Tuesday, November 12, 2013

White Chili

If it's cold and dreary outside and you need something hot and hearty for lunch (or supper)...It's chili time! I actually learned this recipe from when I was interning at a local restaurant. I went home and tried to remember everything I put into the dish. I then looked up recipes for the White Chili and was surprised by the many varieties of the recipe out there. After many tweaking of this recipe - this is my version of White Chili.

White Chicken Chili 
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 ancho chili pepper, chopped (optional) 
1 Large can of diced chicken breasts OR
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, chopped
1 pkg. (43 oz.) beef stock
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies 
2 Tablespoon roasted salsa verde (opt.)
2 teaspoons ground cumin  

2 teaspoons dried oregano 
1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans or white kidney beans, drained 

1 cup shredded cheese - I like parmesan
Chopped jalapeno pepper (optional) 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook onion in oil for 10 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and ancho peppers, cook a minute longer. Add the chicken, beef stock, green chilies, salsa verde, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil. 

 Reduce heat to low. Add beans to saucepan. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Top each serving with cheese and jalapeno pepper if desired. 

 Note: The original recipe below calls for chicken broth. I find that using beef stock actually heightens the flavor of the chicken, than using plain chicken broth. Also, if you are using beef broth - you may not need to add a whole lot of spices and seasoning as broth has seasoning added. I use beef stock and add my own seasoning to taste.


This is the basic recipe I used. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/white-chicken-chili

Friday, November 1, 2013

Tasty Halloween "Blood"

In the spirit of Halloween - I decided to post my recipe for delicious and very inexpensive Halloween blood. It doesn't stain the skin AND it doesn't stain clothes - at least it hasn't yet. It is so good that I think it would be really good to drizzle the "blood" on cupcakes or any other Halloween treats for special effects.

Delicious Halloween Blood

All it takes are these three ingredients:

Maple syrup
Coco powder
Red Indian food grade powder (I use Preema)

The maple syrup gives it body and a little color, while the red food coloring makes it a bright red. I put in coco powder for the dark flecks you see in blood and just to make the "blood" not so bright red. The nice thing about this blood is that it dries nicely, yet still looks wet and realistic. Did I mention that it taste really good? ;)