Showing posts with label chili. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chili. Show all posts

Thirty Minute Thursdays: Cajun Turkey Chili & Cornbread

11:25 AM | Labels: , , , , ,


 
I don’t make soup all that often, but I do make chili. I’ve even made it in the dead-heat of summer in an un-air-conditioned beach house, so it’s not uncommon for me to bring this well-loved dish into the warmer months. To me, it’s one of the perfect comfort foods, and unlike lasagna, macaroni-and-cheese, fried chicken and cream of ____ soup, it doesn’t have to kill your good dietary intentions – that means it earns double points in my book. I can only indulge in heavy, cheesy casseroles so often before I feel like my stomach is a bag of bricks – mushy, cheesy bricks.

Now that we’ve established that image, let’s get back to the task at hand – this turkey chili adapted from Rachael Ray. It’s simple, though not the kind of simple I was talking about on Tuesday. It’s got some heat behind it, enough to make me smile but not enough to make my mom push her bowl away politely. It was also really fast and easy to make, and keeps the dirty dishes to a minimum (a must if you’ve ever witnessed the aftermath of my cooking endeavors). The only change I would make would be to get rid of some (or all) of the turkey and swap in some crumbled tofu and beans. I’m not-so-slowly moving towards total veggie-dom, so lately I’ve been treating meat as a side dish. In this meal, it’s definitely the main ingredient, and I know some people will like that. It does keep it low-carb, if that interests you. Plus, I think ground turkey breast is some of the leanest meat out there (the original called for ground pork), so if you’re up for omnivorism, it’s still a pretty healthy choice. We can’t all be veggie-vores, right?

I made a healthy cornbread for dunking/topping/side-ing, after Rachael’s recipe instructed me to make corn cakes via a box mix. Right. So I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to try one of the several cornbread recipes I have saved, and figured starting off with a healthy one would be good. The recipe comes from Food Stories, and it has several perks – it’s vegan (not that that matters if you’re pairing it with a turkey chili like I did – though it does mean my dad, who doesn’t mix meat and dairy, could enjoy it), easy to make, and does taste like cornbread. However, there is no mistaking this for its full-fat, full-sugar, down-home-cookin’ original. It tastes healthy, so I’m still on a hunt for a spot-on recipe. But this is good to keep in your back pocket. All I did to change the recipe was to add chives (as Rachael asked me to – or, well, she asked me to add scallions and I said absolutely not, I don’t have any, but I do have chives) and reduce the baking time to 15 minutes (all it needed). It finished baking just as I was finishing up with the chili, so dinner was ready in one fell swoop.

 
One Year Ago: Avocado, Feta & Tomato Quinoa Salad
Two Years Ago: Grilled Herbed Turkey

Turkey Chili with Cornbread
This chili is definitely for meat lovers, but it uses a hefty serving of vegetables and spice to deepen the flavor. It’s comforting enough for winter and light enough for even moderate summers, proving that there just may be no better meal than chili.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 ⅓ pounds ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
hot sauce, to taste
½ medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ beer bottle1
14 ounces crushed tomatoes
1 batch CJ’s Vegan Cornbread, chopped chives mixed into batter before baking

The Method
Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the ground turkey. Season with chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce and cook, breaking up the meat as you go, 5 minutes. Once most of the pink is gone from the meat, add in the onion, garlic, celery, and peppers; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the beer and use it to scrape up anything that has stuck to the bottom of the pan, then stir in the tomatoes. Allow the chili to come to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 5 minutes before ladling into bowls to serve with the cornbread.

Source, adapted: Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals

Notes:
1I used a Hoegarten – it was either that or Corona, and L (since I know nothing about beer except that the only 2 I’ve ever tolerated are Guinness and some coffee-flavored winter flavor) recommended the Hoegarten. He was also responsible for drinking the other half, so I decided his opinion mattered on this one.


I also want to say that I had the honor of being one of Lauren (of NutriSavvy)’s 15 nominees for the Versatile Blogging Award! There’s a whole bunch of fun questions and pay-it-forward type nominations that I’m supposed to do, but I didn’t do a Thirty Minute Thursday post last week so I wanted to at least get today’s entry in. I will spend the next day or so thinking about all of the amazing food bloggers I watch (some from afar, admittedly), and be back. I just wanted to make sure I thanked Lauren before too many days went by! And if you haven’t checked out her blog, you should!

