Chicken Chili

I grew up notorious for being a very plain, habitual, consistent eater. The past year or two, I have taken an active role in trying to push the boundaries of my self-imposed limitations. There are still plenty of areas that I'm not ready to push past, but this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Chili that I found on Pinterest was one of the ones out of my norm that I decided to give a try. It actually was a nice alternative to my regular chili, and worth a look at if you like chicken and chili. I messed with the recipe a little. The original is cooked in a crock pot, which I passed on. And I left out a few ingredients that I wasn't interested in. I don't think the recipe suffered any, because it was still rather delicious.

2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large red (or orange or yellow) pepper

Assortment of hot peppers - jalapeño, cayenne, Anaheim, cowherd
1 large onion
5 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
Other possible chili powders are cayenne, chipotle, hot Mexican chili powder (I added an addition 2 Tbsps or so)

Dash of Adobo
3 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can kidney chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black chili beans
1 (15 oz) can pinto chili beans

1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken in large pot until cooked and easy to shred.

Shred chicken. Heat about 2 Tbsps oil in the pot. Add onions and bell pepper and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chicken and garlic to pot and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add corn, beans, tomato sauce, hot peppers and spices, and mix well.

 Cook on low for several hours until hot and flavors come together. 

Vegetable Beef Soup

Imagine it's cold outside, and maybe even raining. What can you prepare for dinner? While chili or beans are good options for a cold winter's day meal, maybe you should give this recipe a try also. This is a soup my dad used to make, and I've taken it and made it my own. I hope you try it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family do.

2 lbs stew meat
1 large can tomato juice
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1-2 12-ounce cans tomato paste
4-5 lbs potatoes, diced
2 cans lima beans
2 cans sweetened corn
2 cans garbanzo beans
salt, season all salt, pepper

First, cut the stew meat into bite size pieces. Some will be in half, others in thirds, and still others may be in fourths. There's no science to it, just cut it up.

Place in a very large stew pot. Add 3-4 Tbsps of season all salt and 2-3 Tbsps of pepper. This seems like a lot, but you will be filling up this entire pot before you're done. Just cover the stew meat with water.

Put on large stove eye on high heat. Once it begins to boil turn down between medium and medium-high. Allow to cook until water reduces and stew meat is cooked through.

Next add the tomato juice, tomato sauce, and one of the tomato paste cans. This will thicken the sauce of the soup, but if you need the second can of paste to thicken more then add it.

Allow to cook for 30 minutes. While it cooks, peel and dice the potatoes. Add carefully to the tomato and meat mixture.

Cook on medium-high heat stirring frequently to prevent the potatoes sticking until the potatoes are fork tender. If stew is boiling too much, then turn heat down to medium. This should take 1-2 hours to get the potatoes cooked. Remember, stir often and be sure to reach the bottom of the pot. Once the potatoes seem to be getting close to done, open and drain the lima beans, corn, and garbanzo beans.

Once the potatoes are tender, add the corn, garbanzo beans, and lima beans. Cook for 30 minutes to an hour until beans are cooked and tender.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in your favorite bowl with a heaping pile of saltine crackers.

Savor and enjoy!

Taco Soup

While perusing Pinterest one day a few weekends ago, I saw a picture for a Slow Cooker Taco Chili, and it looked goooood! So, I finally got the ingredients, and gave it a try today, with a few minor adjustments. Well, one big one... I just used a pot on the stove and not the crockpot. And not only was it quite easy, but it was very tasty!

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (15.25oz) sweet corn (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) black beans (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) red kidney beans (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 cup salsa (I used a thick and chunky style)
3 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 tsp salt

In a large soup pot, cook the ground beef until brown. Drain if needed - I use a 90 percent or 97 percent beef, so I usually keep what little grease is left to add flavor. Add corn, beans, salsa, tomato sauce, salt and taco seasoning. Make sure to add the liquid from all your cans of corn and beans. Give a quick stir to combine the ingredients. 

Simmer on low/med-low for an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.

Top as desired. I used cheddar cheese and Fritos. You can add avocado, sour cream, cornbread, or anything else you like.

Corn Casserole

I've found quite a few good looking recipes in the newspaper's Parade section from each Sunday. Some I've tried, and some I'm still waiting for the opportunity. This is one, Dynasty Corn Pudding, I tried for a dinner for my mom a year or two ago, and it was such a hit, that I've made it several times since. In fact, I prepped it the other night for Thanksgiving dinner! It's not a terribly difficult recipe, and has a very good texture and flavor - one hint though, use a bigger casserole dish. If you use too small of one, the top cooks too much but the insides aren't set. I use a 9X13 pan for mine and it works great!

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted, melted butter

3 cups corn kernels (they call for fresh from 4-5 ears of corn, but I just buy the frozen bag)

2 eggs

8 oz (1 cup) sour cream

9 oz Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (again, most cheese comes in 8 ounce packs, so I use that and add about an ounce of whatever I've got in the fridge.)

1/2 cup cornmeal

4 ounce can of chopped green chilies

1/2 tsp salt (and I also add some pepper)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. The recipe calls for buttering your dish, but I just use Pam and it works. Also, they call for a 2-quart casserole dish, and as I mentioned above, I couldn't get mine to set right, so I use a 9X13 pan).

In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup corn kernels, eggs and melted butter.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients except Parmesan. Add pureed corn and mix well. 

Pour into dish and top with Parmesan. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden.