Tomatillo White Bean Chicken Chili

Chock full of beans, spicy peppers and tender chicken, this chili is something spicy to brighten up your day. I have brought it to work often year round, and every time I heat it up in the microwave, people are inevitably drawn to the staff room by the smell.

“Oh my goodness,” they peer into the bowl and inhale deeply, “What ARE YOU EATING? It smells amazing!” Honestly it really does. I’d daresay I’m addicted to this chili, if I were to be completely truthful. I’ve made it more times last year than any other soup or stew. Besides the fact that it’s delicious, it also packs really well in a lunch box and stands up to the freezer, which is a must in my house.

Tomatillos, which were a mystery to me at the grocery store, can be found in the produce section. In Superstore I found them with their papery husks removed, encased in plastic film on a styrofoam tray. In Save on Foods, they are often in a basket with the paper husks still hiding the green fruit within.

What is a tomatillo, you ask? Check out this great article from What's Cooking America. They look like a green tomato once you peel off the husk, but they are actually related to a gooseberry.

You don’t have to do much with them in this recipe other than wash and the roast the tomatillos and a hot pepper in the oven before chopping and adding to the pot. They add some wonderful flavour and your tomato hating children may let mild (and yet tasty!) tomatillos pass without knowing what they are. Use this to your advantage!

A word about hot peppers while we are here; always start small. I usually use 1/2 of a seeded hot chile, and that’s enough for me. You can use more if you wish, and here is where you may want to experiment a little so that you can judge for yourself and your family how much heat is appropriate. Also, be sure to prick the pepper well with a knife before you roast it; otherwise, the little thing will explode all over your oven and you’ll have nothing left for your chili. Roasting the chile allows flavour without as much bite. If you choose to not roast the chile but instead saute it along with the onions (which I have done before when I forgot the roasting step), be sure to use caution. Not only are those hot pepper juices going to make your dish hotter than if you roasted it, but I’ve had long lasting burning sensations in my fingers just from handling hot peppers for chopping. Not to mention if you forget and rub your lips or eyes-ouch! Gloves would probably be a good idea. I remove the seeds of the chile, and therefore a good deal of the heat, but I’m finding that the chiles I’ve been using still have a good amount of bite even without the seeds.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients: 

1/2 -1 hot chile (I use the mixed hot Gusto ones from Windset Farms)
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 lb  to 1 lb of fresh tomatillos
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot starch, mixed w/ 2 Tbsp cold chicken broth OR 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
small can of green chiles
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups white beans (cannelli or white kidney beans, or other small white bean)
1 lime

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.


2. Score the bottom of each tomatillo with a knife in an X shape and give the hot pepper a good stab or two. If you don’t do this, they will explode in your oven as they roast.

3. Roast the tomatillos and peppers for about 15-20 minutes until they are softened and browned a little. Once they are cool enough to handle, chop the tomatillos and hot pepper. While you are waiting, chop the stems off the bunch of cilantro and set the leaves aside. Chop up the stems finely.

The roasted tomatillos become all browned and squidgy, just perfect to chop for a chili

4. In a large, deep skillet, saute the chicken thighs over medium heat with a bit of oil until browned on both sides; remove to a plate and set aside. Once they are cool enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces.

5. Add the onions, sweet red pepper, garlic, hot chile, and cilantro stems to the pan. Stir and cook until softened and fragrant; about 3 – 4 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, salt, pepper and coriander. Continue to saute about a minute longer.

6. Sprinkle flour (if using. If not, skip this step) over the vegetable mixture and continue to stir and cook another minute or so. Gently add the broth, stirring and loosening up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. If you are using arrowroot starch mixed with a little cold chicken broth as your thickener, add it here. Stir and heat through.The mixture will thicken slightly.

7. Add the beans, roasted tomatillos, roasted hot pepper, canned green chilies, and chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.

8. Before serving, zest the lime over the pot before cutting it in half and squeezing in the juice. Chop the cilantro leaves and add to the chili just before serving. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You can top the chili with crushed tortilla chips and/or avocado slices when serving, if you like.

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Easiest Leek and Potato Soup

Sometimes, you just need something fast and easy for dinner. This week is fairly busy, and now that I'm back into the swing of things after being sick, I really didn't want to be loaded down with lots of dinner prep.

This soup is really very easy and doesn't use a lot of ingredients; in fact, I'll bet you have most of them floating around your pantry somewhere. I paired it with mushrooms on toast, which I'll be writing about next week. You definitely want THAT recipe; super easy, cheap, and oh my goodness so delicious.

The soup has a decidedly onion-y flavour to it, so if you are opposed to that, maybe use 1 less leek and an extra potato. The measurements are kind of approximate, because you can't really go wrong here. Add a little hot sauce, if you wish. More stock, if it's too thick. You'll figure it out.

Ingredients:

1 large russet or Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
2 leeks, washed and sliced
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 1/2-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
a few sprigs of thyme (or about 1/2 tsp dried)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large, deep, frypan, saute the leek and onion together in a bit of olive oil until softened and translucent.  Add the thyme, and the peeled and chopped potato. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup about 10-15 minutes, until the potato pieces are softened.