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Posted by toni

Autumn-Spiced Beef Chili

7:07 AM | Labels: , ,


I love red meat. There, I’ve said it. I actually didn’t used to – I found hamburgers to be dry; my mom would make half of her lasagna with just cheese, just for me; and I never truly appreciated the beauty of a well cooked steak. My only true weakness was a classic Philadelphia cheesesteak, which at one point in my life I probably ate on a near weekly basis. Now, though, perhaps because I’m afforded the opportunity to eat red meat so much less frequently or perhaps simply because taste buds change over time, I’ve realized how much I do genuinely enjoy a well executed red meat dish every now and then.

Ever since making the choice to only eat grass fed beef, my red meat consumption is almost exclusively limited to its ground form. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to steal a spot at L’s dinner table when his mom is cooking boeuf bourguignon or some completely aromatic lamb dish, but really, if I’m eating red meat these days, it’s ground. I’m really ok with this; I mean, I’m still surprisingly underwhelmed by even a perfectly made steak, and I think ground meat is some of the most versatile you can come across.

Once last year, I had some cooked ground beef in the freezer, and a lot of leftover ingredients in the fridge. I threw them all into a skillet, and this dish was born. The beef was seasoned with sage and rosemary; the pan was deglazed with just enough apple cider to coat the bottom; a scant tablespoon of cream cheese was added to create a thicker, creamier sauce; vegetables like corn and spinach were cooked in; and it was all served over a baked sweet potato. It was nice, a beautiful contrast between sweet and savory. But in all the hub-bub of this impromptu lunch, I forgot to take a picture, so I knew I needed to make it again.

The second time around, I didn’t have plain ground beef, but I did have leftover beef chili, so I threw that into a pan with some bell pepper strips and whole cranberries. Pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cumin found their way into the dish, and took it to a new level entirely. There were two layers of spice – one traditional kick from the chili and a warm, fall-themed one from the cinnamon. The cranberries offered a bite; the pumpkin lent a creaminess to the dish without the cream cheese. I ate it alone for a relatively low carb meal, but feel free to eat it as a more traditional stew-type dish by adding in bread or a potato (or stay low-carb but amp it up with a nice side salad).

Either attempt could have added some tofu, beans, or even chopped mushrooms to replace some or all of the beef if you’re looking for either a less meat-centric or completely vegetarian meal. But if you do eat meat, give it a try with the beef – there’s something wonderful about autumn spices and beef together. If you’re going the route of beans, I would say black beans would pair well with the flavors, but really anything you have will do. I believe the second attempt was more successful, so I’ve included that as the recipe below, but feel free to incorporate any of the elements that I mentioned from the first part. In particular, the spinach would be nice, as would a dollop of greek yogurt (as a healthier proxy for the cream cheese).

One Year Ago: Orange-Almond Biscotti

Autumn Spiced Beef Skillet
Yield: 2 servings

(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 cup (approximate) beef chili

½ - ⅔ cup mixed bell pepper strips

½ cup fresh cranberries

½ teaspoon (approximate) cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ - ½ teaspoon (approximate) cumin

½ cup pumpkin puree

(2 heaping tablespoons plain greek yogurt)

(1 cup fresh spinach, torn)

The Method
Cook the chili according to instructions, or use leftovers.1 To use leftovers, add the chili, red pepper strips, and cranberries to a pan coated with nonstick spray. Season with all of the spices. Once warm, stir in the pumpkin, yogurt, and spinach, heating over low heat and stirring frequently until the spinach has wilted.

Notes:
1If cooking from scratch, blend the two recipes. Follow the link to the beef chili and add the ingredients for this meal in the following way: add the bell pepper strips, cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cumin along with the garlic and onion in the chili recipe. Stir the pumpkin puree, yogurt, and spinach in with the tomato sauce and hold at a low temperature until warm and the spinach is wilted.






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Posted by toni

Baked Chicken Chili Brown Rice Casserole: Or, How to Clean Out Your Fridge in Style

1:36 PM | Labels: , , , ,


When I first moved into my apartment, I was talking to my roommates about how I wanted to batch cook so that I could have quick freezer meals without having to cook every single night of the week. One of them responded that she didn't want to be forced into eating the same thing all week, which is understandable - but batch cooking and monotony are not one in the same. I find it extremely satisfying to come up with a weekly meal plan in which the recipes complement each other, using similar ingredients yet delivering widely different dishes. Having leftovers doesn't mean that I will be eating the same exact thing the next night - it means I have an extra serving of food that can challenge me to come up with a new way of enjoying it (or, you know, freeze for a month down the road - either way).

This recipe for Chicken Chili Brown Rice Casserole is a more structured example of how I do this. Most of the time, I take a leftover ingredient or even a full leftover portion of a meal, and just throw it into a skillet and see what happens, or put it between two slices of bread or on top some salad greens. However, I found this recipe online, and actually planned to have it as a part of my weekly dinner line-up to incorporate extra chili and chicken I would have on hand from recipes earlier in the week. I have to tell you, if you make this from 100% leftover ingredients (I had to make the rice from scratch), this is throw-together-cooking at its finest, with a generous dollop of comfort food and enjoyment thrown on top. 

