Chicken Chili

One day I was talking with a patient about a party she had recently gone to, when she mentioned she brought a chicken chili with her to the affair. I was curious.  What was a chicken chili?  After she explained how she made it.  I thought this is definitely something I will try.  I never got the recipe and had never even tried a chicken chili until the day I made it myself.  I put a few twists on this southwestern fair and have been making it regularly ever since.  This was about 5 years ago.  Since then, I have tried white chicken chili prepared 2 times by other people.  Like your standard chili, everyone has their own interpretation.  Here is mine.

Chicken Chili

 3 15 oz cans pinto beans
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bell pepper, diced
1 medium poblano peppers, diced
1 large onion, diced

3 large carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon oregano
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

Juice from 1 fresh lime
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts grilled and coarsely chopped

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Add the oil to a large pot and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onions, and carrots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt, and pepper, to taste. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and oregano. Squeeze in the lime juice.  Add the stock and beans and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Stir in the chopped grilled chicken and cilantro and simmer until heated throughout.  Keep on stove uncovered on low temperature for about 1 hour. 

The veggies are in a sauna

How about that for an action shot

Add the stock

Adding in the chopped grilled chicken

Florida Seafood Gumbo

 

Florida Seafood Gumbo

This cup of sea has all the heartiness of your traditional New Orleans Gumbo without the added thickeners.  Most Gumbos are made using a stock of either seafood or meat, a mix of vegetables like peppers, onions, okra or celery and a thickener called a roux.  

Roux is typically made by toasting flour in a pan with some butter.  As it browns it intensifies in flavor.  It is then added to a stock and used as a thickener.  I have used roux before but I don't really care for it.  It's like you have a perfectly tasty dish and then you throw a bunch of flour in it just to make it thicker in texture. I have the same feeling about corn starch. I guess that is why I don't really like Chinese food.  So, this gumbo recipe is made without a roux.  I can imagine my friends in Louisianan just gasping at the thought of this.  I am sure they may even contend that this "Gumbo" couldn't be anything but a mere seafood soup without the addition of a roux.  If you feel this way, feel free to add the roux.  It's up to you.  

Not to long ago we celebrated Easter with my in laws. If you remember they cooked and that was the day and I posted our breakfast of  Sourdough Waffles instead of dinner.  How could you forget those?  Well that afternoon we had seafood.  Gaga Pat and Papa Butch had prepared a most wonderful spread that included shrimp and snapper.  We were even lucky enough to come home with some leftovers.  And you know me, nothing goes to waste.  So, after eating the leftover fish and shrimp,I used the bones of the fish and the shrimp shells to make a fish stock that I then stored in the freezer.  Well, that was a good thing because now I had a use for it.  

To make a the stock, I put the seafood leftovers in a pot and filled it with water.  Then I put it on the stove on medium until the water was reduced to half.  I strained out the bones and shells and that was then end of that tail. ;)

Fresh, homemade fish stock

 I started the Gumbo, by cooking up some onions, peppers and carrots in a stock pot with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.  You could add okra or celery which is more traditional but we don't have a consensuses at our house about either so I used carrot instead.  Once the veggies are soft, I added my garlic, spices and then the seafood.  

For the seafood I used a Florida trio. 

1. Fresh Florida Shrimp. This is a must!  Not only is it local but farm raised seafood is downright toxic.  Most shrimp at the seafood counter in the grocery store is farm raised from places like China.  If your are not sure ask. I peeled, de-veined and then added the shrimp whole. 

2. Smoked mullet.  Again another Florida favorite.  Mullet is a vegetarian fish that is found in coastal, tropical waters.  Here it is typically caught in a cast net.  My father-in-law caught and smoked ours awhile back.  We had enough to freeze for a later date, so that is what we did.   I peeled away the skin and diced up the meat to add to the gumbo. In Florida you can find smoked mullet in locally owned restaurants, at seafood markets, online and even in little market tents on the side of the road. 

3.  Bay Scallops:  When most people think of scallops they think of Sea scallops.  Bay scallops are much smaller in size.  The meat is about the size of a nickel and the thickness of a pencil eraser.  What they lack in size they make up for in flavor.  Their meat is sweet.  We harvested these babies last summer during scallop season, which typically runs from early July to late September.   If you don’t have your own freezer supply of bay scallops you can either use sea scallops or look for frozen bay scallops (when out of season) at a local fish market.  

For those of you who have never been scalloping.  Here are some photos of one of our scallop adventures.

An undisclosed location off the Gulf coast in Florida

The captain and his first mate.