Take the pan off the heat and let the soup cool. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Whiz up the soup in a blender (be careful if it's hot!) and pour back into the pan, re-heating before tucking in. We had ours sprinkled with a little fresh parsley, alongside mushrooms on toast. Kevin suggested that it would be very good with a grilled cheese sandwich, or you could try it with toasted crusty bread and a poached egg. However you choose to enjoy it, the soup is a nice quick dinner on a cold, blustery day.

Serves 2-3
Adapted from Save with Jamie

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Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

The holidays are over and now you have had your fill of all things rich and/or sweet. It's crazy cold out there, you are back into the swing of things with kids at school, and need something that can be rustled up in a hurry. This soup is just the thing.

Just toss everything in the slow cooker, go do your thing, and come home to delicious soup simmering away, all ready to go! I make a pot, then take it to work with some crackers and cheese. I'm not even a veggie soup fan but the pesto added at the end makes this extra delicious. You could even add a bit of crumbled bacon if you wanted, which might add some great flavor!

If you prefer the veggies in your soup to be tender crisp, don't cook it as long. These ones cook up really soft and tender. Cooking the pasta separately and adding it when you want to eat will keep it from going mushy.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
bay leaf
4 oz green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch long pieces
1 can of chic peas (I used a 19 oz can), drained and rinsed
one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used an Italian spiced version)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
6 cups of veggie or chicken stock, or a mixture
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of pesto
1/2 cup uncooked macaroni

Directions:

Turn the slowcooker to high and add about 2 tsp of oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot, cover and allow to cook while you assemble the other ingredients.

Stir in the green beans, bay leaf, chic peas, tomatoes, zucchini, and chicken stock. Cover and allow to simmer on low for 6-7 hours.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions, on your stove top. Drain. Add the macaroni and pesto to the soup just before serving.

Makes 6 servings

 Adapted from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson

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Spiced Creamy Carrot and Coconut Soup

Often I like to make soup to take to work. On cold days when I'm shivering out in the drizzle supervising children on the playground, the best thing is coming into the staff room to a hot lunch. This creamy soup has no dairy in it, and has a little zing of spice from the chili sauce. The drizzle on top is actually sweet chili sauce, which you can add if you like-it was more for the photo than anything, but was really tasty.

Carrots were on sale this week for only $.50 a pound for a big 5 lb bag, so it only made sense in my quest for a lower grocery bill to buy some and turn them into soup for lunches.With a can of coconut milk and a little chicken broth, it was surprisingly inexpensive to make and tasted incredibly creamy and rich. To cut the calories a little you could use lower fat coconut milk, and to make it dairy free, a bit of oil or margarine would be a great substitute for butter. Still, I could happily eat this soup all week. It's definitely a favorite in my house now.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 lb carrots, peeled
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
one 14 oz can coconut milk
Thai chili sauce to taste  (I used a hot Asian chili sauce-only about 1 tsp!)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the onions and carrots, and saute, stirring, until softened, for about 15-20 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, coconut milk and a bit of the chili sauce. I use about 1 tsp, but you can go as spicy as you want.

Bring the soup to a gentle boil, before turning the heat down and letting the soup simmer for about 40 minutes until the carrots are very tender. Let cool slightly.

In a blender, puree the soup until smooth. Pour back into a clean pot and heat gently until warm. Serve garnished with a little chopped fresh cilantro, and sweet Thai chili sauce drizzled over top,  if you like.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

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Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Bacon Jam

When I was a kid, I had braces on my teeth for about three years. Getting them tightened always meant a lot of tooth pain, and inability to eat anything other than the softest foods. Back in those days, it usually meant sipping some soup. I will admit that by the time my three years were up, I hated tomato soup with a passion.

The thing is, the only tomato soup I knew came pre-made from a can. I had never, ever, had tomato soup made from scratch. A few weeks ago when the pantry was getting a bit low, I found a can of tomatoes in the back and decided that I'd try making my own, sort of on a riff of a recipe I found, but also just out of my head. Then I remembered we had some bacon jam in the freezer so I dug that out, slathered it on bread with slices of cheese and grilled the works. The result was bacon studded grilled cheese and hot tomato soup to dip them in, with Kevin and I licking our fingers and smacking our lips the whole dinner through.

I think I love tomato soup again.

Serves: 2

Time to prepare: about 10 minutes

Time cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

one 28 oz can tomatoes ( I used diced)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
olive oil 
1-2 Tbsp herbes de Provence
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2-1 tsp of honey (or more to taste)

Directions:

Over medium low heat, saute the onion in a bit of olive oil until softened. Add the garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Don't let it brown! Stir in the herbes de Provence, and then the tomatoes, chicken broth, honey, tomato pate, and a bit of salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer and let it bubble on the stove for about 20 minutes or so.