I found the sum to be a little underwhelming compared to its individual components, but I chalk that up mostly to a no-frills approach to the chicken and rice components, along with a fairly subdued chili (as far as chili is concerned). I added some spices at the end to counter this, but I can't begin to tell you how over-the-top this would be if you had already flavored leftovers in the chicken and rice departments - it's hard with Leftover Cooking to say that next time I'll plan anything, but if I am able to plan my next use of this recipe, I will definitely make it on a week when I have some bangin' chicken and rice to use up. I will also be making it in a smaller, deeper baking dish and potentially even adding some more cheese (certainly couldn't heart, right?). But the best part about this is that you'll really never make it the same exact way twice - it will change and transform itself depending on what you happen to have on hand. Its beauty is in its versatility, a word I probably use too much on here, but one that is so crucial in cooking, especially when you're doing it in big batches just for yourself or you and one other person. If I can take a recipe and switch it up infinitely depending on the season, weather, my mood, and the contents of my refrigerator, it's a keeper. This casserole, right here, is definitely a keeper.

Baked Chicken Chili Brown Rice Casserole, courtesy of Gluten Free Goddess
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 heaping cups leftover chili
1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken pieces
3-4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
fresh (or dried!) herbs of your choosing*

The Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil an 8x8 inch casserole or baking dish**.

Spread the brown rice along the bottom of the dish and top with the chili - don't skimp on any juices that may have developed, either! Pour it all in. Add the chicken pieces in an even layer on top, scatter with the halved tomatoes, and top it all off with the cheese and herbs.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, removing only when the center has heated through, the cheese has melted, and you can see bubbly juices from the chili along the edges of the dish.

Notes:
*The original poster suggests basil, parsley, or cilantro - but I say go with whatever pairs nicely with the rest of your leftover ingredients. I used cilantro.
**I halved this recipe and still made it in an 8x8, so I would assume that making the full batch in this size dish would be perfect.

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Posted by toni

Veggie Chili Polenta

6:56 PM | Labels: , , ,


It actually snowed on April Fool's Day here, and I found Mother Nature's joke to be completely un-funny. Pair this miserable practical joke weather with the fact that today was sunny and 70, and you have a very difficult week to prepare appropriate recipes for. Do you make soup and hope it's cold? Salad and hope it's not? I'm very big on eating with the weather, at least most of the time, but this week I have more or less thrown the dice and hoped for the best. You could do the same, or you could be more intelligent and make something versatile enough for any weather extreme that this crazy Spring can throw at you. I've found chili to be a good example of this kind of meal, which is one of the reasons why I'm writing tonight about a Veggie Chili Polenta that I made a while back (other reasons include: 1. It's not chicken 2. It's not dessert 3. I'm having leftovers for lunch tomorrow 4. It isn't full of season-specific ingredients that make me feel guilty about telling you about).

This is an easy, essentially one-pot dish, on top of being very delicious. I found it to be slightly sophisticated, with the vinegar adding a nice touch. It's still hearty, but a little creamier than usual and not so heavy. It was a little too salty, a comment I followed up in my notes mysteriously with the phrase "my bad," making me think that I shockingly somehow managed to defy my Salt Nazi compulsions and actually add too much, since there's not much naturally in the ingredients the recipe calls for. Go figure. My only other complaint  (aside from its sad, inability to be captured beautifully in a picture) was a slight monochromatic thing going on, (which, incidentally, did nothing for its photogenic dilemma) with lots of dull reds, yellows and browns. It would certainly look nice with a little side salad, maybe the addition of a brighter green vegetable (spinach anyone? Kale?). 

The chili, by the way, is also excellent by itself, without the polenta. In case you were wondering. It is also fantastic in a chicken and chili casserole I made that same week (perhaps that will be my next post).

Veggie Chili Polenta, courtesy of Real Simple Recipes
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1-2 teaspoons pre-minced)
2 tablespoons chili (or curry) powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
14.5 ounces diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup water
15.5 ounces red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15.5 ounces cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup quick-cooking polenta
1 tablespoon butter (omitted)
green chili or jalapeno salsa, optional (omitted)

The Method
Place the oil, onion, garlic, chili/curry powder, and cumin in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute until the onions have softened. Add in the tomatoes and the water, bring the mixture to a simmer, and partially cover with a lid for 10 minutes.

