

Harvest Chili

This is the ultimate harvest chili. It’s loaded with autumn vegetables and goodness such as sweet potatoes, onions, apples, and turkey. It looks like the prettiest fall tree color-changing picture (in abstract food form) ever! It’s really healthy, so some of you are going to love that. For the rest of you, don’t let that hold you back because it’s also delicious. It’s a little spicy, a little sweet, a bountiful treat. And if I may, I think the ground turkey could easily be substituted with leftover Thanksgiving turkey… which would be awesome. Just sayin’.

As organic as possible:

2 large Orange sweet peppers, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, roughly chopped

4 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped

2 pounds ground turkey

1 large Onion

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground Black pepper

1 Tbsp Chili powder

1 Tbsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

1 – 15 oz can Pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 – 14.5 oz cans Red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 14.5 oz can diced Tomatoes

4 cups Chicken broth

1 Tbsp sugar* (I think this adds balance, but if you prefer healthier leave it out)

2 Sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces

2 medium tart Apples (such as Granny Smith)

*Spicy Chipotle seasoned Pine nuts (Recipe follows), Optional

Place orange peppers, chipotle peppers, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven brown turkey with onion, salt and pepper. Drain excess fat (but a little left is okay). Add pepper-garlic mix, stir and cook about 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, pinto and kidney beans, and chicken broth. (Side note: This much can be made ahead and allowed to simmer as long as needed until about 35 minutes before serving.)

Stir in sweet potatoes and apples. Bring to boiling and reduce to simmer, about 25-30 minutes until sweet potato is tender. Taste for seasonings. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, about 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with Spicy Chipotle Seasoned Pine Nuts (Optional), or corn chips. Enjoy!

Spicy Chipotle Pine Nuts

2 Tbsp Butter

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Water

1 tsp ground Chipotle chili pepper

1 tsp snipped fresh Rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp Celery salt

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1 1/2 cups Pine nuts

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside. In a small saucepan melt butter, add Worcestershire sauce, water, chipotle pepper, rosemary, celery salt, and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes. Stir in pine nuts and remove from heat.  When well coated, spread onto prepared baking sheet and bake about 10-15 minutes (shaking pan a couple times in-between), until lightly toasted. Sprinkle with salt while warm. (Side note: Nuts can be prepared ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They are delicious on their own, and would be a nice addition on top of a salad too!)

This recipe has been adapted, tweaked, and changed from a Chipotle Harvest Chili recipe I found a few years ago in a Midwest Living Magazine. I think it’s perfection.

If you were going to use leftover turkey, I would sauté onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil for a couple minutes. Add pepper-garlic mixture and let cook 5 minutes more. Then add turkey with the tomatoes, broth, etc., and follow the remaining instructions.

 

 

Sue’s Mexican Chicken

One of the first times I went to eat at my in-laws to-be, Owen requested we eat Mexican Chicken. I love ethnic food fusions, blending two cuisines together. This dish reminds me of a Mexican chicken lasagna. It is loaded with fantastic flavor. I mean really, the depth of flavor is extraordinary. It’s creamy and cheesy; it’s full of veggies and tender pieces of chicken. It’s still one of Owen’s favorites.

As organic as possible:

2 bone-in Chicken breasts

4 large Flour tortillas

2 cans Condensed cream of chicken soup (I like Pacific organic; which actually comes in a cardboard container)

12 oz Cheddar cheese

1 15 oz can Chili (I like Amy’s organic)

1/2 cup Onion, diced

1/2 cup Green pepper, diced

1/2 cup sliced Black olives

1 can diced Tomatoes with chilies

*Divide the ingredients in half

Sour cream for serving (optional)

Boil the chicken until tender, saving the broth. In the mean time preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (I like organic olive or canola oil), set aside. Shred the chicken into bite size pieces. Briefly dip the tortillas into the broth and line the baking pan, covering the bottom and sides. Begin layering with 1 of the soups, half of the chili, onion, green pepper, olives, chicken, and cheese. Repeat the process again beginning with tortillas, except this time top with tomatoes and green chilis (and a few more olives if you’d like). Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until bubbly. Allow to cool slightly and set before serving. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

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The organic cheddar I used is white, so yours may look a little different depending. Regardless, I just want to grab a spoon and go for it.

Kid-Friendly Chili

In our family tradition of chili making, the beans are as essential as the meat. In fact, it wasn’t until adulthood that I even found out that people made it without beans! Something I will bend the rule on, however, is heat; as in spicy heat. Since I have a few little tummies to fill, our chili has to work for everyone in the house; which also means no visible chunks of tomatoes. I happen to like chunks of tomatoes in mine and I like it broth-y. I think this stems from elementary school lunch when I used to dip the paired peanut butter sandwich in it. (I own it. And I’ve added that option.) But my family’s preferences have influenced and shaped what our recipe is today… We think it’s perfect.

Serves 6

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion diced

3-4 cloves garlic minced

1 ¼ pound ground beef (this is a great time to use lean meat, like 92/8)

2 tsp salt

¾ tsp freshly ground pepper

1- 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 hearty pinch of sugar

2- 15 oz cans red kidney beans

1- 15 oz can tri-bean blend

1- 15 oz can diced tomatoes (optional)

Tabasco sauce to taste (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot (or Dutch oven). Sauté the onions for about 2-3 minutes add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes more. Add the beef and add half of the salt and pepper (because I am an advocate in seasoning your beef while it is cooking, especially in chili). Let the beef just turn almost completely brown (it will continue to cook, but you don’t want it overdone,) and drain off excess fat. Keep in mind if you are using lean meat that fat is flavor and a little left in the pot is ok… don’t get it dry. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano and sugar. Stir and let mingle for a few minutes. Then add one whole can of beans including the bean liquid. (I love using the bean liquid for a thickening agent, because it’s already bean flavored and since a use organic beans I’m not worried about it.) Now add the next two cans of beans rinsed and drained, because we don’t need the extra liquid. If you and your family like chunks of tomatoes in your chili, add that now too; and maybe another pinch of sugar for balance. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, and add the remaining salt and pepper. If you want a little heat, add a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste. Let cool slightly before serving.

This hearty soup is great in the fall when things start to get cool and all winter long. It’s also perfect in Michigan in late May and early June… when it’s 60 degrees and blustery outside. My kids like their chili with oyster crackers. Owen likes it with corn chips, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. I love chili with corn bread; corn bread or peanut butter sandwiches. Serve with the prepared toppings and sides of your choice… And enjoy!