Using a handheld blender or your counter blender, whiz up the soup so it's fairly smooth. Or you can leave chunky bits, that might be good too! If you are doing it in a blender on your stove top, be careful. Make sure to only fill the blender about 1/2 full and use the lid! You would never want to have hot soup flying everywhere.

Serve with the bacon jam grilled cheese sandwiches to dunk in the soup.  We had about a bowl leftover, but you can easily double and play around with the ingredients in this soup. It's not rocket science, and this is more or less just a guide.

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Spiced Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk

Lentils, according to one of my favourite chefs, are one of Canada's most under appreciated ingredients. Cheap, healthy and filling, they really should be in your pantry. This soup was very easy to make and I had everything already in my pantry! I love the mild curry flavour with the coconut milk. It's really filling, freezes well, and packs nicely in a lunchbox.

How low can you go tip: If you roast a whole chicken, make stock out of the carcass and then freeze it to make this soup at a later date. Also, coconut milk and tomato paste freeze really well so you can keep them around to use in other recipes as well.

Ingredients:

10 oz (1 1/2 cups) dried split red lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1-2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 Tbsp tomato paste
5 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup coconut milk

Directions:

In a large soup pot, saute the onion in olive oil until lightly browned and softened. Add the garlic and continue to saute for about a minute more, stirring and taking care not to burn it.

Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala, ginger, and tumeric. Toast the spices a bit, stirring, over the heat. Stir in the tomato paste as well and then the lentils.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil, then turn down and simmer, uncovered for about 25-30 minutes. You may need to watch and top up with some chicken broth if it gets too thick as the lentils cook and expand. It will get really thick, almost like oatmeal, but don't add too much broth because in the end you are going to add some coconut milk.

When the soup is cooked, puree half of it in a blender or food processor. Pour the pureed soup back into the pot and add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of coconut milk. Heat through.

Serve with chopped cilantro to garnish.

Makes 4-6 servings

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay

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French Onion Squash Soup

Ever since I was a child, French onion soup has been my favourite. Maybe it's the cap of stringy cheese, the bread, or possibly the rich broth, but every time I went out for soup to a restaurant I always ordered French onion.

For ages I always wanted to make it at home, but I never did have the right kind of bowls until this summer, someone on Twitter pointed out to me that French onion soup bowls are almost always at the thrift store. I had never been to the thrift stores here in Chilliwack but finally I decided to visit and voila! Two French onion soup bowls for $2. Works for me! This soup has a bit of a twist on the usual French onion, it includes some butternut squash. I like the squash, but I think it would be just as good without so do be sure to try it both ways. What I also really like about this is that it's much less salty than restaurant versions,which is really nice.

Now having said all that, where you shouldn't skimp is the cider or the cheese. I'm not much of a drinker-I enjoy the occasional glass of red wine and I abhor beer, but hard cider is something I love. Lonetree is my brand of choice, and you can buy it either hard or non-alcoholic. If you can't find Lonetree where you live, just something that is fairly dry will do the trick.  You could do apple juice, but it might make things a bit sweeter than it should. Also get a really good gouda, one that you'd want to just eat by the chunkful, and you'll be laughing. Trust me, it's totally worth it.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
4 onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch grated nutmeg
5 cups beef stock
1 cup apple cider
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 cup cubed, peeled,butternut squash
12 slices (3/4 inch thick) baguette
2 cups shredded gouda
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are evenly browned-about 20 minutes. Turn the heat down if the bottom of the pan starts to get too browned. Stir in the flour, thyme, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and cook for about a minute, then add the stock, apple cider, and vinegar.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in the butternut squash. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or so, covered, until the squash is really tender.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

Ladle the soup into French onion soup bowls. Top each with two slices of baguette, about 1/3 cup gouda, and a sprinkle of the fresh Parmesan. Place the soup bowls onto a rimmed baking sheet and place into the oven. Bake them for about 15 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Makes six servings.

Adapted from Canadian Living

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White Bean, Bacon and Spinach Pot Pies

Did you survive back to school craziness? In my house back to school also means back to work for me (this year I'm working with grade sixes), and Kevin is starting grade 12.

I cannot even begin to express my excitement over the very idea of him being finished school. If you really want to know why, you can read about a gazillion posts over on Notes From the Cookie Jar. In the end, we know you're not here to discuss school, you came for a recipe, right?

Of course. Fall is coming. You can feel it in the air, can't you? That cool tinge, the dry leaves already on the ground, and the crazy thunderstorms working their way across the Lower Mainland are all clues. We're not used to thunderstorms and have spent a few nights the last couple weeks on our back porch, watching the sky light up and listening to the crack of thunder. I've started making more fall-type food as well.

Pot pies, usually made with chicken in my house, are a favourite but this time I wanted to try them with beans, veggies, and bacon. The original recipe had a home made pastry top as well but in the craziness of errands and back to school, one night I found myself staring at it and resolving that I was not going to be a slave to my kitchen, so I substituted phyllo instead. Light and crispy, it seemed to be the ideal topping. I must confess that I've never been a huge fan of pastry, so phyllo seemed to be the perfect alternative-and on a busy night, you bet that it is. You could still add chicken to this if you wanted-just throw in some leftover cooked bits if you have them floating around in your fridge somewhere. You can also use swiss chard instead of spinach, and make the whole thing dairy free if you want. It's that easy!

