White Bean Chicken Chili

Welcome 2011! It has been a long time since I have been able to sit down and write a blog. One of my resolutions this year was to better organize my days, weeks, months to make sure things were getting accomplished both at home, work and my personal life. Being a working mother definitely takes a lot of organization and planning! Take each day as it comes.....that saying just won't work these days!

Here is a recipe that I found on the FoodNetwork website and of course I tweaked it! This has a nice smokey flavor with lots of spice. This recipe says it makes enough to serve 8, I would say more like 12. I think this is a recipe that can also be made in a crockpot over night!



White Bean Chicken Chili

INGREDIENTS
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
5 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
1 whole roasted chicken, chopped
8 cups of water
1 bay leaf
1 (4oz) can diced green chilies
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon old bay seasoning
¼ teaspoon cajun seasoning
1/3 can of a 7oz can chipotle in adobo, chopped
4 tablespoons chicken base
1 pickled jalapeno, chopped
3 cans cannelloni beans (white kidney beans)
2 cans butter beans
1 can great northern beans
2 packages of mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
Sour cream (for topping)
Cilantro (optional for topping)
Cheddar Cheese (optional for topping)

DIRECTIONS:
Saute onion, celery, and garlic in oil until tender in a large stockpot, about 5-10 minutes. Add chicken, water, bay leaf, chilies, oregano, cumin, dry mustard, basil, Old Bay, Cajun seasoning, chicken base, jalapeno and mushrooms. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Add the drained beans and heavy cream - simmer 30 minutes or until the beans are tender and warm. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and cheddar cheese.

Curried Zucchini Soup

This recipe was something new for us tonight. I had way too many zucchini sitting in the fridge. I was going to make zucchini bread, but 1. I don't like to bake and 2. if I am going to spend time in the kitchen I better make dinner not just snacks. So I hopped onto my favorite website www.foodnetwork.com to see what I could find. This is a new recipe, and I can't take credit for it's creation but it will be added to the rotation of dinner recipes that I make!

Curried Zucchini Soup
Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of cayenne
- 2 pounds zucchini, trimmed and chopped
- 3.5 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Chopped cilantro, garnish

Directions:
In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. That's right you start again with the UNDERWEAR (I'm telling you, every good meal starts with the Underwear - aka onion and garlic). Add the garlic and onion, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the curry powder, salt, and cayenne, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (I used more than a pinch of cayenne as I like the extra kick. I would wait until the end of the recipe to add additional spices so you taste it to find what it needs). Add the zucchini, reduce to medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the zucchini is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat. With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor, puree the soup. Return to medium heat and stir in the cream, Simmer for 3minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

This soup may be served hot or cold! Garnish with cilantro. Recipe suggests serving with toasted pita, I suggest a crispy french bread warm out of the oven.