 

Teaching the young-ins how it's done.

 

Dr. Brian with his load of scallops

Finding the scallops hiding in the sea grass.

This is what all the fun is about

 Okay, back to the Gumbo.  After adding the seafood, I added my fish stock and diced tomatoes.  I then splashed in some hot sauce and allowed the Gumbo to come to a light boil/bubble to cook the shrimp and scallops.  I then reduced the stove top temperature to a low/medium and simmered for about 2-4 hours with the lid off.  This allowed for some evaporation and lets the heat thicken it. 

Thanks captain Butch and Gaga Pat for the seafood to make this meal complete.  

Florida Seafood Gumbo

1 Large Sweet onion, diced

1 of each green and red bell pepper, diced

4-5 medium carrots, diced

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 lbs of seafood like shrimp, scallops, white flaky fish or blue crab meat

4-5 cups of fish stock

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 bay leaves

sea salt and black pepper to taste

your favorite hot sauce

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 32 ounce can of diced tomatoes

 

 

Rosemary Chicken and Grilled Quinoa Salad

Oh my grill, I just can't seem to get enough of it.  Can you blame a girl?  I mean everything tastes better grilled. While my coals were heating up, I de-skinned some chicken thighs and sprinkled them with some sea salt and tossed them in olive oil.  Then I added sprigs of rosemary and fresh cracked pepper.  I covered the thighs with aluminum foil and baked in the oven at 375 until done.  Which I guess was around 25 minutes.  But check with a thermometer to be sure.
After popping the chicken into the oven my coals were now hot.  Next, I grilled up some vegetables in a stir-fry type grilling basket.  I used some yellow summer squash and red peppers. Their firmness makes them a good choice for grilling because they won't fall apart. 

Vegetables grilling

While those vegetables were grilling I cooked some diced onions in a pan with some olive oil and sea salt until lightly browned.  I also cooked up some quinoa. 

Once the quinoa was cooked I let it cool in the fridge.  My veggies were grilled by then so I took them off the BBQ and chopped them into bite sized pieces.  The color combination really made for a vibrant salad. 

Grilled summer squash and red pepper

Then I prepared my dressing.
Dressing ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or another light colored vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Add spices and vinegar.  Mix until salt is dissolved.  Whisk in oil, until blended.  Ready.

Add the cooked onions and grilled vegetables to the cooked quinoa.  Fold in everything until it is combined. Drizzle with mixed dressing.  You may not use all of the dressing so add what you like.  Toss until  quinoa is well coated. 

Serve with baked rosemary chicken thighs and enjoy!

Buffalo Chili

Kehoe Buffalo Chili

Years ago, BC (before children) my hubby and I entered into the Steve Otto's Chili Cook-off.  I thought I had a unique chili recipe that would catch the eye and the palate of pleasantly surprised judges.  Ha!  Little did I know about the world of chili cook-offs.  We were competing against people named Chuck Wagon Charley, who was 4x champion.  What was the most interesting part, was that the winning chili looked more like ground beef in gravy than chili.  In the world of chili fame, the use of beans was blasphemy and vegetables were voided from even being called a chili.  We were dead in the water.  Although we did not come away as chili champions, we did try a lot of different chilis that day and my vote is still on mine.  
Now we Kehoe's like our buffalo.  It is probably one of the healthiest, naturally organic, renewable sources of red meat a person could eat.  It is lean and full of protein, so I use it in our chili. But what also makes this chili different, is that I use a lot of vegetables and only black beans.  No, not your traditional kidney bean but the black bean.  

What are those vegetables doing in a chili?

Here is how it goes.  
INGREDIENTS
 1 1lb ground buffalo meat
1 large sweet onion, diced
4-5 carrots, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium red or yellow pepper, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 32 oz cans of fire roasted tomato puree (Muir Glen brand)
1 lb bag of dried black beans, cooked - I like it beany but you can use less
2 teaspoons-ish dried oregano
2 teaspoons-ish dried cumin powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Sea salt to taste
5-8 splashes of McIhenny’s chipotle Tabasco

Start by cooking your onions and vegetables in olive oil, at medium temperature, in a large pot with some sea salt.  Cover the lid until the moisture is released from the vegetables and they are softened. Add the ground buffalo meat. Stir until cooked.  Next add the canned tomatoes, spices, hot sauce and garlic.  Add the cooked black beans and stir until mixed.  Cover and cook until it comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for a minimum of 2 hours with lid off the pot.  Stirring occasionally. 
Serve with your favorite chili garnishes like sour cream, yogurt, cheese or avocado.  

Vegetable & Orzo Soup

Light vegetable soup

Vegetable soup is just one of those feel good foods.  You don't have to be battling a cold or the flu to eat it.  It makes for a great dinner on those nights you just feel like something a little lighter on the stomach.   For this soup I used the bones from one of my roasted chickens and made a broth.  Simply boil the carcass in water until the liquid is reduced to about half.  Strain and it is ready for use. 

I threw a few bones back into the strained stock, so I would remember what this was for.

I begin the construction of my soup by chopping a lot of vegetables in small bite sized bits.  You can use whatever you have on hand.  I used onions, carrots, cauliflower and zucchini.  I sauteed the onions and carrots in some olive oil with sea salt until the carrots where softened.  

 

Then I added the other veggies, some basil and garlic  I went light on the spices as I wanted this soup to have a real pure taste to it. Next I poured in my broth.  If you don't have any homemade chicken broth you can make us some vegetable or use some pre-made stocks.  I added some organic orzo and let the soup simmer for about 1 hour or longer.  I served this with a spinach,orange pomegranate salad.  Light, nourishing and bursting with flavor.  

Roasted Rainbow Carrots and Cauliflower with Keta Salmon

The carrot and it’s elongated, triangular shape and bright orange color is probably the most recognizable vegetable around.   

 

Did you know not all carrots are orange?  There are purple carrots, red carrots even yellow carrots.  In fact, it is believed that the first carrots were indeed purple and not orange at all. Orange carrots came along after, natural selection developed a yellow carrot.  The yellow carrot plant was then crossed (hybridized) with the original purple carrot and orange carrots developed. 

 Each carrot color varies in flavor; slightly ranging from hints of floral notes to peppery.  Aside from the difference in color and taste they also have different health benefits. 

Orange Carrots contain beta carotene and alpha-carotene, both of which are orange pigments. They are high in Vitamin A, which is essential for healthy eyes. Vitamin A also maintains the surface linings of the respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts and regulates the immune system by helping white blood cells fight infections.

Yellow carrots contain xanthophylls and lutene, which are pigments similar to beta carotene.  Yellow carrots are also beneficial to eye health but they also may prevent lung and other cancers and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

Red carrots are get their color from lycopene, which is another form of carotene that is also found in tomatoes and watermelon. Lycopene is associated with the reducing the risk of macular degeneration, preventing heart disease and a wide variety of cancers including prostate cancer.

Purple carrots are usually orange or white on the inside and have even more beta carotene than their orange cousins. They get their purple pigment from anthocyanins, which is the same antioxidant in blueberries.  Anthocyanins, blocking free radicals from damaging the cell and may help prevent heart.  They also act as an affective anti inflammatory.  Research has also found this blue pigmented antioxidant to be beneficial for retaining memory function and providing protection against urinary tract infections.

Tonight I am using these rainbow carrots in our dinner.  I will be roasting them very simply with some diced onion, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.  This really brings out their sweet flavor.  Really, a few of them were similar in flavor to salted caramel.  No need for artificial sweeteners.  We have been provided with a natural bounty of sweetness.   

I peeled and thickly sliced these carrots to show off their bright, beautiful colors.  I would caution against boiling them, as this will reduce the vividness of their colors and weaken the intensity of their taste.  Not to mention, some of the nutrients will be lost in the water.  If I wasn’t showing these carrots off for the blog, I would have lightly washed them, trimmed the tops and bottoms and cooked them un-peeled.  This would have kept the varying flavors more locked in and prevented bleeding out of the colors.  But aren’t you glad I didn’t.  I mean look at the inside of this purple carrot. Isn’t it AWESOME!

Purple Carrot

I prepared the cauliflower in much the same way. Washed. Patted dry. Tossed with some minced garlic and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.  I put both veggies in the oven at a temperature of 375 and cooked covered for about 25 min or until tender and uncovered for another 10 minutes to brown them up. 

Now for the Keta Salmon.  This was a little more labor intensive.  I got some coals hot on the grill.  Lightly rubbed some coconut oil on the filets of salmon. Then I sprinkled with sea salt, garlic powder and onion powder.  Cooked each side for about 3-5 minutes, until salmon started to whiten and felt firmer to the touch.  

Yes that was it!  Let me tell you, when you start with quality ingredients you don’t need to fuss with them too much for everything to come together in a symphony of flavors.  If you have a problem getting your children to eat their veggies I suggest you to prepare some roasted rainbow carrots and cauliflower.  When they try it, they will surely love it.