Ingredients:

4 oz (115 grams) of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (8-10 oz) thinly sliced baby spinach or  Swiss chard leaves
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed

3 1/2  tbsp butter (to be dairy free, you can use margarine or bacon fat)
3 1/2 tbsp flour
3 1/4 cups chicken broth

3 sheets of phyllo pastry
olive oil

Bake your bacon in the oven. While the bacon is cooking away, it's a good time to chop all your veggies. Drain a little of the fat off the bacon into a deep fry pan and set over medium heat. Saute the onion, carrot, celery, red pepper flakes, and garlic until softened. Stir it frequently so that the garlic doesn't burn and turn the heat down if it appears to be a bit hotter than it should be.Stir in the spinach or swiss chard leaves and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until they are wilted.

When the veggies are cooked, transfer them to a bowl and set aside. By now your bacon should be cooked as well. Drain on paper towels, chop and add to the bowl of veggies along with the beans.

In the pan that you cooked the veggies in, add the butter and set it over medium low heat until it is completely melted. You could, if you wish to make this dairy free, use the leftover bacon drippings instead. Stir in the flour. Continue to cook and stir a bit until it becomes a little browned. Begin adding the broth, little by little, stirring well as you go, to keep it smooth. When you have added all the broth bring the sauce to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow the mixture to continue to bubble away, stirring it frequently, for about 10 minutes until it's thickened.

Stir in the bacon, bean and veggie mixture, stirring until blended and heated through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if you feel it's needed. Stir in the fresh thyme. Take the pan off the heat and set aside. Ladle the stew into 4 or 5 oven proof bowls.

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.

Unroll a sheet of phyllo as pictured below. Brush half of it lightly with olive oil.



Fold it in half, enclosing the part brushed with olive oil inside.


Brush half of it with oil again, and fold again.


You will end up with a rectangle or square of phyllo. Lay it on top of the bowl of stew, letting the sides hang over the edge. Brush the pieces hanging off lightly with olive oil and fold in the edges to make it look neat.


Place the bowls on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they are browned and crispy.

    When I eat mine, I like to remove the top and holding the phyllo, spoon the stew on top, biting into the crispy phyllo with the creamy beans and salty bacon. It makes for a little bit messy, but really delicious dinner.

This recipe makes four servings, and you can make the stew a day ahead if you need to.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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Leek, Bean,Bacon, and Chorizo Soup

I'm a big fan of soups for lunch and often can be found making a huge pot on the weekend to freeze in individual sized containers, all ready to be thawed and taken for lunch when I work on weekdays.  When I first made this soup it was good, but Kevin and I agreed that it was missing something.  The next time I made it I replaced the water with home made vegetable stock, which elevated the flavor from just 'good' to 'give me more!'.  Making your own veggie stock is not only easy but economical, and in this case it also helps you use up those dark green parts of the leeks that you may otherwise throw away.

Chorizo sausage adds some wonderful smoky spice to this soup as well.  When we lived on the Sunshine Coast it was easy to find fresh chorizo that I could slip out of the casings and cook to add to chili, soups, and more but now that we live in the Fraser Valley I'm having a hard time sourcing some out.  After a lot of looking around I found a sliced, dried chorizo at Save On Foods and added that to the soup.  If you can't find chorizo don't worry too much-you can substitute another kind of sausage or even just use more bacon.  If you use a fresh, spicy sausage I think it would be good to get them out of the casings and fry up, then transfer to paper towel after you do the bacon and then use the same pan for the veggies.  If you find a dried sausage, just add it when chorizo is listed in the recipe. 

5 bacon strips, sliced into small pieces
2 leeks, white and green parts only, washed well and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped small
3/4 cup butternut squash, chopped to 1/2 inch dice (or substitute another carrot)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tbsp tomato paste
5 cups vegetable stock
125 grams (or more if you wish) dried chorizo sausage, diced (optional-if you can't find it, substitute a spicy sausage or even more bacon)
2 cups cooked white beans
1 bay leaf
fresh cracked pepper
Italian parsley, chopped 

In a large soup pot, saute up your bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Drain off the fat, leaving about a tablespoon or two in the pot. Add the leeks, carrots, squash, and garlic, sauteing over medium heat and stirring to keep them from burning.  Turn down the heat if you need to, but you want to cook the veggies until they are softened.  Add the tomato paste and continue to stir and saute for another two minutes or so.  Slowly pour in the stock, stirring to bring up all the little bits from the bottom of the pot, and then add the marjoram, pepper, beans, chorizo, and bay leaf.  Bring the soup to a boil before turning the heat down and allowing it all to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Taste and add salt, if you need to-I often use much less that what is called for in recipes, and the bacon and sausage add some as well.  Stir in a handful of Italian parsley and serve.