Add in both types of beans and return the mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook, this time uncovered, until the chili has thickened - approximately 15 minutes more. 

Meanwhile, prepare the polenta according to the package instructions and stir in the butter, if using. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the chili from the heat and stir in the vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Divide the polenta between 4 bowls and ladle the chili over the top. Serve, optionally, with the salsa spooned on top or with a salad on the side.

One Year Ago: Turkey Turnovers & Passover Rolls (can you believe it was so early last year??)

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Posted by toni

Chicken Chili Verde: A Summer-Fall Liaison

5:14 PM | Labels: , , , ,


Before I say anything about chicken or chili, I'd like to announce that this is my 50th post! It's hard for me to grasp that I have actually opened up this page 50 times to ramble on about food. After all, I've only ever stuck to journals and diaries for a grand total of maybe 3 entries throughout my childhood, and even those were spread out over months at a time, a true testament to either my flightiness or, perhaps, lack of interest in the subject matter. I briefly considered choosing some monumental recipe for this ever-so-monumental occasion, but I decided that this recipe would be more appropriate: a recipe that I made months ago, but have only just now gotten around to posting about it - not unlike my previous forays into the journaling world, with my delayed method of sharing information.

In a way, though, I am glad that I saved this recipe for chicken chili until now. Up until I made this in the dead heat of July, I thought of chili as a stick-to-your-ribs meal for snowy and blistery days. That hunch was not completely wrong, as the heat from the stove top evaporated into the un-airconditioned atmosphere and drove me out of the kitchen faster than you can say sweat. So, perhaps chili is not the dish you make on the hottest day of the summer, as I so wisely chose to do, but on a reasonably hot day, it would taste wonderful. There are cultures that choose spicy, hot foods for days such as that one in July, believing that the heat helps to cleanse the body. This chili is a light dish that would be perfect to eat in that weather.

Then there is, of course, the traditional view of chili, made in a crock pot all day long in winter and warming your entire body as you scoop it up. It comforts you and relaxes you. I can picture myself eating this same chili in several months, when the first snow hits the ground and the drafty windows in my old apartment fail to keep me warm.

So, this chili is, in a way, a bridge between the heat and cold, just as fall is. As I sit here, experiencing a meteorological civil war being waged in my neighborhood, I find it fitting to tell you about the recipe that works just as well in either weather extreme. The temperatures oscillate between suffocating humidity and crisp, chilled air that perfectly embodies autumn, and so a recipe that can adapt well to its environment is important. You have to be ready for anything.

This chili is easy to make and tasty, and it passes my low-sodium criteria (which is not something I can say of most chilis and soups). I was able to make it in an unfamiliar kitchen with sparse tools during a vacation, and while I didn't but should have written down the details of my experience, it all turned out well in the end. I served it with some bread that should have been crustier, and L and I were both very satisfied. Plus, this is called by its creator a "quick and easy freezer meal," and who doesn't love those?

Chicken Chili Verde, courtesy of The Domestic Contessa
Yield: If memory serves correctly, I cut this in half and got 2 very hearty servings; I would imagine the full recipe makes enough for about 6 people.
The Ingredients
15 oz. pinto beans, drained and rinsed if canned

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cooked
4 oz. chopped green chilis
1 tsp. chopped dried onion
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 c. water
3 boullion cubes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt (pretty sure I omitted this - you won't miss it, I promise)
1 C grated Jack cheese (we used some spicy pre-shredded kind)

The Method
1. Combine the chicken and the chilis, onion, oregano, and cayenne and refrigerate until needed. I did this the night before to really let it marinate.
2. Combine the beans, water, bouillon, garlic, and salt (if using) in a large pot and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the beans are soft, about 1 hour. Pay attention to the water level here - I remember returning to the kitchen to find a pot devoid of all liquid, having all evaporated again. Having slightly burned the bottom layer of beans, I added more water, and continued on - but avoid my mistake, and check on it fairly often. Every 10 minutes would not be too cautious.
4. Add the chicken to the beans and simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. If not using immediately, allow to cool to room temperature and then freeze.
6. When ready to serve (thaw it and heat it again if you've frozen it), and top with the cheese!

This is the first chili I've ever made, and so easy to put together that I will definitely be making it again. It's cleansing in the heat and, I would imagine, comforting in the cold. Enjoy it with a nice loaf of bread near by to sop up the extras, and keep water or milk at hand in case it's a little spicy for you. The little kick that a spicier cheese can enhance is refreshing, and gives it a flavor that puts the salt shaker to shame.

So, there you have it: chicken chili verde, the link between two opposing seasons, and my 50th post to prove that this is one journal(/blog/thing) that I'm not about to give up.

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Posted by toni
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