White Chicken Chili

SO I would have to say hands down that this is my MOST favorite soup recipe EVER! I am pretty much obsessed with Mexican Food and so anything that has lime, cilantro and avacados in the ingredients I am a huge sucker for. I tried this recipe a few years ago after finding www.ourbestbites.com and I crave it all the time! It is really quite a simple recipe and it tastes like you have worked a lot harder than you really did! If you like mexican food you MUST try this! I made it tonight, even though it was 100+ degrees outside, and I am sitting here writing this post salivating :) Okay maybe not, but it is that good!



White Chicken Chili
(Recipe by Our Best Bites)

I call this a chili, but it's really a soup consistency.
If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth.


1 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 3.5 oz can green chilies
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t coriander (I have never added this)
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 32oz box chicken broth

Condiments: (in addition to measurements above)
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Pepperjack or Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Tortilla Chips or make your own tortilla strips

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans and rinse with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there's no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes.

Then add green chills- along with all of the juices in the can. Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the 1/2 C chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream. Serve with condiments. If you don't have all those condiments- at least have sour cream! But honestly, it's best with everything :)

Makes about 8 cups of soup.

*Oh, and this freezes well. Sometimes I make a batch and when it cools I put single servings into zip-locks and pop them in the freezer. Makes a great quick lunch.

whoops!

I apologize for that mix-up last night. I only had access to the internet on my computer for an hour, so I quickly updated my personal blog... but it turned out that I put it up on this one, and I didn't have computer access to fix it until today. haha Sorry for any confusion! :)

-Jamie Turner

Skillet Queso

Okay this is not a main dish but one of our very favorite treats. We are big fans of Chili's-and we absolutely love their skillet queso! Here is my copy cat version.

Chili's Skillet Queso

1-lb Velveeta
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 pkg Old El Paso taco seasoning
3/4 jar or 8 oz of Old El Paso taco sauce
1/2 can of tomato sauce (small can)
tortilla chips

Brown hamburger and drain
Mix all ingredients (other than chips) in crock pot
Cook on medium or high until cheese melts (about 90 minutes)
Turn heat to low for serving and enjoy with tortilla chips!

Quick N' Easy BBQ Chicken

Okay so I am extremely busy and most of the time just have to throw some things together (okay okay so that is what I do 99% of the time). I love the marinade section in Walmart and that is where I found this:

It is the best sauce EVER...(it is spicy). I actually cover whatever amount of chicken I want to grill or bake and let it marinate for awhile. If I'm baking then I put the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 min depending on size of chicken. Or I grill and keep basting the chicken the whole time..num num num, also an amazing side dish is grilled asparagus just cover them in EVOO and Sea Salt and put on tinfoil on grill. Let them get blackened (my fav). So here is just another simple dinner but oh so good!!!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 cans cream of potato soup
1 pt. half and half
3/4 lb broccoli
2 TBSP margarine
3 green onions, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 C grated cheddar cheese

Cut broccoli into small pieces. Place in glass bowl with 2 TBSP water. Cover and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes. Drain. (I just use frozen cut up broccoli and it eliminates this whole step and works wonderfully).

In saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add soup, half and half, and broccoli. Heat 4 to 5 minutes. Add bacon and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

If soup is too thick, add more milk. If soup becomes too thin, add mixture of melted margarine and flour to thicken.

Serves 4-6 With my family (the 3 of us) we always have plenty of leftovers. Serving in bread bowls makes it even more delicious. Easton loves it!

Greek Chicken Pitas

My sister posted this recipe on her blog last month, but instead of chicken she made her own falafel. You can check out the falafel recipe here. I have a small fear of frying things in a lot of oil (could stem from a room mates accident in college.) Anyway, so I just grilled some chicken and then served the pitas with thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes and lettuce. If you're in a pinch you could always use store bought pitas... but don't be in a pinch.

Chicken

2 chicken breasts

2-3 T olive oil

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp dried minced garlic (I didn't have this so I just did a couple shakes of garlic powder)

Pinch of Salt

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and shake/smoosh it around until the chicken is evenly coated with the seasonings. Grill chicken until it's no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Soft Pita Bread

Makes 8 flatbreads3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. boiling water

1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato flakes
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. INSTANT yeast
Directions:
Place 2 cups of the flour into a large mixing bowl (or Kitchen Aid). Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes. This process will cook out some of the starch, making the bread very soft and pliable.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several (5-7) minutes to form a soft dough. Add additional flour only if necessary-- The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat soft. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour. (Note: Since this is a flatbread, the dough will not rise very much due to the small amount of yeast-- But it should still rise noticeably.)

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each around 3-4 oz.-- I use my kitchen scale for this), cover, and let rest on an oiled surface for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into an 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Stack the cooked bread in between a soft, clean towel to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately, or cool before storing in a plastic bag.

Tzatziki Sauce:

You can alter this to your taste (I like a lot more lemon juice in mine, so I doubled the amount).

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (that's 2 6-oz. containers)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp. lemon juice

3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped

1 tsp. dry dill weed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Sour Cream Peach Waffles

Serve these babies with whipped cream, peaches and syrup on top! HEAVEN!! Sorry no pictures, we devoured them way to fast to even think about photographing the moment. :) I love the peach season!


Sour Cream Peach Waffles

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 ripe peaches, chopped into small pieces. (I even got out my purree blender and mixed them up really fine.) Do whatever sounds good to you.


Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Bust out the waffle iron, and cook them up! You could also make pancakes with this same batter. Enjoy!!!