Makes four servings

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Chicken Corn Chowder with Bacon and Cheddar

I've always liked corn chowder. There's something about a creamy, hearty, thick soup with bits of bacon and vegetables that is really tasty after a long motorcycle ride. John and I went out today and wound our way along the Sunshine Coast Highway, drinking in views of the ocean in the crisp spring air. Once back home, I whipped this up and we ate it with thick slices of baguette to dip in the sauce. You could fry up a little extra bacon to use as a garnish, but I admit I ate the extra piece. This soup is a great way to use up any leftover chicken or turkey you could have hanging around, as well as home made stock. I didn't have any, so I used pre-made stock and poached a bit of chicken.

Adapted from Spilling the Beans

3 slices bacon, chopped 

1 onion, finely chopped 

1 stalk celery, chopped 

2 Tbsp flour 

1 tsp cumin 

4 cups chicken stock 

1 red skinned potato, diced 

2 cups white beans, rinsed and drained 

12 oz (341 ml) can of corn (or you can use 1 ½ cups of frozen/ fresh corn cut right off some cobs 

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken 

½ cup whipping cream 

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese 

 In a large soup pot, fry up the bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels and blot. 

 In the same pot using the bacon grease, sauté the onion and celery until tender. Stir in the flour and cumin for about a minute, then add the stock, potato, and beans. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then turn down to medium low and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10-15 minutes. 

Taste your bits of potato to make sure they are as tender as you like. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cream, bacon, corn, cheese, and chicken. Stir well and put back on the heat to warm through, but don’t let it boil. 

Makes 6 servings

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Spicy Chicken and Tiny Beans

Last summer, when we were in Rapid City I ordered the best white chicken chili at the Firehouse Restaurant. Spicy, creamy, and delicious, I needed to recreate it's tasty goodness once I arrived home. The thing is, re-creating a dish is a bit tricky and it doesn't always capture the tasty goodness that we had in the restaurant. This chili isn't very spicy, as we didn't want to scare the non-spicy eaters of the house. It's a very mild dish, but feel free to bump up the flavors however you need to. I suggest adding some chopped pickled jalapeno peppers, which I'm sure will add some amazing flavor!  For this recipe you can use any white beans, but I used Great Northern ones.

3 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 fresh  jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cans (they are small-maybe a 4 oz size?) of chopped green chiles
2 cans (19 oz each)  of white beans, or 4 cups of cooked white beans.
4-5 cups of unsalted chicken broth
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
salt and pepper
lime
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp cornmeal
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
Chopped fresh cilantro

In a large saucepan, saute the onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, and fresh jalapeno in a little bit of oil until soft and translucent.  Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside on a plate, briefly.  Make sure you have a little oil in the pan and toss in your cubed chicken thighs. Over medium heat, stir them around until they are browned.  Add the vegetables back into the pan along with the cumin, paprika, a little cayenne if you wish, salt, and pepper, stirring and cooking about a minute or so more to bring out the flavor of the spices.

Pour in about 4 cups of chicken broth, beans, and canned chiles. Give it a good stir and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and cornmeal.  Stir into the chili along with the thawed corn,  and continue to heat until warmed through.  If you need more liquid, add the remaining cup of chicken broth. Zest the lime right into the pot, then cut it in half and squeeze the juice in.  Taste and correct for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if you feel you need it.

Serve topped with fresh cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, and shredded Pepper Jack cheese.

Makes about 6 servings

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Roasted Tomato Soup

When I was a teenager with braces on my teeth, every six weeks or so my Mom and I would drive the hour or so up to Williams Lake and get my braces tightened.  Usually, the new wires would make my teeth so sore that there was little I could comfortably eat, so often I settled for canned tomato soup.

Years later, I still don't like tomato soup all that much.  Now that I'm an adult I can make my own tomato soup, but I have often still found it to be pretty devoid of flavor, watery, and not something I'd normally choose.

Recently, I got my hands on a copy of Julie's new cookbook Spilling the Beans, and in it was this recipe.  What makes it different?  Not only are you using tomatoes in three different ways (paste, roasted, sundried), you making the soup thick by adding lentils and steel cut oats.  Oats?  In soup?  Trust me on this one, it's really delicious, filling, and freezes well.

A word on the tomatoes: make sure they are the best you can buy.  I swear by Italian brands of tomatoes such as Italissima because they have little, if any, added salt, and the juice isn't just a watery mixture but instead, a thick tomato juice.   Also, steel cut oats are also known as pin head oats, if you are having difficulty finding them.

Adapted from Spilling the Beans

2 cans (28 oz each) whole tomatoes
Olive oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 onions, chopped
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 Tbsp finely chopped sun dried tomatoes (oil packed)
1 cup dry red lentils
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/3 cup steel cut oats

Pre heat your oven to 425 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil.

Open the cans of tomatoes and drain them well, reserving the juice.  Taking the whole tomatoes, give them a little squeeze to slice them open and let the juice drain out of them as well.  Then take the whole tomatoes and place them on the baking sheet in a single layer, spreading them out so they have room to roast.  Drizzle olive oil on them and then sprinkle with the brown sugar, some salt and pepper. 

Place the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.  The pan will become blackened in places, but don't worry-it's really great for your tomatoes, and with all that tin foil you'll have easy clean up. Add the garlic cloves and roast for another 10-20 minutes, until the garlic cloves are soft.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a big soup pot, saute your chopped onion in oil until it's soft and translucent.  Add in the  tomato paste, reserved tomato juice, stock, sundried tomatoes, herbs, and lentils.  Using a spoon or fork, smash up the roasted tomatoes and garlic into smaller pieces before adding them to the pot as well. Bring to a simmer for about 15 min before adding the oats, and simmer for about 10-15 min more until everything is tender and cooked through.

Makes 8 servings

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Braised Chicken Thighs and Beans

While I was at Blissdom Canada, I had the luck of meeting Julie from Dinner with Julie.  (go check out her blog, it's fabulous!)  Soon after, a copy of her cookbook Spilling the Beans arrived in my mailbox, and I've been happily trying a bunch of recipes ever since.  We eat a lot of beans and grains in our house, as it's one of the very few things that everyone in my house will eat!

I highly recommend this book-not only is it beautiful to look at, the food that I've tried so far has been really delicious. My family loved this recipe, and so did I! We did leave out the fried capers for the topping, although they are in my picture.  I didn't mind them so much but nobody else wanted them.  If you'd like to try them, let me know and I can include them below.  I think the recipe would be just as good without them. 

Adapted From Spilling the Beans

2 slices bacon, diced
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed (although recipe calls for bone-in thighs, and you could use them because they are cheaper, boneless would save you time)
1 large onion, sliced
1 large red pepper, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
4 cups cooked white beans (or two 19 oz cans, drained and rinsed)
salt and pepper to taste

Using a large pot, fry up the bacon until crisp.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  In the same pan, fry up the chicken thighs until they are browned on both sides.  Remove them to plate.  Still using the same pan (because all that stuff on the bottom is GOLD and lots of flavor!), fry up the onions and red pepper over med low-medium heat, scraping up all that goodness from the bottom of the pan.  When the onions are soft, add the garlic and cook just a little longer, about a minute.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, beans, some salt and pepper to taste, then the bacon and nestle the pieces of chicken in.  Bring to a simmer and then turn down the heat, cover, and let it cook away for about 30 minutes.  Make sure to check it now and then, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.

If you used bone in chicken thighs, when the stew is done and the thighs are cooked through, you then transfer them out of the stew to a plate, allow them to cool so that you can handle them, and pull all the meat off.  Add the meat back to the stew and stir.  If you aren't using bone-in thighs, still pull them out of the stew and shred, but you should have it easier.

Serve the stew over rice or noodles.  I think it would also be great served up in a bowl with hunks of crusty bread and slices of cheese!  Top with fresh shredded basil, if desired.

Serves 6-8

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Chicken Carrot Stew

It's funny how recipes without pictures just seem unappetizing. I had noticed this one in my Bon Appetit magazine, but without a picture, there was no sense of urgency to make it, as there sometimes is with other things. When I came home from work today tired, hungry, and in a hurry, I began chopping and stirring seemingly on autopilot; but at some point I stopped.

Inhaled deeply.

Slowly licked every morsel from a spoon.

Smiled.

This stew is creamy, chock full of sweet carrots, tender chicken, and so full of flavor. I dare say it's my favorite chicken stew . My guys wolfed it down and Kevin quickly laid claim to the tiny bit of leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, which brings me to the one thing WRONG with this recipe.

It doesn't make enough. At four servings, you might want to increase this a bit if you want leftovers like I do, but like a good Mom I'm sending with Kevin to school tomorrow.

*sigh* I'll be eating a sandwich and dreaming of this stew.

Adapted from Bon Appetit April 2011

2 cups 1/4 inch thick carrot pieces-peeled and cut into rounds (about 3-4 carrots)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and light green part only-about 2 medium), rinsed well
1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tbsp flour
sea salt
pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Get a good sized pot of water boiling on the stove, and then add your carrots to it. Let them cook about 3 minutes, then add your sliced and rinsed leeks. Continue to cook another 3 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, stir the flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme together in a small bowl. Toss with your pieces of chicken until the chicken is well coated.

Over medium heat in a skillet, heat up some olive oil and add the chicken to the pan. You might have to do this in batches so that your chicken gets nicely browned, setting the browned bits aside on a plate as you go. Once your chicken is all browned, pour in the wine and allow it to reduce by half. Then add the chicken broth and sprinkle over your cooked carrots and leeks. Top with a lid, turn the heat down to low, and simmer it for about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cream and Dijon, heating gently through. Garnish with chopped parsley, then taste and correct for seasoning.

Makes 4 servings

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Butternut Squash and Chorizo Soup

Truth be told, I haven't been a fan of any of Jamie's soups from his Food Revolution Cookbook. Oh sure, they were okay but there seemed to be something missing. This soup, chock full of smokey sausage, sweet squash and a hint of curry is hands down one of my favorite recipes in the entire book. I made a few small changes, namely not pureeing the whole thing but reserving some delicious chunky veggies to add a little more texture, and using butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.

Amazing. But be warned, the soup does get hotter from the curry and chorizo as it sits, so be prepared!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 heaped tsp curry powder
6 cups chicken stock
300 grams of chorizo sausage, chopped into bite sized pieces

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, squash,and chorizo. Give it a good stir, and then add in the curry, and mix it well to coat. Turn the heat to about medium, and put the lid on the pot slightly askew. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, checking and stirring every now and then to make sure that it's all cooking and nothing is burning. The veggies will go all soft and delicious smelling, at which point you will be tempted to just stick your head into the pot and slurp up all these soft, spicy, deliciously fragrant vegetables.

Meanwhile, heat up the chicken stock in another pot so that it's good and hot.

Once your veggies are softened to the point where the carrots are soft but still hold their shape, pour in the broth. I have reduced the amount in this recipe, but you can always feel free to add more. I like my soup fairly thick, so you can eyeball it at this point. Give it a good stir to loosen any tasty bits that may have found their way to the bottom of the soup pot. Simmer gently for a few minutes to make sure all the veggies are cooked through.

Now, at this point you can go about your soup two ways. You can, theoretically, use a blender or an immersion blender to blitz the whole thing into submission and silky smoothness. Or, if you are like me and adore a more chunky soup, get a slotted spoon and fish out about 1/3 - 1/2 of the bits of veggie and sausage. Set them aside in a bowl, then process the remaining soup until smooth. Add the reserved veggies and sausage back to the soup, give it a stir, and there you go. Done!

Makes 4-5 servings

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French Onion Soup

French onion soup as always been one of my favorite things to order in a restaurant. Maybe it's all that melty cheese the drips down the side of the bowl and gets all stringy on your fingers, but whatever it is, French onion wins the prize for my soup favorite.

The other day I had a craving, but I'm without those nifty soup bowls that can go under the broiler. What's a girl to do? Just toast the bread with the cheese and plop on top of the soup, silly. Which works in theory, yes. But I still want my own set of nifty onion soup bowls.

A word about the onions; in my research, I found that Walla walla and Vidalia onions are way too sweet for this soup, so avoid using them.

Now, I'm told that French onion soup actually tastes better if you let it sit a day, and after experimenting with my own I agree. Make this a day ahead, and you'll have it all ready to go right when you need it!

Adapted from Michael Smith

onions:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp oil
5 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
splash of water

broth:
1/2 cup brandy (or apple juice)
3 cups chicken broth
sprigs of fresh thyme
3 cups beef broth (because I didn't have all chicken, and it was delicious!)
4 slices of your favorite bread, toasted and trimmed so it will fit into the bowls
2 cups of grated Swiss cheese

In a large, deep pan, melt the butter over medium high heat and add the oil to it. Dump in all your onions and add a splash of water (about a few tablespoons), season with a little salt and pepper, then cover with a lid and let simmer away for about 10 minutes.

The water should evaporate; my onions had a lot of liquid in them so it didn't for quite awhile. Remove the lid, turn the heat down to medium low, and keep cooking the onions, stirring occasionally. They will slowly caramelize and turn a deep brown, over the course of about an hour. Give them some love because this is where the flavor for your soup comes from!

In a pot, measure the broths, brandy, and a few springs of fresh thyme. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat and then turn it down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the caramelized onions and stir.

Let the soup cool and refrigerate overnight. When you choose to serve, heat the soup up on the stove and ladle into oven proof bowls, then top with toasted bread cut to fit the bowl, sprinkle with cheese, and broil in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Serves 4.

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Chicken Stew with Balsamic Roasted Veggies

The weather was cold, windy, and rainy this week and what better way to warm yourself up than with a stew? This one was different than most-roast the veggies in the oven and then add them to the broth. How weird, I thought-but the end product was pretty yummy. Plus I still had the bottle of Generation Seven white wine that I had schlepped all the way home from Blissdom in Toronto, and needed to use. I couldn't let it go to waste, could I?

There are only slight changes I would make; the veggies, which the original recipe left whole or otherwise chunky, are a little large and would be easier to eat if they are smaller. Wrangling whole baby carrots on a spoon can be a challenge. I was thinking that they were more like toddler carrots, they were so big.

Also, there isn't a lot of "juice" to this stew, so if you like a lot of broth, you may want to up the amounts of chicken broth and wine, like I did. Keep in mind that upping the broth might mean you will want to up the amount of thyme and rosemary that is added to the stew later on.

Adapted from Crazy Plates

4 cups unpeeled, cubed red potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
2 cups whole baby carrots (I think it's better to chop them a bit-even into thirds)
1 cup chopped red onions
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 3-always love lots of garlic!)
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (I used fresh from my plant)
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 cup sliced green beans
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used 4. They were big)
3 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth
3 tbsp flour

Pre-heat your oven to 425 F.

In a small bowl, stir together the oil, vinegar, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp rosemary, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Pour over the potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions in a large bowl and toss all together until well coated.

Roast in a large roasting pan, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Add the green beans, stir, and keep roasting for another 10 minutes.

While your veggies are roasting, pout the wine into a large pot. I did find that this recipe had very little "juice" so I added a splash more wine. Bring the wine to a boil, adding the remaining 1/2 tsp thyme and rosemary. Add your cubed chicken and then turn down the heat and let it simmer, uncovered for about 12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the roasted veggies to the cooked chicken and wine, and then pour in about 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth. I added more-in fact, I just eyeballed it and dumped a bunch in until I thought it was saucy enough.

To thicken your stew, you have two options; the original recipe says to mix 1/2 cup broth with 3 tbsp of flour until no lumps can be seen and stir it into the stew before you bring the newly added broth to a simmer. I tried this and it still seemed pretty thin, so in the end I took 1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch, mixed it with a bit of cold water, and stirred it in.

I don't like my stews super thick, but this seemed to do the trick. Taste it and adjust for seasonings. With extra broth, you'll likely need extra herbs as well. Bring your stew up to a simmer and let it get nice and thick, then serve!

Makes 6 servings.

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Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Last week Hubs and I took off for an adults only trip to Calgary, Alberta to visit Jake's older sister and to get a long ride on that swanky new motorcycle that Hubs bought awhile back. By the time we came home I wanted something simple, yet delicious to eat and found a stray head of cauliflower kicking around the crisper. When I asked Jake what he wanted me to make with it, he promptly pulled out my Food Revolution book and pointed to this recipe. It's delicious and topped with bacon, makes a great lunch!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
8 cups of cauliflower florets
1 3/4 quarts of chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp English mustard
8 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
crispy, crumbled bacon for garnish

In a large soup pot, pour in a glug of oil and let it heat up. Toss in your carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and cauliflower. Saute them up until the onions are golden and the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape.

Meanwhile, pour your stock into a different pot and heat it up until it's simmering. When the veggies are finished cooking, pour in the stock and stir to bring up all the nice bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until everything is well softened.

Blitz everything with a hand held immersion blender, or use your blender and process until it's well pureed and creamy. Stir in the mustard and cheese until well combined. Taste and add some salt and/or pepper if you need to.

Top with a bit of crispy bacon and you're off to the races!

Serves 6-8

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Asparagus Soup with Poached Egg on Toast

With a pound of asparagus hanging out in my fridge, I wanted to find something delicious to make so for this week's Food Revolution Friday, I tried this great recipe from Jamie Oliver's website. It's very easy and delicious-at first the idea of a poached egg on toast with the soup seemed a little weird, but the creamy egg mixed with the soup, and the crunchy toast, topped with salty prosciutto (my idea) was just the thing this evening. We loved it!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

800g asparagus
2 medium white onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, washed well and chopped
2 liters of vegetable or chicken stock
ciabatta bread
8 eggs
125 g prosciutto
butter

Snap off the woody ends on your asparagus and throw them away. Next, trim the tops of your asparagus and put them aside. Take the stalks and chop them into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside.

Slice up the leeks, then wash them thoroughly because they sometimes get gritty dirt between the layers. Set aside.

In a stock pot, heat up a little olive oil and fry up the onions, celery and leeks until they are soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus stalks and the broth. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer with a lid on for about 20 minutes.

When the 20 minutes is up, use an immersion blender to blend up your soup so it's nice and smooth. Season carefully with salt and pepper. Then gently bring the heat back up and add the asparagus tops, stirring and letting gently bubble until they are tender crisp. Remove from the heat.

Fry up some bits of prosciutto until crispy and sprinkle over the soup if you wish.

Poach 1 egg per person, and serve with buttered, toasted bread and the poached eggs. It's best in a shallow bowl-my bowls are deep and so the egg practically slid right into the soup.

Serves 8

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Jamie Oliver's Chicken and White Wine Stew

This is truly a delicious, ridiculously simple stew. I've never seen one this easy in my life, and it's hands down my new favorite. Most stews have chicken broth, potatoes and the like, which make it a more hearty dish but this one is a light, tasty one with tender pieces of chicken and lots of veggies. I LOVE it.

Make sure you get a good wine for this one, because that is much of your broth. I used Sawmill Creek's Sauvignon Blanc, and it was delicious. The only changes I made was to add a little more flour, some garlic, and peas.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
2 stalks celery
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 cups white wine
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 lb of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
a handful of frozen peas

In a large pot with some olive oil in the bottom, saute your carrots, onions, garlic, and celery until softened (about 10 minutes). Stir in the flour and chicken. Add the wine, tomatoes, and thyme, stirring to bring up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

Bring to a boil and then cover and turn down to low to simmer gently for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, adding a bit more liquid if needed and removing the thyme springs. Stir in the peas just before serving and heat through.

Makes 4-6 servings.

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